Kris Hall: Dan Holte and The Supreme Commander

Some wargame topics never grow old.  I am always on the lookout for new grand strategic wargames about World War II in Europe, and there is a new one on the horizon: The Supreme Commander.  This game is designed by Dan Holte and will be published by GMT games.  Mr. Holte recently answered some of my questions about the game.

Kris: There have been a lot of grand-strategic European theater World War II games over the years, and some of them--like Europe Engulfed and Advanced European Theater of Operations (AETO)-- are still available.  Why design The Supreme Commander?  What will your game offer that these other games do not?

Dan: Actually, the design of “The Supreme Commander” is the result of playing almost all of those other ETO games, as well as many of the various computer games that have addressed the topic over the years. However, it’s more a culmination of what I liked in them, rather than what I thought some of them might have lacked. Players might be reminded of mechanics from many of these games at times.

However, one thing that I am adamant about is the open-endedness of the game - The historical timeline is not set in stone. There is a historical basis for everything, but a number of diplomatic and military what-ifs are going to confront players almost every time they play the game. No, the Soviet Union is not going to war with the United Kingdom, however many strategic options are open to the players through both direct conflict and diplomacy.

Kris: What is the relative complexity of The Supreme Commander?  What aspects of the conflict will be explored in most detail?  Will there be one set of rules, or optional or advanced rules?

Dan:  There are no basic/intermediate/advanced rules; the rules are laid-out generally following the sequence of play. I’ll back-up for a moment regarding complexity - Do you remember a scene in the movie “A River Runs Through It”, where one of the young boys was working on a writing assignment for his teacher/father? Each time he handed it in, his father would give it back to him, saying something like “Do it again; half as long.” This really struck me as a game designer. Whenever I’m working on a historical wargame, I think of the key elements about the conflict that made it unique. Then, I try to come up with mechanics that reflect those elements in the game, in a fun way of course - these are games first and foremost - and inevitably begin the “Do it again; half as long” process. I try to carve away all unnecessary complexity.

When you remove the introductory and the scenario setup sections, there are really only about 14-15 pages of rules [currently] in the game. But all of the major elements of World War II in Europe are included: Murmansk convoy, Lend-Lease, diplomacy, the strategic U-Boat campaign, technological advancement, strategic bombing, naval invasions, the economy and production, partisans and more.

Kris: How will strategic warfare (U-boats and bombing) be handled? How will surface naval combat and tactical air forces be dealt with?

Dan: On strategic naval and air: naval units may be placed in sea zones to contest control at the beginning of every turn. Subs remaining after will affect Murmansk convoy attempts, or can directly affect US or UK production. Sub and Surface fleets in a naval zone will also hinder any enemy fleets attempting to transport units during the movement phase. If this seems time consuming it really isn’t, as there are only a few of these units available to each nation.

Air units (bomber and fighter) are used in ground combat and strategic bombing. Fighters can protect bombers and affect combat; bombers can affect combat or can affect production if used for strategic bombing.

Kris: How will you deal with the diplomatic aspects of the conflict?

Dan:  Diplomacy attempts may be made each turn by both sides. The diplomacy system is represented by markers placed on a track.  At the center is a Neutral box, with boxes in each direction stepping towards either Allied or Axis. Players pay, with production points, for an attempt to shift it one towards their side. Each minor nation has a historical starting position, and there are a few restrictions and limitations but the system allows players to simply and quickly expend efforts to shift minor countries to their way of thinking.

Kris: How long will The Supreme Commander take to play?  How many scenarios will it have?

Dan:  Play time: TSC is usually a weekend type of game. There are 9 turns per year, as in “Totaler Krieg”. As far as scenarios, there are currently three. There is a campaign game, an Russian Front only scenario, and a June, 1941 start campaign game.

Kris: Thanks for the interview.

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