Commands & Colors: Ancients Fan Site

The Commands & Colors: Ancients game system allows players to portray important engagements of ancient history. The battles, included in the scenario booklet, focus on the historical deployment of forces and important terrain features on the scale of 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 legion of soldiers, while in other scenarios, a unit may represent just a few brave warriors.

The Command card system drives movement, creates "fog of war", and presents players with many interesting challenges and opportunities, while the battle dice resolve combat quickly and efficiently. The battlefield tactics you will need to execute to gain victory conform remarkably well to the strengths and limitations of the various ancient unit types, their weapons, the terrain, and history. …

Foot Unit Movement

The following unit types are all classified as foot units:

• Light infantry units (light infantry, light sling infantry, light bow infantry) may move one or two hexes and battle.
• Auxilia infantry units may move one hex and battle or move two hexes and not battle. Auxilia units are classed as Light foot units for the purposes of being ordered to move and taking hits.
• Medium infantry units may move one hex and battle.
• Warrior infantry units may move one hex and battle or move two hexes and battle if the second hex takes them adjacent to an enemy unit (warriors can only move two hexes in order to battle in Close Combat, and this Close Combat is compulsory after a two-hex "charge"). Warrior units are classed as Medium foot units for the purposes of being ordered to move and taking hits.
• Heavy infantry units may move one hex and battle.
• Heavy War machine units may move one hex but may not battle when they move. Heavy war machine units are classed as Heavy foot units for the purposes of being ordered to move and taking hits.

Mounted Unit Movement

The following unit types are all classified as mounted units: …

Ranged Combat (fire)

Only units armed with missile weapons may engage in this type of combat. Heavy war machine units are missile capable. Most green circle symbol units (whether or not they have a white border) have missile weapons. Only Light barbarian Chariots do not. Other types of units may be designated as capable of ranged fire in Scenario Special Rules.

A unit with missile weapons battling an enemy unit more than 1 hex away is said to conduct Ranged Combat (fire) at that enemy unit (the "target unit"). In Ranged Combat, the target unit must be within both range and line of sight of the firing unit. …

When being attacked in Close Combat, the defender may announce the unit is going to Evade instead of staying and fighting in Close Combat. Note: An attacking unit may not Evade if the defender Battles Back. If the die roll against the evading unit eliminates the evading unit one Victory Banner is gained.

The attacking unit determines and rolls the proper number of Close Combat battle dice against the evading unit before it Evades, but only symbols that match the evading unit will score a hit. All other unit symbols, leader, swords, and flags rolled are ignored. …

Leader Casualty Checks

There are a number of situations when a leader casualty check must be taken.

• Attached Leaders

  When a leader is attached to a unit and the unit loses one or more blocks without being eliminated, there is a chance the leader may also be hit. Make a leader casualty check by rolling 2 battle dice. To hit the leader, you need to roll two leader symbols. A leader casualty check must be made when a unit loses a block from: …

Broken Ground

Movement: No movement restrictions for foot units except war machine units, which may not enter a broken ground hex. Any mounted unit or unattached leader must stop when it enters a broken ground hex and move no further on that turn.

Battle: A foot unit may battle on the turn it enters a hex with broken ground. A mounted unit may not battle on the turn it enters a broken ground hex. When battling an enemy unit on a broken ground hex or a unit on a broken ground hex battling out, will roll a maximum of 2 battle dice. A Command card that adds additional dice in battle will modify the maximum number of battle dice that may be rolled. …