Samurai Battles, from the game company Zvezda, premiered almost seven years ago. And although the game achieved some popularity for the most part the game flew under the radar of most gamers. Perhaps the blame was with the time required to assemble the 100 plus plastic Samurai figures before one could even play the game. And once assembled these plastic models, although truly fine figures, were very fragile, almost too fragile for game pieces. Finally when it was time to pack up after a game, it was extremely difficult to store them away safely.
Yet, the Samurai Battles game still gained a small
following of very loyal fans. I tend to believe, many fans who were
already familiar with one or more of other games that use the Commands & Colors system; Battle Cry, Memoir ’44, Commands & Colors Ancients, or Commands & Colors Napoleonics,
actually brought them to the game. But after a couple of years of
dwindling sales and the untimely death of Zvezda CEO Konstantin
Krivenko, who was very supportive of the project, the game was phased
out.
Which brings all of us, you, me and the fine folks at GMT, who also believe in Samurai Battles, to this P500 write-up for the new, improved and more robust version of Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles. Before getting into details why GMT’s Samurai Battles game is Great, first the standard overview text.
The Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles
game rules allow players to portray important engagements of Japanese
history. The battles, included in the scenario booklet, focus on the
historical deployment of forces and important terrain features in scale
with the game system. The scale of the game is flexible and varies from
battle to battle. For some scenarios, an infantry unit may represent an
entire clan of soldiers, while in other scenarios a unit may represent
just a few brave warriors.
The Command cards drive movement and creates a “fog of war” and
presents players with many interesting challenges and opportunities,
while the battle dice resolve combat quickly and efficiently. The Honor
& Fortune game mechanic will task players to maintain a balance
between these two important game elements. The Dragon Cards add an
element of suspense and surprise that can bend the rules and instantly
change the course of a battle. The battlefield tactics you will need to
execute to gain victory, however, conform remarkably well to the
strengths and limitations of the various Japanese unit types, their
weapons, battle terrain, and written history.
So what makes GMT’s Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles game Great? In a word, More! GMT’s C&C: Samurai Battles game has more scenarios, more units to deploy, additional types of Japanese units, a jammed-packed battlefield with more units and more terrain. And there are still more expansion materials already waiting in the wings.
First - there are more units and more unit types in the game.
Yep, it will take some time to apply stickers to all the blocks, but
doing so is a breeze, when compared to the time it took to assemble
figures. When done, blocks are very durable and easy to store.
Second - the battlefield comes on a one-piece mounted map board.
Not really any larger in that it still stands at 11 hexes deep by 12
hexes wide, but there are plenty of terrain tiles including new types of
terrain, fences, ramparts, castle walls and more.
Third - more scenarios, which no doubt will be the most
important feature for anyone who owns and enjoys the previous version of
Samurai Battles from Zvezda. If all goes as planned, the game will have
around 40 scenarios.
Truth be known, in regard to Zvezda’s Samurai Battles
game... A few weeks before the game was to go to the printers, I was
informed that the number of plastic figures originally planned for the
game had been reduced. Therefore, the number of units in most of the
Commands & Colors scenarios had to be reduced. After a few days of
scrambling, the Commands & Colors scenarios were adjusted. So even
if some of the battle scenarios titles in GMT’s scenario booklet are
familiar, they are not exactly the same because they are now back to
their original unit deployments, which means more units to command.
Much of what is written here is to give players that own an old
version of the game enough information about GMT's enhanced game to
provide them with reasons to support this project. But even if you have
never played the Zvezda edition or any Commands & Colors
game, there is plenty the game has to offer. For me personally, I never
stopped believing in the game and I have always known that the Japanese
Samurai period provides some very fascinating and interesting historical
possibilities. GMT also believes in this and that is why they will make
a Great game. Welcome and Enjoy! - Richard Borg
Battles Included in Commands and Colors: Samurai Battles (Tentative):
Components: