
- BGG rank
- BGG #15,753
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Volley & Bayonet
- 2–4 players
- 240 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 1994

Rules assistance for Command Decision: Black Powder Cold Steel
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Command Decision: Black Powder Cold Steel is an expansion for Command Decision 2nd Edition released in 1992 for 2 players. It was designed by Frank Chadwick and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Measurement Movement.
Black Powder Cold Steel is a pre-20th-century rules supplement for Command Decision (2nd edition). The rules are intended to give "Command Decision" players the ability to game an unfamiliar period without having to learn a new rules set. The time scale and the ground scale are the same, the figure scale are effectively the same, and the firepower values are all compatible. Sample organizations for the Seven Years War, the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War are provided, as well as tables for artillery and small arms. The rules are mainly intended for periods since 1700, but a table for pre-1700 small arms is also included. A folder of playtest rules was provided, free of charge, to "Command Decision" players through a variety of channels. The aim was to have as many gamers as possible play the rules and discover areas which required additional work.
Command Decision: Black Powder Cold Steel supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
Command Decision: Black Powder Cold Steel belongs to these categories: Wargame, Napoleonic, and Miniatures. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Measurement Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Command Decision: Black Powder Cold Steel are: Frank Chadwick. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Command Decision: Black Powder Cold Steel as an expansion for Command Decision 2nd Edition. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Command Decision 2nd Edition to use it. Check that your edition of Command Decision 2nd Edition is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.