Initial thoughts
Russ:
When Jacob mentioned that he wanted to give US Civil War a try I was excited. I had tried several smaller hex and counter games, but before this, the heaviest I had played was Salerno ’43 (ironically another Simonitch title) a few weeks back at Buckeye Game Fest. I knew what we were in store for, but I think poor Jacob didn’t fully grasp the detail in such games.
My confidence in my abilities to handle such a game wavered slightly at the sight of the rulebook. For a novice wargamer, it can be a bit daunting of a read. That said, the rules were laid out well, and I found them easy to follow for the most part. As I punched the game I found myself more and more eager to get this one to the table.
Jacob:
Russ and I have played several games that touch on the American Revolution War. I had been eyeing something that covered the US Civil War for a while. I was excited when GMT games offered us to test Mark Simonitch’s US Civil War game. Taking them up on the offer, I knew the game contained a lot of depth.
Similar to Russ, I was a little overwhelmed with the length of the rulebook. However, as I read along they were not overly complex, they just contained a lot of information. Despite that component of the game, the map is beautiful! On the board is an area where you perform leaders management (more on that later). Looking at the magnitude of the game, I was excited to dive in and experience a more complex hex and counter experience.
Set-up
Russ:
It’s a good thing that Jacob has a decent-sized kitchen table. GMT’s US Civil War and its two map boards took up a decent chunk of the table. When assembled the game looks great on the table. For our game, we decided on the 3 turns 1861 scenario. The rulebook and included set-up sheets for each side made the initial setup easy, but it still took us a bit to locate all the counters and the correct cities and locations.
Map:
What makes this game interesting is thought the map is so big, yet the counter density is low. Lots of open space upon set-up, but I’ll go into more detail on gameplay. Many of the rules such as reinforcements, special action cards, and others refer to one of the 3 sections that the map is divided into. These divisions represent the historic theaters of the war:
- The East: which roughly covers areas east of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, most of Georgia (except an upper portion that runs diagonally from Columbus to the base of the smokey mountains), and the far western part of the Florida panhandle. This is shown on the map with a dashed red line
- The West: This is the area from the Mississippi River to the dashed line mentioned above
- The Trans-Mississippi: This is the area West of the Mississippi.
I’m not going to lie, as a child of the 20th century, thinking of my home state of Indiana as “The West” is hard for me to come to grips so it took a bit to understand the west didn’t include the far edge of the map and areas such as Missouri, Texas, Arkansas. However, a few turns into the game and I got things sorted out.
The other thing about the map to note is that at times due to terrain, and rivers, it is really hard to see the borders of states, especially ones that have a river or mountains as a natural border. I found this to be difficult at times when counting control in each state a few times, luckily on the map however is printed all the resource/objective hexes so you can make sure you count correctly for victory point-scoring.
Speaking of Resource and Objective hexes this is worth pointing out this is the crux of the game in terms of victory for each side. In northern states certain hexes with gray borders are called “Objective hexes” these generate VPs if Confederates hold them.
There are similarly marked hexes in Confederate states, however, they also have a number on them, these are “Resource Hexes” and are vital to CSA’s resources during the reinforcement stage. Also, the capture and destruction of these cities is a key point for the Union player to score VPs. As you can imagine this is where most of the fighting and maneuvering happens.
Gameplay
Russ:
Counter make up:
We played the 1861 scenario that is only 3 turns long but still took us several hours for our first playthrough. The game from a counter perspective is fairly basic as there are 4 main types:
- Strength Points (SPs): these come in several values from 1 to X with each point repressing 5,000 men. They are interchangeable so if you have a single 4 SP counter or Four 1 SP counters they are the same value. This is usually the bulk of your force
- Generals: While fewer than SPs this is the most important set of counters in the game. Generals come in different ranks from 1 to 4 stars and are the only combat counters with typical digits on them: Attack Rating, Defense Rating, and movement Allowances. I’ll cover more on the Generals later as this in my opinion is the most fascinating part of the game. But one of the few bonuses the Confederates see is that many Union generals are “cautions” meaning they must spend two activations to move which limits the Union movements.
