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Command Decision: Test of Battle (TM) (CDTOB) is a tactical level miniatures war game of WW II combat. It emphasizes the two most important aspects of combat at this level -- rapidly changing tactical situations and combined arms operations -- and it allows tactical battles to play out in real time or faster.

This is the fourth edition of the rules, and represents a major step forward in streamlined mechanics and ease of play. It is not, however, just a simplified version of the rules. It is a much more historically faithful treatment of World War II combat.

For veteran players the first question will be, what has changed in this edition? Almost everything has changed, to one degree or another; but here are the most important changes to the core system:

Each Game Turn represents 30 minutes real time.
Spotting is deterministic, at different ranges, instead of die-roll driven.
Most models are on the table. Limited intelligence is taken care of by having extra "phantom" models on the table (which disappear when spotted), as well as holding off one or two "command reserve" stands that can be added during play. No need for deployment maps or hidden counters, and no need for a referee.
Movement is sequential instead of simultaneous. (Fire, however, remains simultaneous.)
Hit effects are determined by target troop quality and a die roll, and are either no effect, forced back, or eliminated. This replaces the attritional method (with different colored markers showing progressive levels of casualties) used before.
The artillery rules are more faithful to actual artillery tactics used during the war, particularly with respect to the fire of individual batteries, national differences in controlling and massing fires, and use of harassment & interdiction (H&I) missions.
HE suppression adds additional tactical depth to the game, and also models the effectiveness of artillery in ways other than just casualty production.
Fog-of-War cards add detail to the game -- as well as variability -- without a lot of extra rules overhead.

The format of the data charts has been changed so that as many modifiers to rate of fire and hit number as possible have been incorporated directly into the chart data. For example, you no longer have to remember to apply a +1 modifier to the hit number of heavy machine guns -- that's now built into the data listing for the HMG itself.

There are many seemingly small changes that have a profound affect on game
tactics. One example is Suppression. Any stand attacked by High Explosive (HE)
fire -- whether it actually suffers losses or not -- is suppressed. The main
effect of suppression is a negative die roll modifier when the suppressed stand
tries to attack on its own. This provides tactical game value for supporting HE
fire, and makes real world tactics much more understandable in game terms. When
infantry assaulted a strongly defended position, the position was "prepped" by
direct fire HE, when it was available, either from an infantry gun battery,
tanks, or even direct firing field artillery -- not necessarily to eliminate
the defenders before the assaulting infantry got there (although that would be
nice), but to reduce the effectiveness of the defenders' fires, so the infantry
had a better chance of getting onto the objective. All of this makes sense in
the game, and becomes a standard part of game tactics.

The rules are divided into two parts: Basic and Advanced rules. The Basic
rules contain the core structure of the Command Decision: Test of Battle(TM)
mechanics and most scenarios can be played with those rules alone. The Advanced
rules cover a variety of factors not necessary for many battles, but which can
add considerably to the variety and complexity of the game - things like
weather, air power, amphibious landings, and supply.

The game includes data charts for the major belligerents, as well as
organizational charts for the most common units in the war. A dozen new
historical battle scenarios cover both the east and west front. Supplements
concentrating on specific theaters of the war, and specific periods, will
include more detailed organizational and weapon information s well as
additional battle scenarios. Supplements for the WWI and Modern eras are
planned as well.

Test of Battle --

You can play battles with CDTOB the same as you always have. We include a
dozen historical battles translated into game terms, and re-fighting historical
battles on the game table remains what Command Decision is all
about. But the truly revolutionary advance in the game is the Test of
Battle section.

As long as we have been playing World War II miniatures games (and as a hint,
one of us started when Nixon was president) finding a way to create balanced,
interesting, and historically sound battles has been the war gaming equivalent
of the Quest for the Holy Grail. "Point systems" seem to end up too
fiddly and complicated, and the armies they produce are non-historical steel
nightmares. Rules for creating battlefields read like a whole game unto
themselves, and end up creating bland, homogenized tabletops with way too
little real terrain. And the battles they create! Was there really nothing more
to World War II than meeting engagements and deliberate assaults on prepared
positions?

