In Dungeon Command games, each player brings to the table map components, a collection of figures, and 30 cards that form an "order", or action, deck. The game rules stipulate that there be at least 12 figures and 30 order cards, which would require buying at minimum one set per player; I say "at minimum" because optimal strategies would be to buy enough sets to have four (the maximum of any one figure or card) of the best components. Fortunately, the rules also support a casual play option where two players split the contents of a single box (conveniently divided into gold and silver factions) for a fun face-off, which considerably eases the price-point entry barrier. Although I've enjoyed playing Blood of Gruumsh, the faction which I will review in more detail another time, I have come to see the limitation in playing only half a faction; of course, this led me to purchase more factions, which I guess means it was good marketing. Get them hooked, then reel them in...
I've reposted a short video on Dungeon Command below, and then I'll follow up with an explanation of gameplay.
Combat counts as a tapping action for creatures, so they must be untapped to deal damage (although most Standard actions are combat related anyway). Creatures that can deal damage to adjacent creatures have a sword and a number; if you take a combat action adjacent to an enemy creature, your creature deals that listed damage. There is no dice to roll, although cards in hand may increase or reduce damage. Sometimes a creature will have a second damage entry, which is a distance attack. This attack deals damage to non-adjacent creatures, if there is a line-of-sight (a difficult concept explained in the rulebook, but basically means nothing is blocking the path of your distance attack). Creatures attacked from a distance can, if the figure is in covering terrain, ignore the damage by taking cover and tapping. Cowering is an important aspect of this game, whereby a player may prevent all damage to his creature by taking the damage as Morale loss. Those Morale points are pricey, but keeping your creature alive to deal damage one more time may be worth it. After all the creatures a player wishes have been activated, the player refills his creature hand, increments his Leadership by one, and deploys all the creatures he wishes (up to his Leadership). Creatures untap and then play passes to next player. Thus, your creatures are able to respond (only once though) on the opponent's turn.
I have so far enjoyed Dungeon Command as a fun little game. The prepainted miniatures look nice and have a pleasant heft. There aren't too many bits to keep track of (although there are a few more than you need) and there are conversion cards that let you play the miniatures as enemies or allies in the D&D Adventure System games. I've played the game with my kids and it isn't hard to take a handicap by lowering your starting Morale or eliminating a creature from your deck. I would recommend it to miniatures gamers and D&D enthusiasts alike.