Combat Commander: Europe

About this board game

Combat Commander: Europe is a two-player, card-driven board game of tactical infantry combat in the European Theater of World War II, with games lasting about 180 minutes. One player commands the Axis forces of Germany, while the other leads the Allies as America or Russia.

Players use Fate cards to activate units and carry out military functions on the map. Orders are played by the active player, while Actions can generally be used by either player at any time, creating a flexible flow without a fixed sequence of play.

The battlefield is shaped by several measures of Game Time, each divided into a variable number of Player Turns. Events—both beneficial and harmful—occur at random intervals, adding chaos and uncertainty to even the most carefully planned operation.

• Move combat units across a hex-based game map.
• Attack opposing units and occupy scenario-specific objectives.
• Earn results through Objective chits, enemy unit destruction, and exiting friendly units from the opponent’s board edge.
• Use units representing Leaders, 5-man Teams, and 10-man Squads, with radios and larger individual weapons shown by separate counters.

Each hex represents roughly 100 feet, or about 30 meters, while a complete Player Phase abstracts several seconds of real time. A full measure of Game Time represents several minutes, giving Combat Commander: Europe a focused scale for infantry actions without requiring players to follow a rigid turn sequence.

With its card-driven Orders, interruptive Actions, shifting objectives, and unpredictable Events, Combat Commander: Europe combines tactical decision-making with a battlefield that can change unexpectedly from turn to turn.