- Admin Markers: These are very standard to most games, markers for resource, scoring track, also control markers, forts, and entrenchments, are usually very self-explanatory.
- Naval (advanced naval rules): The last set of counters are specific to the advanced naval rules. We did not play with these rules, but there is a whole second rule book that goes into detail on how to use these units. The base game abstracts shipping, blockades, and amphibious assaults.
Sequence of Play
The sequence of play is well laid out and follows a set pattern. that said, it is very intensive and gives lots of flexibility. Mark Simonitch’s rule book is easy to follow, and I found the index helpful in finding where to find a rule.
The sequence of play for each turn (except turn 1 of our scenario which starts at the action cycle) is as follows:
- Reinforcement phase: The union gets several SPs to distribute in the various theaters as well as placing or upgrading a fort. The number of these is static for the Union player but is variable based on resource hexes still in control that leads to “build points” for the Confederate player. This is a key difference between the sides. The north had means of production and comparatively, unlimited industrial strength. For the CSA, this was their vital weakness and what little production they had must be defended at all costs for them to survive.
- Strategic Movement Phase: This phase is very interesting as each side gets so main SPs that they can move by Rail, River, Ocean (union only), and Roads, with again advantage going to the Union. But this is where the main railroads on the map and rivers become key.
- Leader Management Phase: Probably one of the more interesting aspects of this game, your generals will be promoted, demoted, or removed. This can change the flow of a game as perhaps a particularly low-level general suddenly is promoted and can now command more SPs, or you lose a general that is protecting a key LOC. It builds on the narrative of the game and is something particularly interesting in this one for sure.
- Action cycle where the majority of gameplay happens. Each player rolls a die to start and the difference becomes the number of actions each side will get with the high roll going first. Ties each side gets another special action card and rolls again and differences of 1 mean each side gets 1 AP for each theater. Action Points are used for moving, rallying, leader transfer, entrenching, or training (1 SP for every 7 AP dedicated to training) Battles happen as forces move into hexes with an enemy fort or SPs. At the end of each phasing player, supply checks are made for forces then the next player goes.
- End Phase: After all actions are finished in the Action cycle control is checked, as well as a free rally for demoralized troops within LOC to a supply source, then auto victory is checked. If no victory happens then the turn marker advances and plays resume with the reinforcement phase
Thoughts on the game
Russ:
What I like:
I quite enjoyed this one. The leader rules and seeing heroes get promoted, other leaders sacked and removed gives an interesting narrative to a hex and counter that I enjoyed and I think is the best thing about the game. Also, this was the second Simonitch game I’ve played (Salerno ’43 being the other) and both have had very well done player aids to accompany the game. CRT is easy to read and a good summary of rules makes playing the game easy.
Don’t get me wrong, our game took probably close to 8 hours (with a dinner break and set up in there) with many stops for rule references. It is still a very detailed and meaty game.
The other part I like is the focus on troop maneuvering. The use and protection of railroads and rivers are key to victory for both sides. Many times a fort might be placed or an army left in an area just to project a ZOI (zone of influence) to prevent strategic movement or river/rail transport during an Action Cycle.
Battles are fairly standard and fair for hex and counter: SPs are tallied, then modifiers calculated based on attack and defense rating of leaders, and then dies are rolled and results check on the CRT for losses. Side with most losses loses and must retreat. To keep with the maneuver focus of the game there are rules for interceptions and avoiding battle as well that keep tactical planning and reaction very interesting.
Overall I find the battling to be a good abstraction, there are some defense bonuses for calvary but no artillery units or other specialized forces you might find in other games here. What I like about this is it keeps the focus on the big picture and not at a macro level, which makes sense for a strategic game.
In the example below McClellan with 4SP and attack value of 0 (no attack DRM) attacks 3SP with no general. Looking at the chart, both sides roll a single die. Each get a 6 and compare the column with their SP.
The 4 and 3 columns each say that both sides lose 1 SP, however, the side with 4SP has a star compared to a diamond. Star wins vs. diamond per the CRT. CSA is forced to retreat and is demoralized.
