Strategic Command: World War I

Strategic Command: World War I ist ein solider Einstieg in die Serie, und ich kann es sehr gerne jedem empfehlen, dem die Serie zuvor gefallen hat, sowie jedem, der ein gutes Strategie-Erlebnis im Ersten Weltkrieg sucht. Das Spiel bietet eine nahezu perfekte Balance zwischen Tiefe und Spaß. Nur wenige andere Spiele bieten so viele Details und potenzielle Strategien zum Erkunden, während sie mechanisch einfach genug bleiben, sodass jeder sich hinsetzen und alle Mechaniken in kurzer Zeit lernen kann.

The Strategic Command game system sucks. It is horrendous. It has 1 unit per hex, including 1 warhip per tile. Which is ridiculous. WW2 in this system sucks. The scale is off, there is no maneuver. American Civil War sucks - it becomes WW1. But this one - the WW1 one - is MAGIC. It works. The system seems tailored made for this type of warfare. Even the ridiculous naval 1 warship per tile....well.... it works here. I am actually.... OK with it. Am as shocked as you are. The technology race is key, Fail to keep up, and enemy units with better infantry tech will hurt you. Fail to keep up with artillery tech and enemy artillery will obliterate you. You use MPP - economy points - to both recruit and pay for technology CHANCE to get it per turn. Turn is 1 month. There are lots of technologies which you need, and many which you want (there is a difference. You also use the same, only resource to pay for Diplomacy - (small) chance to swing public opinion in a neutral country to your Alliance's viewpoint. Netherlands is key. Yes, the neutral. If it swings towards Entente, Germany is in big trouble.... as Holland's neutrality allowed it to trade with the world, and then sell forbidden to Germany goods.... at a profit. Denmark, Norway, Sweden - same principle. Combat is attritional - your first attacks will give you lots of casualties and the defender few (tech dependent). But add airplane spotters (which give arty bonus), followed by artillery preparation, and... you still (probably) take more losses. But your first attack(s) and artillery de-trench the defender. And defender gets exhausted with each attack. So your next attacks get even results, and last attack(s) obliterate the enemy defender. And buying a whole new enemy unit is expensive. And paying money to reinforce your bleeding units and buying new ones takes away from the tech race.... which makes you lose the war. See the gameplay loop? Simply yet brilliant. Each country has its own R&D tech (which is weird, history tells us of course Entente shared tech with each other), but then again, UK needs anti sub much more than Serbia does.... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ONLY THIS GAME IN THIS GAME SYSTEM.

I should start by saying , I love this type of game that is almost like a board game that is all about the strategy and very little to do with the visuals, it's not an ugly game, it's just that strategy is it's key feature. There is a lot to like and some deficinies, so it's probably easier to highlight the positives and negatives. Positive 1. The game is well researched with key events taking place at the right time in history. 2. The resource management is not complex ( when you get used to it, as there is no tutorial to speak of) and it's actually adds to the game and not detract from it. 3. It's complex and yet simple which accurately reflects the events of the time. 4. It also has a interesting way of teaching history through pop up events. Negative. 1. There is no denying that this game could of been prettier. 2. It could really of used a simple tutorial, it doesn't take long to understand the mechanics, but with a tutorial it would of been much easier to enjoy the game from the start. 3. It has a quite frustrating flaw where you can stack up units on one square which sometimes effects the strategy element of it and can sometimes create losses than if you could of retreated or stacked units, you wouldn't of lost. 4. The technology screen is hard to follow , i still can't work out if I have researched something or not , it's could of been much clearer. 5. It lacks a decent mini map that colour codes who owns what, it's in most games of this type and is a visual way of seeing how things are going. This is a good strategy game but will some simple changes could of been an incredible strategy game, so would i recommend it , if like me you want a strategy game that is about strategy and doesn't need economic micro management, you will love this game and if you need to micro manage , this is not the game for you. Update I have completed the game and can say the ending is very anti climatic and has convinced me that this game just need it a bit more play testing and polish, still an engaging game but lacking polish.

Updated to positive following playing more single player. It flowed better on there I found against the AI and felt more like more WW1. There are still my thoughts below but I'd recommend it for single player. This is mainly based on my multiplayer experience. I feel the game is built around single player and the AI. I want to like this game, I've tried to like this game, but it just feels both a bit too restrictive, oddly too small to make realistic attack plans, and has too much hidden information. It doesn't seem to actually reflect a war of attrition either, as I've found it just becomes a snowball on one side where the relative strength and morale of units becomes too far. If you are winning early, you're likely to continue to win quicker as your units are stronger relatively and so lose less experience and strength, with the inverse for the other side. Some decision such as of generals losing experience when units die under their command further compounds this. I want to see why an attack happened the way it did, what are the figures behind a 1:1 attack here. Is it my morale, my readiness etc. causing issues or getting my killed? Show me the information so I can make strategic decisions. For a strategy game such as this, just giving a vague figure such as that seems odd. How many action points will it take to move into position, so I can calculate my plan ahead of time rather than moving units to then find "oh well they're dead now and have caused a blockage". This information exists as it is being done in the background but it should be shared, otherwise you're making guesses on lots of things that you shouldn't need to. This is kind of in the manual but honestly the manual is both big but often I've found lacking in answers to my actual questions. It can't cover every scenario or give you the specific information you want in that time. The game also seems to rely on you knowing what's going to happen at certain time points or from taking certain locations. Notices of events are often too sudden to be able to make strategic decisions about. E.g. Lawrence of Arabia appearing as a HQ, the first you know about it is a popup saying you have maybe 5 turns to capture a specific port. When it can take multiple turns to move a few tiles in your own land, that's not enough warning. It feels like I, the ultimate one in charge, is the last to learn about long term plans or political developments going on . It can be addictive and fun game but it makes you feel frustrated more than anything. Tldr; it felt better single player I found.

10/10 - best SC game, IMO And the best WWI strategy game out there. Strategic Command's system is a bit hit or miss with me (I've tried them all), but I think the base mechanics of the series, mixing light tactical with economic/strategic, by far works best in this scenario. It's like a perfect marriage in terms of what SC is trying to do and the sort of conflict WWI was. You get a little bit of everything in this one: land/sea war, maneuver/static warfare, big variety in terrain to fight over, tight tactical decisions mixed with heavy strategic options, and perhaps most notable is the civ-like technology gain (you start mostly with basic infantry but end the game with artillery, tanks, fighters, bombers, etc. etc.). The biggest deal is that WWI as a conflict could probably have easily been won by anyone with only minor adjustments, and while in real life that invited rejection of peace, in the comforts of my room it does make for an incredibly balanced and enjoyable strategy game.

all the SC games are amazing

I enjoy this game a lot - I highly recommend it to history enthusiasts (especially for those interested in WW1). I really like the graphics and the depth of the simulation. For those who really can't find joy in games like HOI4 (just as I do - lots of hours wasted for not getting anywhere) it is a must have!

Wer die alten Hex Spiele mag, wird sich hier wohlfühlen.

Jogo muito bom. O jogo consegue entregar uma simulação muito real. Contudo, ele possui alguns problemas: 1) a jogo é bem desbalanceado para a entente, sendo muito mais difícil jogar com o as potências centrais; 2) os objetivos de vitória da entente sãos muito mais fáceis do que os dos países centrais; acontecimentos históricos ocorrem não importando a decisão do jogador, isso impede uma simulação de possibilidades na guerra (como a entrada dos EUA mesmo sem a campanha submarina alemã). Isso gera uma insatisfação ao jogar com o Império Alemão e seus aliados por ser quase impossível vencer o jogo.

Garbage