Civil War Game 1863
Civil War Game 1863 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
This game is played by two people. One commands the northern forces, the other commands the southern forces. It is up to you as one of the commanders to develop the strategy and make the decisions which will give you the best chance to win. The course of the war is in your hands.
At the beginning of the year 1863, the Confederate and Union armies were closely balanced. Either side could still win. There were differences — the North had more troops while the South had better ones with more mobility. But the decisive battles lay in the future. Final victory would be determined by the same factors for the Union and the Confederacy alike: sufficient fighting strength in the right place at the right time, daring and clever tactics, and luck. The players of this game must fight the same even fight. The same skill, daring and luck are required of you, if you want to win.
Object
The object of this game is to eliminate all the troops of your opponent, or to place him in such a position that he agrees to surrender.
Equipment
The game equipment consists of a playing board, 15 blue infantry pieces, 2 blue cavalry pieces, 3 blue gunboats, 8 blue stands; and 10 gray infantry pieces, 4 gray cavalry pieces, 1 gray gunboat, 8 gray stands. There are also 5 Confederate flags, 4 Union flags, 3 disabled markers, and 6 doubling pieces.
Preparation
The player who agrees to be the Union commander sits on the northern side of the board, near the Great Lakes. The other player commands the Confederate armies and sits on the southern side of the board, near the Gulf of Mexico. Each player takes all of the plastic pieces of his color (blue for the Union and gray for the Confederacy) and places them on the board on the spaces indicated. All the Confederate units (gray pieces) start on the gray squares with white circles and all the Union units (blue pieces) start on the white squares with blue circles. Each circle indicates the number and type of units to be placed on it. Infantry units are represented by the square pieces, cavalry units by the triangular pieces, and gunboats by the boat-shaped pieces. All the pieces have been designed so that each can be stacked upon any other.
The Movement of Pieces
Before starting play it is important to understand the moves that can be made by each of the three standard types of playing pieces.
a) Infantry Units: These pieces may move one square in any direction horizontally, vertically or diagonally on each turn. They may move only on squares containing land area unless they have boarded one of their own gunboats on a preceding turn, in which case they may go to sea. They may never move onto a square containing mountains except on a space through which a railroad runs.
b) Cavalry Units: These pieces may move one or two squares on each turn, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. They may move one square in one direction and another square in a different direction on the same turn. Like infantry they may move only on squares containing land areas. They may cross mountains freely, but may not ride on gunboats.
c) Gunboats: These pieces may move one or two spaces on any turn along the course of a navigable river or on the open sea.
If a square contains any land, it may be used by ground units; if a square contains any water, it may be used by gunboats. Thus cavalry units, infantry units, and gunboats may move over or occupy spaces through which a river runs.
The Play
The commander of the Confederate forces always has the first turn. Each player on his turn may move all of his pieces or as many of them as he wishes, provided that each piece is moved only once and only the number of spaces permitted it. Each piece may be moved separately, or any number of pieces may be stacked on one square. Pieces stacked on one square may be moved together onto another square. If there are any infantry units in a group, the group may not move more than one space. However, pieces that are stacked may be separated and moved individually. Each player must move at least one unit on each of his turns. When a player has moved as many of his pieces as he wishes his turn ends.
How to Fight
Enemy troops can be eliminated (removed from the game) in three ways: in battle, by capturing a key city, or by capturing the enemy capital.
A. Battles: Battles are fought when an attacking force, which can be one unit or a stack of several units, moves onto a square containing an enemy force. The outcome of the battle depends on the number of pieces in the attacking and defending forces. Each type of unit — infantry, cavalry or gunboat — counts the same in battle.
When a Larger Force Attacks a Smaller One, the smaller defending force loses one more unit than the larger attacking force. The total number of units eliminated is determined by the attacking player.
Example: If a five-unit Confederate force attacks (moves into a space occupied by) a three-unit Union force, the attacking Confederate commander may choose:
- To eliminate all three Union units and thus lose two of his own.
- To eliminate two Union units while losing one of his own.
OR
- To eliminate only one Union unit without losing any of his own forces.
Eliminated pieces are removed from the board and are out of action for the rest of the game. When the victorious commander has attacked an enemy force consisting of more than one unit, but does not choose to eliminate the entire force, he has the right to declare which enemy unit or units (infantry, cavalry or gunboat) are to be eliminated from that force. After the battle the surviving defeated troops, if any, get an immediate extra move in any direction. These units can be moved again on their regular turn.
