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Commands & Colors: Ancients
Ancient battles with the weight of a wargame and the heartbeat of a card game.
Designed by Richard Borg (with Pat Kurivial and Roy Grider) · 2006
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If you want the feel of commanding a Roman or Carthaginian line without a 40-page rulebook, this is the one. Just budget an evening for the stickers before you ever roll a die.
Best for: Two-player households who want a real historical wargame that still plays in an hour.
What it is
Here's the pitch. You and one other person take opposite ancient armies, Romans against Carthaginians and the like, and push wooden blocks across a hex board to recreate real battles. Richard Borg's command cards are the trick. Each card lets you order units on the left, center, or right, so you never have full control of your whole line at once. That's the chaos of command, and it's the core appeal. Players consistently call this the best entry in the whole Commands & Colors series.
The catch
Now the honest part. Before you play, you apply stickers to dozens of blocks, and people report that taking the better part of two hours. You cannot open this box and start. The included dice are also widely griped about. And the luck runs deep: card draw and dice can both swing a fight. The classic frustration is having a winning position on one flank but only drawing cards for the other, so your best units just stand there. Control freaks bounce off it.
Who it's for
So who's this for? Two-player homes who want a genuine wargame feel without a 40-page rulebook and a lost weekend of rules. It rewards smart maneuvering and card management, and the blocks make it feel tactile instead of fussy. If you can stomach some randomness and survive the sticker marathon, you get a deep, replayable history machine in about an hour. If you need total control or hate setup chores, look elsewhere.
What other players say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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