Commands & Colors: Medieval, Expansion 1: Crusades Mid-Eastern Battles 1

IMPORTANT: In order to play the scenarios in this Crusade expansion, you will need a copy of the Commands & Colors Medieval game. 

Most of you have already discovered that GMT’s Commands & Colors is an expandable game system. Like its older sister, Commands & Colors Ancients and brother Commands & Colors Napoleonics, Commands & Colors Medieval is going to be much, much, much more than what was originally presented in GMT’s Medieval core game. As such, Crusades Mid-Eastern Battles I is just the first expansion for Commands & Colors Medieval.

The original plan was to have the Medieval expansions follow a somewhat historical timeline, but to keep in tune with player requests and feedback, GMT chose to jump ahead in time some 500 plus years to the Crusades. Actually reflecting on the decision, this jump makes a lot of sense, since there are marked similarities with many Byzantine battles as featured in the Medieval game and the battles fought during the Crusades gameplay wise, rule wise and transitional-thinking wise.

Yes, there are plenty of knights in shining armor in this expansion, but there are no damsels in distress or dragons to be slain. The Crusade Mid-Eastern Battles I expansion will instead focus on some of the major engagements of earlier Crusader history. In this first Crusade expansion, we showcase at least 16 Crusader scenarios and all the additional unit blocks you need to fight out these battles. New units include: Crossbow Infantry, Foot Knight Infantry, Turcopole Light Bow Cavalry, Heavy Knight Cavalry, and Heavy Military Order Knight Cavalry.

The Crusade expansion introduces many new game concepts as well: Impetuous Pursuit, Feigned Flight, Shower Shooting, and Charging Cavalry ability to pass through friendly stationary infantry units, all of which add historical depth and flavor. Still many game mechanics remain constant, like the deck of Medieval Command cards that drive movement while creating a “fog of war” and the battle dice that will resolve combat quickly and efficiently. There are also new and updated Inspired Actions for both the Crusader and Mid-Eastern armies.

The stylized battlefield scenario maps still emphasize the important terrain features and highlight the historical deployment of forces in scale with the game system. Like your Medieval core game, the scale of the Crusade expansion is flexible and can vary from battle to battle. Yet to gain victory (and I have stated this many times before), the tactics you need to execute conform remarkably well to the advantages and limitations inherent to the various Crusader and Mid-Eastern army units, their weapons, terrain, and the history.

Still, we realize that this period of history is way too large of a subject matter to hopefully cover it all in detail in this single expansion, so there is more to come.

Welcome Again & Enjoy!
Richard Borg

IMPORTANT: In order to play the scenarios in this Crusade expansion, you will need a copy of the Commands & Colors Medieval game.

Tentative Early Crusade Battles (at least 16 scenarios)

• Nicaea 1097
• Dorylaeum 1097
• Lake of Antioch 1098
• Antioch 1098
• Ascalon 1099
• Harran 1104
• Third Ramla 1105
• Tell Danith (Sarmin) 1115
• Anger Sanguinis (Field of Blood) 1119
• Harim 1164
• Al-Babein 1167
• Montgisard. 1177
• Marj'Ayyun 1179
• Spring of Cresson 1187
• Horns of Hattin 1187
• Acre 1189
• Arsuf 1191
• Jaffa 1192
• La Forbie 1244

Tentative Components List

• 1 Crusades Rule Book & at least 16 Battle Scenarios
• 2 Punchboards Sheets containing Terrain Tiles & Various Markers
• 8 Battle dice
• 2 Unit Reference Cards
• 2 Inspired Action Reference Sheets
• 3 Block Label sheets
• 200 Blocks (Approximately) (Note: blocks are the same size as C&C Medieval)

Game Design: Richard Borg

REACH Declarartion