When a Force Attacks an Enemy Force of the Same Size: — an even battle — a coin is tossed. All units on the losing side are eliminated and the winning side is reduced to one.
A Sacrifice Battle can be fought to delay the advance of a hostile army. This is done by sending a single unit to attack a larger force. Although the lone attacker is wiped out, the hostile army is immobilized for a turn. This is shown by immediately placing a Disabled Marker on a large force. A SMALLER FORCE CAN NOT ATTACK A LARGER FORCE EXCEPT IN A SACRIFICE BATTLE IN WHICH CASE THE ATTACKING FORCE MUST CONSIST OF ONLY ONE UNIT. (Place the disabled marker in one of the plastic stands and place the stand on top of the defending force.)
B. Key Cities: Key cities are shown on the board with five pointed stars. The North has four: St. Louis, Indianapolis, Pittsburg and Baltimore. The South has three: Chattanooga, Charleston and Atlanta. A key city is captured when an enemy unit enters it unopposed or captures it in a battle. When the Confederates capture a key city in the industrialized North, the northern commander must remove two of his pieces. When a southern key city is captured, the southern commander must remove one of his pieces. The player who loses a key city has the choice of which of his pieces anywhere on the board will be removed.
Each capital or key city can be captured, for troop-destroying purposes, only once during a game. In a battle for a key city the defending troops must be entirely eliminated or no attack may take place. The capturing force should fly its Flag on the city to show that it has been captured. (Place the flag in a plastic stand.) Subsequent occupation of the city by either side will not eliminate more units except those units which may be lost in a battle fought within the city.
By placing a Fortification Marker (doubling piece) on top of the troops in a key city (but not a capital) the fighting strength of these troops is doubled. (Place the fortification marker in a plastic stand.) Two pieces, fortified, equal four units in a battle for the city. It takes one turn to fortify troops in a key city. Troops cannot be moved into a city and fortified on the same turn. It takes another turn to remove the symbol. Fortifications may not be removed and troops moved out of the city on the same turn. Gunboats cannot be fortified. Troops can be moved into a city already fortified, as reinforcements. Each new unit moved into a fortified city counts as two, but these troops cannot be moved out again until the fortification marker has been removed. Of course, troops not in a fortified city are not affected and may be moved as usual.
C. Capitals: Washington and Richmond are the two capitals. They are captured when an enemy unit wins a battle for the city. If the North captures Richmond, the Confederate commander must remove five of his units from any squares on the board which he may select. If the South captures Washington, the Union Commander must remove six of his pieces, anywhere on the board. Washington and Richmond are defended by permanent fortifications shown below.
The printed permanent fortification markers read: Washington — "LOSS COSTS 4" with "6 UNITS"; Richmond — "LOSS COSTS 5" with "5 UNITS".
Washington's are equal to four units and Richmond's to five. These are permanent garrisons, protecting the capitals whether or not there are other forces there. They count just like regular troops and are added to any that may be there in a battle for the capital. Since they are not represented by actual pieces they cannot move.
Railroads
As a means of moving troops the railroads play an important part in this game. Any infantry piece or pieces on a railroad at the start of a player's turn may move up to three spaces along the railroad. Cavalry pieces may not ride the railroad, but may move their regular one or two spaces along the railroad "beds". Enemy infantry units can be prevented from riding the railroad by moving any cavalry, infantry or gunboat unit onto an unoccupied section of track between two cities. This move cuts the section of railroad involved and enemy units cannot ride over it while it remains cut. The occupation of a city at one end of a railroad does not cut a railroad. Whenever a railroad section is cut, the enemy cannot move three squares on a turn along the railroad, but may move his infantry or cavalry along the "bed" at normal speeds.
Mountains
Infantry units may not move onto a space which is occupied, even partially, by mountains except when riding a railroad or marching along a railroad "bed". Infantry units may move through the mountain passes in a diagonal direction. Cavalry units may move through the mountain areas at their normal speeds.
Winning
The player who first eliminates all the enemy troops wins the game. The game may also be won at any time that the enemy surrenders. If both sides are reduced to one piece the game is considered a stalemate.