Combat Commander - 2 player and solo

 I'm not much of a wargamer these days. I tend to play faster games. Euro games. But something is always attractive to me about the maps and units in a war game. I played the heck out of Panzer General on my old PC in the 90s. 

Recently I read two books about the war in the Pacific during World War 2, The Pacific, and Flags of Our Fathers. These books spoke to me in a way I had never heard before about WW2. History can seem like it makes sense. Things are put in order and explained, after the fact. When you read about how things happened during the time they occurred and in the words of those who took part, a different narrative emerges of chaos and randomness. Of men, and boys, being sent to accomplish tasks with no knowledge about if the task is expected to succeed, or even possible.  This is not something most history textbooks (or propaganda portray the events, obviously). There is always loss and danger in war, but the extent to which islands like Iwo Jima and Peleliu were a sequence of terrible battles doesn't sink in unless you spend some time with the idea. I also empathize more in general now than as a youth. The day to day life of someone who is being subjected to daily danger of death is something I hope to never experience, and made for riveting reading. George H.W. Bush is quoted many times in The Flags of Our Fathers, speaking about his time as a navy pilot and his uncertainty that he gave his navigator and gunner enough time to bail out. A feeling that lasted over 50 years.

These stories led me to seek out a game I had seen in our game group, but never considered playing, Combat Commander. My friend Matt had a copy (originally belonging to another group member Rick, who had moved away a few years ago). We played Fat Lipki, a relatively simple scenario between the Germans and the Russian. 

We ended up playing again, with close games each time, and we look forward to playing the Pacific version and other scenarios. I want to show this to my friend Andrew as well.

UPDATE: 

 I have been messing around with Combat Commander solo. It's not a great 'game' but it is a fun experience, playing both sides, seeing the scenario play out. You have to get into the theme and be ok with all the 'fiddly' bits yourself. It gets a bit deep in some scenarios, but when you are in that mood - it can be a great way to explore the game and the events depicted.