Command & Colors can be really epic

Command & Colors Epic OPTIONAL RULES

EPIC Command & Colors is the biggest, fastest-moving version of the system—and it highlights both what the design does well and where it strains. The central strain, for me, is that Command cards often become the primary mover rather than the player.
In the standard rules, the card you play dictates what can be ordered and where, and only ordered units/leaders may move or battle . This does not allow anything like realistic battlefield behaviour.
So here’s a focused EPIC house-rule package aimed at improving command realism, battlefield flow, and depth, while staying fast at the table.
We think that these rules work best when using each Unit = a Brigade scale.

1) Card-or-Leader (the turn decision)
At the start of your turn, select/play a Command card as normal . Then choose one:

1. Play the card normally (rules as written).
2. Discard the card to activate a Leader (Rule 2).

This keeps uncertainty, but gives you a consistent “command tool” when the hand is nonsense.
2) Leader Activation
If you choose Leader Activation (discarding the card):

1. Choose one friendly leader.
2. Choose one of these command groupings for that leader:

• Infantry + Foot Artillery, or
• Cavalry + Horse Artillery

1. All eligible units within 2 friendly occupied hexes of that leader are treated as ordered this turn (they may move and/or battle as normal). This preserves the core rule that units act when ordered, but changes how orders are generated.

3) Interpenetration (with a 6-block limit)
Base retreat rules prohibit retreating onto/through occupied hexes , which creates unrealistic EPIC congestion. This rule loosens that—but only as pass-through, not stacking at end-of-turn.
Interpenetration is allowed if the combined blocks in the interpenetrated hex would be 6 or less at any time.
Critical constraint: You may not end movement or retreat with two units in the same hex. Interpenetration is only legal if the moving/retreating unit can enter and then clear (exit) the friendly-occupied hex within its remaining movement/retreat distance.

• For normal movement, “remaining distance” is the Unit’s remaining movement allowance (e.g., Light Cav up to 3, Horse Artillery up to 2, etc.).
• For retreats, “remaining distance” is the number of hexes still owed from retreat flags (1 per flag).

If you can’t clear it, you don’t interpenetrate (unless you’re using the optional coexist rule below).
4) Retreat Push-Back
This corrects the specific retreat edge case you highlighted.
When a unit must retreat from flags and its retreat path is blocked by a friendly unit:

• If the retreating unit could interpenetrate and clear (Rule 3), it does so.
• If it cannot clear the interpenetrated unit because it does not have enough retreat distance remaining, it may instead Push-Back.

Push-Back procedure (retreat only):

1. The blocking friendly unit is pushed back 1 hex toward its baseline (normal retreat direction logic).
2. The retreating unit retreats into the vacated hex.
3. Cost: remove 1 block from either the retreating unit or the pushed unit (owning player chooses) for each hex in which a Push-Back occurs. 

5) Light Cavalry through friendly Artillery
Light Cavalry may interpenetrate friendly Artillery as pass-through (Rule 3 still applies: 6-block limit, and you must clear it).
Restriction: Light Cavalry may not interpenetrate artillery if the move would put the cavalry immediately into contact with the enemy (i.e., effectively charging through the guns). 
6) Return to the Fray (THE BOARD)
EPIC boards are shallow for the scale they imply, so this rule adds depth without extra bookkeeping.
When a unit retreats off its friendly baseline edge due to flag results, place it in a Reform/Reserve box or area for that sector.
To return, roll battle dice equal to the number of blocks currently in the unit:

• Ignore Flags and Sabers completely (unless all die results are ether all flags or all Sabres when the Unit is permanently removed from play).
• If any matching unit symbol (Infantry/Cavalry/Artillery) is rolled, the unit returns to an open baseline hex or half-hex in that same sector.
• If no matching symbol, it remains off-map and may try again in a subsequent turn in the same sector.
• A Unit cannot enter a hex that is occupied by another friendly or enemy Unit unless using Optional rule: 2 or more Units co-existing in a hex when Units can re-enter if they can comply with the rules limitation.

7) Elevated artillery fire over adjacent friends
The rules already allow artillery on a hill to fire over an adjacent friendly unit/leader on a lower hex (or another hill) if LOS isn’t blocked by terrain .
This applies only if:

• Artillery is on a hill and the target is not on a hill with no intervening blocking terrain or on another hill (whether there is any other blocking terrain or not)
• There are no intervening hills directly along LOS (the LOS traverses the hex and not just a hex-side).
• The adjacent friendly unit(s) being “fired over” have no units (friendly or enemy) directly in front of them (i.e., adjacent).

Effect: artillery fires normally, but Flags do not cause enemy retreat. Instead, if at least one Flag rolled (doesn’t matter how many) it causes 1 block loss to the adjacent friendly unit being fired over .
Optional rule:
2 or more Units co-existing in a hex
Default: no two units in one hex at end of turn (as above) except:
Multiple friendly units may end the turn in the same hex only if total blocks in that hex are 5 or less.
Only one unit in that hex may be artillery.

• Both units would defend as normal
• Attacker successful combat results can be applied to the Unit with the most blocks or either if of equal strength (number of blocks).

Reviewed by Keith | Manx Gaming Solutions

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