Welcome to Civil War Gaming After Action Reports

Welcome to my little corner of the web.  I have no idea if anyone but me will ever find this interesting, but I’m going to give it a shot and see if there is any interest.

A now a little about me and the reasons behind this blog.  I’m a big American Civil War buff.  This little foray into history started innocently enough when, last year at Christmas, my unlce gave me his 10-year collection of Civil War Times magazines.  Well, needless to say I devoured those and found that I was fascinated with the history of how this great nation fought bitterly to preserve, or depending on what side you look at, divide itself.  It amazes me that a little over 150 years ago, our country was divided and our ancestors were slaughtering each other. 

Reading and learning about the Civil War just did not seem to “scratch the itch” for me.  I wanted to experience it.  I wanted to get a taste for what it must have been like.  There are an endless number of fascinating characters that surfaced during the our Civil War.  I wanted to feel what it must have been like to be in there shoes.

This led me to war gaming.  In my late 30’s now, I remember war games as a kid.  I tried a few out, but never really got interested in them.  They seemed complicated and all the rules you had to learn seemed like a lot of work.  I’ve always enjoyed gaming though.  When Dungeons and Dragons hit the scene, I loved it.  I jumped in with both feet.  I even tried creating games on my own. 

Of course then computer games started becoming available, and Dungeons and Dragons faded away from popularity.  Along with it, the war gaming industry all but died out.  I’ve tried a few of the Civil War computer games on the market, and there are a couple of good ones.  I would highly recommend the two titles from Mad Minute Games.  They are fantastic.  I own both of them and have played them quite a bit.  But something was missing.  The detail and playability are awesome, and the computer does a lot of the work for you, but still I was not satisfied.

I decided to try and find an old-fashioned hex and cardboard war game of the Civil War, just to see if I could get the level of realism and detail that I was craving.  I started by trying a game called “Across Five Aprils”.  Although simplistic, I found I was on to something.  There was something different here; Something not captured by a computer game.  There was tangible, touchable, pleasantly “low-tech” charm in this type of gaming.  Being able to see the map and being able to move the little cardboard brigades around, brought with it a feeling of realness, that a computer game just could not do for me.

I had to have more.  I stumble across a game called “No Better Place to Die”.  It is published by Multi-Man Publishing (MMP) and originally designed by The Gamers.  This game is one of the Civil War Brigade Series games.  I struck gold.  This series of games was exactly what I was looking for!  It is a tactical level system.  The heart of the game is it’s (sometimes maligned) orders system.  Although criticized at times, the orders system is what really sets this series apart from any others that I know of.  It adds the depth and realism and texture to the entire gaming experience.  Without it, the game is just moving cardboard around and rolling dice.

  

Although frustrating at times, the orders system works very well.  As part of the overall command system, unit’s (Corps, Divisions or Brigades) operate off of written orders.  In some cases those orders are given at the start of the game in the scenario rules, and at other times, orders are issued by the player.  Successfully operating withing the command rules is the key to winning this game.  It also serves to give a really good impression of what it must have been like to command these armies in combat during the middle of the 19th century.  In short, this series of games has “scratched the itch” for me. 

If you are a Civil War buff, I highly encourage you to check these games out.  They literally make history come alive.  Have you ever wondered what may have happened at Gettysburg if Stonewall Jackson had not been injured and subsequently died after Chancellorsville?  Well with this series of games you can explore that.  What if Longstreet had been allowed to move South and try to flank the Union left on the second day of Gettysburg?  Would Picket’s Charge have been deemed necessary?  Now you can try it out.

Along with the Civil War Brigade Series (CWBS) games, I have begun playing the Great Campaigns of the American Civil War (GCACW) games.  As this blog progresses, I will be providing AAR’s for those games as well.  I am still learning, but find that this series of games is outstanding.  They are more operational than tactical.  Instead of focusing on the command and control issues at the tactical level like the CWBS games, these games focus on the operational strategies of the war as well as managing your armie’s resources and troops.  The game system is very unique and elegant.  There is a huge following of gamers playing this system.  I must say that I have a ton of respect for those folks that play these games so well.  I find them extremely challenging and have yet to even come close to winning a game.  The level of strategy and tactics is amazing.  The maps are works of art.  The detail of the scenarios and historical background is very impressive.  Owning this series of games provides a person with literally a solid historical reference to the entire Eastern theatre of the Civil War.  I am looking forward to more games and improving my skill at the GCACW series of games.

Finally there is the Regimental Sub-Series for the CWBS games.  Just when I thought that the CWBS games could not get any better, I discover that there is another set of games from the Gamer’s/MMP.  This sub-series uses the same basic rules of the Brigade Series, but carries it down to the Regimental level.  It’s like CWBS on steroids.  I absolutely love it.  Currently there are 3 games in the series; This Hallowed Ground (I do not own it and I actaully believe the title is an indication as to how valuable this game is as it regularly sells on ebay for $150 or more), This Terrible Sound (I own this one) and A Fearful Slaughter (I own this one as well).  There is a new title (South Mountain) on pre-order at MMP that I am anxiously awaiting.

My plan for this blog is to discuss After Action Reports from the different games that I am playing.  I may also do reviews of the different games and discuss stratagies and tactics as well.