Here's what a battle creator has to do:

Provide a battlefield which
has rich and varied terrain, similar to the actual battlefields fought
over, but does it with simplicity and a minimum of gamesmanship.
Provide a way to assemble two
opposing armies which is easy to work with, gives players some flexibility
in assembling their army, but above all creates balanced, historical
forces. The system has to have a way to easily divide a force into parts,
only some of which will be used in some missions, and some of which may
appear as reinforcements in other missions.
Provide a wide variety of
battlefield missions and situations, so you never know what you're up
against for sure until the battle has begun to unfold. Different missions
have different objectives, and also different levels of force actually
available, so the games are balanced without just matching equal forces
against each other over and over.

When we first told some of the folks helping out with the editing and
development of the rules that we were going to include a system which did all
of this, a number of them advised us not to. Why not? Well, they didn't really
believe it was possible, to be honest. "Make it part of a
supplement," they said, "or an optional add-on on your web page."

Why?

"Because if you put something like this in the game, the game's going
to judged by it, not by everything else."

Well, that would be horrible... if it wasn't actually everything we said it
was.

Instead of leaving it out, we made it part of the game's name. That's how
good we think it is. We want you to judge the game by it.

Campaign and Army Books in Preparation for Command Decision: Test of Battle (TM)

Each campaign book will include extensive orders of battle for both sides,
unit organization charts, historic battles, one or more mini-campaigns, and a
detailed campaign commentary.

Campaign Book 1 THE BENGHAZI HANDICAP: The North African Campaign,
1940-41

Covers the Italian drive on Egypt, Wavell's Offensive (Operation Compass),
Rommel's first offensive, and operations Brevity, Battleaxe, and Crusader.
Includes twelve historical battles, additional terrain and climate rules for North Africa, very extensive organizational charts, and order of battle material you won't find anywhere
else.

Campaign Book 2 DECISION IN THE DESERT: The North African Campaign,
1942-43

Covers the Gazala battles, the Fall of Tobruk, the Drive on Egypt, and the El
Alamein and Alam Halfa battles. (Tunisia will be covered by a third book.)
Includes twelve historial battles, organizational charts, and order of battle material, for U.S., Free French, British Commonwealth, Greek, Italian, and German forces cover many unique and unusual units.

Campaign Book 3 BARBAROSSA: The Eastern Front, 1941

Covers the War in the East from the German invasion through the Soviet winter
counteroffensive in December of 1941, Includes twelve historial battles, organizational charts, and order of
battle material cover not only the Germans and Soviets, but also German's
allies: Finland, Rumania, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia, as well as additional
weapon data charts for these.

Campaign Book 4 MARKET GARDEN: The Airborne Carpet, 1944

Covers the near-run joint British and American offensive aimed at seizing a bridgehead across the Rhine River in autumn of 1944 by aggressive use of airborne troops. Includes twelve historial battles, organizational charts, and order of battle material cover not only the British, US, and German conventional troops, but also the numerous bizarre German improvised battle groups and hastily mobilized training detachments.

Army Book 1 STAR AND STRIPES FOREVER: The United States Army in the West in World War II

Covers all US divisions and major non-divisional units in the European Theater of operations (ETO) and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Complete TOEs for major units as well as arrival dates and campaign honors of all US divisions in the ETO/MTO. The book also includes extensive background material on US training and doctrine, as well as additional rules to reflect unique aspects of the American Way of War.

Army Book 2 THE HONOR OF THE REGIMENT: The British and Commonwealth Armies in the West in World War II

Covers all British, Commonwealth, Dominion, and Imperial divisions and major non-divisional units in the European Theater of operations (ETO) and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Complete TOEs for major units as well as availability dates and battle honors of all divisions in the ETO/MTO. The book also includes extensive background material on British training and doctrine, as well as additional rules to reflect unique aspects of the British style of warmaking..