Some games just have that WOW! factor the minute you crack the box.
Commander-In-Chief is just that sort of game. Based on the components alone you have to be impressed, even before a rules read through, or a first game.
Commander-In-Chief is an abstract strategy war game published by X Plus Products where each player has an array of air, land and sea military vehicles. These armed forces make up an assault team players manoeuver in order to capture their opponent's Commander.
In this case the two Armed Forces consist of fifteen pieces per side: one Commander, two stealth fighters, two army tanks, one stealth-bomber, two submersible submarine warships, two helicopters, four amphibious assault vehicles and one surface combatant destroyer warship. Each type of piece has its own movement patterns, and in some cases are limited to land, or water areas depicted in the board.
If you are thinking chess comparisons are a natural, then you are correct, although game designer Paul D. Miller has done a nice job of giving the game a military scenario feel which makes it appear as much as miniature battle as another chess variant,
Miller explained the game is one which came together over more than a decade of development.
"The original concept for Commander-In-Chief began while I was at the University of Michigan. I was in the process of earning my Mechanical Engineering degree back at the turn of the century between 1999 and 2001 and had some ideas running through my head for a game concept that was a Chess-like game with a military theme," he said. "I didn't really intend to take it as far as I did. I simply thought I could share my thoughts with a 'Big Boy' in the industry, Hasbro, and then they could do all the work and I could earn some sort of royalty for creating the game concept. That in a nutshell was the master plan in the early days of Commander-In-Chief. That plan didn't work out obviously as I am a self published game."
Through the years the game did evolve, said Miller.
"At its core yes," he said about how the game has stayed true to his initial vision, then adding "As a whole no.
"The game has gone though quite a transformation in the twelve years it took me to get it to print. Again, the original concept was a Chess-like game with a military theme. The game is now a 2 - 4 player combination of Chess and Checkers with an air, land and sea military theme played with 30 'Matchbox' size miniatures."
The pieces are amazing. Each military vehicle is done is miniature and looks great, giving the game a definite showpiece appeal.
Keeping the quality high was an objective Miller said he strived to achieve with the game.
"I wanted everything to be designed with a high level of quality to attract the chess audience but specifically regarding the playing pieces, I wanted the playing pieces to be 30 military toys designed for play with or without this board game to attract kids," he said. "I needed to design the playing pieces as high end toys otherwise kids would not want to play with them. The design of the playing pieces needed to meet several objectives. They needed to look like real military vehicles, like rich chess pieces and like cool kids toys.
"It was a serious challenge but I wanted 'high end' miniatures on the board as one of the biggest selling features of the game. What little boy in America wouldn't want 30 military miniatures?"
Miller said the way the game plays also changed over the years.
"The game rules have evolved tremendously into a well designed game over years and years of play testing. The game rules were very crude and unbalanced in the beginning. Now the rules are creative yet logical, strategic yet not overwhelming, the rules are simple yet the game is simultaneously complex," he said, adding the scope of game play was also expanded. "There are 'Object of the Game', 'Team Game Play', 'Advanced Game Play' and 'New Game Play' options in addition to Basic Strategy, available atwww.Commander-In-Chief.com which are all new concepts that have been implemented over the years."
The fact the game can be played in different ways is another major strength of the game. There is greater play options to keep people playing it as they explore the options.
According to Miller Commander-In-Chief is also going to continue to see growth as a game, and that is a good thing in my books since new options re-fire interest in a game.
"I have all kinds of crazy ideas for expansions; playing pieces, game boards, game rules, etc.," he said. There will be expansion playing pieces so the end user can create his/her own army -- like is done in card games such as Magic The Gathering -- expansion game boards for more spaces to develop the game strategy including various terrain elements, additional game rules and game play options; some new options are already listed at www.Commander-In-Chief.com), and then themed sets, luxury sets, travel sets and military sets. The first expansions will probably start coming out in the summer of 2012."
The quality of components, game play options, and potential for more of both make Commander-In-Chief a compelling game for abstract strategy, and wargamers alike. A winner to check out.
If anyone is interested in this game, or other boardgames feel free to contact [email protected]
Past reviews are collected online at calsboardgamemusings.blogspot.com