The other wrinkle that I found nice was the special action cards. These are dealt out during the reinforcement phase and initiative die rolls that are tied grant a draw to each player. The cards allow for several bonuses: These include extra activations, removing the 2AP cost for cautious generals, increasing MP by +2, a +2 DRM to combat, or can be discarded to build a fort. They add a little bit of extra fog of war since you don’t know what your opponent has or might be able to do on his move based on the cards, and likewise give you a chance to pull off a daring move or dig in and build a fort in a strategic area.
What I didn’t like:
Supply rules were very detailed and took a few reads of the rulebook to try and figure out. That said I’m sure we made mistakes. I expected a focus on supply for sure in a game like this, and supply lines and maintaining them were especially critical for war in this period. However, the determination between full supply, limited supply, supply sources, lines of communication, and out of supply was a lot to keep up with and a lot of hex counting and trying to remember what was within the rules and not.
That is not to say this is an issue unique to this game as I know cumbersome and detailed supply rules are often one of the more tedious parts of any hex and counter. It is just something to be aware of when you are jumping into this title and something you’ll want to read carefully.
The other item that I didn’t love a lot I mentioned already and the map, and in particular reading the borders of states and lines between theaters. Also, the game makes a difference between types of rivers that are hard to see at a glance and something to keep an eye on.
Jacob:
What I liked:
I enjoyed the leader’s rules as well. Changing their statuses (promote, demote, remove) was one of the best aspects of the game. It helped me realize that this type of game should be played or anticipated to be played over multiple sessions. As you are strategizing the next moves, and moving people around, I would suggest keeping an eye on that leader calendar.
An aspect of the game I also enjoyed was using the railroads. I thought it was easier for movement to utilize railroads as I trenched to the West. As Russ mentioned it’s important to protect the railroads as well as rivers. The ease of using these is faster movement and more terrain traction to get to your next destination.
Another aspect of the game I enjoyed is the classic hex and counter roll dice! The battle system was easy to understand and the player aids are superb. This was my third experience playing a hex and counter game, and the battle system containing modifiers was easy to pick up. The player aids are well organized for players. The gameplay allows the player to look at the overall picture, and plan for the next turn.
What I didn’t like:
The design and flow of the game are very good. I’ve realized that I struggled with the number of rules that caused us to go back and refer continuously. This isn’t a negative statement towards the design, nor the game itself. The game is great on the subject and getting the overall feel for how the Union and Confederates were different. It is a game geared toward an audience that gravitates more to simulated wargaming. In that realm, it is perfect for a reenactment! Referring back to rules continuously caused our gameplay to be rather long in our first sitting. The course of an entire campaign taking eight or nine hours is different than a single session.
After playing we established that if we were more familiar with the rules each session shouldn’t take that long. But that is something that can be said for game design. For folks that enjoy every minute detail, this game is perfect! An aspect we didn’t even try was the utilization of naval rules, which I am sure brings in a whole other element to the game. When we get this game back out, I am sure we will be more familiar and prepared for a longer sitting.
Closing
Russ:
I enjoyed this one even though it is very detailed and definitely not a game you are just going to breeze through in a couple hours. I’d love to explore it some more and get into a campaign game. as there were some items we didn’t get a chance to see such as Union destroying arsenals and objective hexes, plus seeing more generals come out along the way would always be nice. Overall if you are looking for a larger strategic level game on the US Civil War I totally like this one, however I’m not sure if I’d put this at a grand strategic level as politics, and production are used in a very limited way. I think this falls somewhere between an operational scale Hex and Counter and a Grand Strategic game. It is something I want to explore some more!
Jacob:
This a game that took my perception of a hex and counter, and blew my mind. A lot is going on! I’m writing this as a positive as someone that doesn’t normally play these types of wargames. I enjoyed seeing leaders come and go, and their effect on gameplay. This reminded me of another game we recently played called Warriors of God. Going through the sequence of play, then changing leaders, really made me strategize the Union differently. The battle system was fun for me, as I always enjoy rolling better than Russ. I’d like to revisit this game this year and go through a full campaign. I can also see some fun in bringing some of our gaming club members in to help make strategic decisions and immerse ourselves into the game. A useful piece in the rulebook is an area at the end, called “Hints on Play.” I suggest reading this for new players, as it helps you develop a game plan for each side.
