Commands & Colors: Ancients brings Roman warfare to Steam by end of August

A digital version of Commands & Colors: Ancients, developed by HexWar Games, should release on Steam by the end of the month. A scenario-driven game of historical battles, Ancients has 15 scenarios that span about 600 years of history. Ancients uses the series’ signature card-driven command system, introducing uncertainty and hesitation by limiting which units a player can activate at any given time.

The scenarios focus on Romans, Carthaginians, and Syracusans, placing a lot of emphasis on terrain and how to work around the limitations of units like chariots. This digital port of Commands & Colors: Ancients follows HexWar’s digital version of Commands & Colors: The Great War from last year.

Commands & Colors is a long-lived wargame system by veteran wargame designer Richard Borg. It’s often held up as an excellent example of a balance between complexity and speed of play, primarily by limiting the range of player action and using quick, dice-based resolution. Borg's system has been adapted to nearly every popular wargaming time period, from spears and chariots to tanks and guns to dragons.

The digital port of Commands & Colors: Ancients is scheduled to release on Steam by the end of this month.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.