Company of Heroes Board Game: Game Play and Somewhat of a Review.

 

   This last Saturday, Kalissa and I finally received our copy of Company of Heroes: the Board Game by Bad Crow Games. It really has been a wait, since it was supposed to shipped out to us in May of 2020. Obviously, there has been some delays. All good things come to those who wait, I guess! However, I have been looking forward to this game, since I play both the original Company of Heroes and Company of Heroes 2 video games. I have even designed maps for both games that people still play currently. I was actively play people online with the first version when I discovered Flames of War. So it was not too much of a push to join the Kickstarter. 

     So Kalissa and I jumped into it with no issues. We gained most of the offerings the Kickstarter provided with some unnecessary options, such as all metal figures or painted ones. I can do that! The scale is roughy 15mm. I was surprised that the figures were a solid resin plastic. All vehicles are full pieces, as in, they are not hallowed out to make them lighter. For someone who has a history of breaking plastic, this is great for survivability. We, also, opted for the 3-D terrain pieces, which looks much better than the cardboard cutouts. Of course, I am going to have to paint all of it, because I think it would do the game some justice, since the boards are in the same graphics at the Company of Heroes 2 game. 

   Game Play is similar to the game play of the Company of Heroes 2  video game. You capture points to gain victory points, fuel income, munitions income, and manpower. You pay for call-ins for different types of troops, builds, or upgrades. Movement is fairly flexible to a degree. In fact, for a hex-based board game, it has some closer tactical feel to a game of Chess with firearms. Kalissa found herself thinking on options on how to kill me and win. Now, we have only played two games, since we opened the game playing the bare basics of the game to get the feel of it. However, once you understand the rules, it is easy to see how you can move to "Advance" rules involving "experience" and "Commander Options" It is probably easier if you currently play the video game. Either way, it is a fun game!

   Below are some photos of the two games Kalissa and I have played. The first one was Americans versus Germans. As usual, in both games, I was the Germans. The first game took about three and half hours. It was a very involved game, though the game mentions that this games tend to be about two hours long. The second game where my Germans ran up against Kalissa's Soviets was a little less than two hours. I gained a very negative feeling about T-70's that game! Either way, enjoy!