Is Night of Man Just a Sci-Fi Based Combat Commander?
Someone asked me this over on BoardgameGeek, I thought my answer might make a good log post, so here it is. I'm a big CC fan, but aside from the card-driven mechanic, Night of Man has very little in common with it.
First off, I love the Night of Man vehicle combat system. No to hit table. You simply count the squares between the shooter and the target, modify it for the target's cover, in addition to the firer's target modifier, and draw a card. If the to hit number on the card equals or exceeds the modified distance, the target is hit. A similar procedure determines armor penetration.
When firing at soft targets (basically infantry), you add up the HE factors of the firing units, modify it for range and the target's cover, and draw that numbers of cards. If the lower right block of the card reads "Hit" the target is hit. In a manner similar to World at War, the first hit shakes, second hit reduces, and third hit eliminates.
Units can be rallied by playing a rally card on them, and this often completes their turn, but special cards such as Bloodlust or Second Wind allow them to take another action.
Playing a rally card on a reduced, but unshaken, unit that is out of the enemy's line of sight, flips the unit to its full strength side.
Units have Powers and Abilities. Abilities are intrinsic, and include stuff like Difficult Target (-1 from targeting draw or HE cards drawn), Assault Capable (may enter assault (close combat)), and Inspirational (gives bonuses to adjacent units). Powers are special, like Explosive Rounds (adds 2 to HE attacks), Telekinetic Blast, and Confusion (automatically shakes a unit within three squares), and Spiderbot Handler, which allows the handler to activate a pair of Spiderbots that do his destructive bidding. Powers require the activating player play a card that reads power (semi-rare).
Humans have Mentals. Think of these as heroes with spoecial powers. These special powers are usually mental, such as the Confusion or Telekinetic Power mentioned above, but can also be drawn from the physical world, such as with Larkin or Jack. Larkin is a sniper (Yes, I named him after THAT sniper). He's deadly at long range and has the Hot Shot Power that allows him to attack armored vehicles with a special round. On the other hand, Jack (short for Jacelynn) is simply inspirational. Any unit within two squares of her get's +1 HE or +1 on their targeting draw.
Aliens get Mechs. You can build your own before the scenario, based on total points, and choosing between several types of weapons, enhanced targeting, and armor. They also get the occasional Hero, like the Spiderbot handler.
Card play is interactive, with several cards, such as Light Wounds and Countermeasures allowing the non-impulse player to foil his opponent's plans.
So no, Night of Man isn't much like Combat Commander.
NIGHT OF MAN is a science-fiction, card-driven, board and counter, tactical battle game, designed by Mark H. Walker. It is on Kickstarter until December 31st. You can view the Kickstarter page and place a pledge right here.
Mark H. Walker is the owner of Flying Pig Games and happy as hell about it. He is the designer of Night of Man, Lock 'n Load, World at War, Nations at War, and a bunch of other stuff. He served 23 years in the United States Navy, most of them as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal diver, and lives and games in Virginia.
First off, I love the Night of Man vehicle combat system. No to hit table. You simply count the squares between the shooter and the target, modify it for the target's cover, in addition to the firer's target modifier, and draw a card. If the to hit number on the card equals or exceeds the modified distance, the target is hit. A similar procedure determines armor penetration.
When firing at soft targets (basically infantry), you add up the HE factors of the firing units, modify it for range and the target's cover, and draw that numbers of cards. If the lower right block of the card reads "Hit" the target is hit. In a manner similar to World at War, the first hit shakes, second hit reduces, and third hit eliminates.
Units can be rallied by playing a rally card on them, and this often completes their turn, but special cards such as Bloodlust or Second Wind allow them to take another action.
Playing a rally card on a reduced, but unshaken, unit that is out of the enemy's line of sight, flips the unit to its full strength side.
Units have Powers and Abilities. Abilities are intrinsic, and include stuff like Difficult Target (-1 from targeting draw or HE cards drawn), Assault Capable (may enter assault (close combat)), and Inspirational (gives bonuses to adjacent units). Powers are special, like Explosive Rounds (adds 2 to HE attacks), Telekinetic Blast, and Confusion (automatically shakes a unit within three squares), and Spiderbot Handler, which allows the handler to activate a pair of Spiderbots that do his destructive bidding. Powers require the activating player play a card that reads power (semi-rare).
Humans have Mentals. Think of these as heroes with spoecial powers. These special powers are usually mental, such as the Confusion or Telekinetic Power mentioned above, but can also be drawn from the physical world, such as with Larkin or Jack. Larkin is a sniper (Yes, I named him after THAT sniper). He's deadly at long range and has the Hot Shot Power that allows him to attack armored vehicles with a special round. On the other hand, Jack (short for Jacelynn) is simply inspirational. Any unit within two squares of her get's +1 HE or +1 on their targeting draw.
Aliens get Mechs. You can build your own before the scenario, based on total points, and choosing between several types of weapons, enhanced targeting, and armor. They also get the occasional Hero, like the Spiderbot handler.
Card play is interactive, with several cards, such as Light Wounds and Countermeasures allowing the non-impulse player to foil his opponent's plans.
So no, Night of Man isn't much like Combat Commander.
NIGHT OF MAN is a science-fiction, card-driven, board and counter, tactical battle game, designed by Mark H. Walker. It is on Kickstarter until December 31st. You can view the Kickstarter page and place a pledge right here.
Mark H. Walker is the owner of Flying Pig Games and happy as hell about it. He is the designer of Night of Man, Lock 'n Load, World at War, Nations at War, and a bunch of other stuff. He served 23 years in the United States Navy, most of them as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal diver, and lives and games in Virginia.
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