Scale wise CoH is bigger than CCE. CCE’s scenarios play out on small maps, in close quarters, while CoH can take place across several maps. Counter density is also much higher than CCE.

CCE only has infantry. CoH includes all the usual suspects: infantry, guns, armor, half-tracks, aircraft. For some folks this is the biggest selling point when choosing between the two games: heavy metal.

Both CCE and CoH are series games, but CCE (at the moment) will end up setting you back more if you get everything. There’s a North Africa set, a Pacific set, smaller sets for airborne and Russia, etc. CoH currently has two games. Additionally, CCE titles are not standalone while CoH titles are.

Production-wise both look good, though I give an edge to CoH with its thick counters, although I will admit I’m not a big fan of using photos of painted miniatures for counter art, although overall they don’t look bad. CCE pretty much resembles your bog-standard ASL-clone.

In the gameplay department both are about the same complexity, although CoH is probably a tad easier simply because it uses a fairly basic system of mechanics that are familiar. Movement points, rolling dice and adding them to your stats for combat, action points to activate units. CCE uses NO dice. Only cards. The timing of cards can get tricky, as you and your opponent are flipping cards to perform an action, then cards get flipped in response, and so on. It can be a little squirrely at times.

Of course, there is also Tide of Iron, which is another tactical game of low complexity that is pretty good…

Also, even at the time I played, ASL development had already been overrun by the crowd who felt that combined arms action wasn’t good enough unless every fricken tank in the entire war had a separate counter. The real problem with ASL is that it’s only slightly more complex than Magic: The Gathering except that the pieces don’t have room to put their special rules on, so you have to carry around two ringbinders to look up what they would say if they had the space.

The correct answer is Combat Commander: Europe.

I’m having the same issue currently with Warmachine/Hordes. I know I’d never find time to assemble and paint all the figures, or find people to play with, or want to spend the stupid sums of money required, but for a while now I haven’t been able to get werewolves vs. magical steam mechs out of my head.

Note to self: never play any games that guy likes…