Commando (role-playing game)

Tabletop military role-playing game

Cover art by David Wenzel

Commando is a role-playing game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1979.

## Description

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Commando is a man-to-man tactical combat game that simulates commando operations from World War II to the present.[1] Although it was marketed as a role-playing game, reviewers called it primarily a board wargame with a set of role-playing rules grafted onto it.[1][2] The role-playing rules include character creation, skills, cooperative fire teams, and hero characters.

### Components

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The game box contains:[2]

* twelve geomorphic 11" x 17" double-sided paper maps with a square grid scaled at 3 m per square
* 47-page wargame rulebook
* 23-page role-playing rulebook
* two copies of 8-page booklet of charts
* addenda sheet dated September 1979
* two 20-sided dice
* four small six-sided dice

### Gameplay

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If using the role-playing rules, a group of players create commando characters to be sent out on missions presented by a gamemaster. The players can increase the hero rating of their character at the end of each successful mission. These can be used to gain special abilities.[2]

## Publication history

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Commando was designed by Eric Goldberg[3]: 99 as the first commercial role-playing game with a modern military theme.[2] It was published by SPI in 1979 as a boxed set with cover art by David Wenzel and graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen.[1] After publication, the game appeared on SPI's Top Ten Bestseller list for four months, rising as high as #4.[4]

## Reception

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In Moves #57, Ian Chadwick liked the game, saying, "It's a good game, a remarkably smooth system which has accepted the compromise of a lightweight framework in exchange for a well designed, complete tactical system."[5]

In Issue 65 of Fire & Movement, Jeff Petraska wrote, "Commando uses no counters and has square grid maps and at first glance looks a bit unwieldy. With some play experience however, the game shows itself to be a lot of fun and a good simulation of commando operations."[6]

Joe Scolari, writing a retrospective review in Simulacrum #6, recalled that the game could be played as both a straight two-player wargame, or as a role-playing game, but noted unlike many modern games, Commando had a plethora of optional rules and charts. He concluded, "Commando furnishes all the details, charts, and rules you'd expect from a wargame from back then, which makes it the kind of game that tends to send today's gamers running in terror!"[2]

## Other reviews and commentary

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* Phoenix #24
* Campaign #97
* The American Wargamer Vol.7 #6
* Fantastic Science Fiction v27 n10[7]

## Awards

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At the 1980 Origins Awards, Commando won the H.G. Wells Award for "Best Roleplaying Rules of 1979."[1][8][9]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 253\. ISBN 0-87975-653-5.
2. ^ a b c d e Scolari, Joe (Spring 2000). "Commando". Simulacrum. No. 6.
3. ^ Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
4. ^ "SPI Best Selling Games – 1979". spigames.net. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
5. ^ Chadwick, Ian (June–July 1981). "Commando". Moves. No. 57.
6. ^ Petraska, Jeff (April–May 1990). "Commando". Fire & Movement. No. 65.
7. ^ "Fantastic v27n10 [1980-07] (Daisy Chainsaw)". July 1980.
8. ^ "1979 Origins Awards Winners". Archived from the original on December 16, 2012.
9. ^ "Origins Award Winners (1979)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-09-14.