Civil war games?

[maybewar]

My uncle is a historian fo r a newspaper and his specialty is the civil war. I think he would be able to appreciate wargames, and I would like to know if anone has any suggestions as to what civil wargames are good (especially for beginners)

[MarkFroio]

Age of Rifles is a great game, but you might not be able to find it. This site http://www.adanaccommandstudies.com/ has a free downloadable game that is a lot of fun to play. Good luck

[Brigz]

You can also try the old Talonsoft Battleground Civil War games. They are fairly simple to learn but are great fun to play especially against a human opponent. There is also Campaign Corinth by HPS. It is the same system as the Talonsoft games but updated a bit and includes a campaign system that links together several scenarios.

Age of Rifles is a great game but is a bit more complex in it's design. It is a beautiful system but I haven't been able to get it to run on my Pentium III using Win98. It runs great on my Pentium I with Win95. This seems to be fairly common because it is a dedicated DOS game. So if you have a "newer" computer using Win98 or "higher" operating system, you might not be able to get it to run.

Most of the other computer Civil War games I've checked out just don't play as well as these two, but you might also consider Sid Meier's Gettysburg and Antietam. A different approach but some people really like them.

All of these games can be found at "bargain bin" prices if you just search around the net. Try chipsbits.com.

[antarctic]

There is a "newer" wargame called North vs. South that covers the Civil War.... But having only played the demo a few years ago, i can not comment on how good it is. However, it SHOULD run on Win9x

Hope this helps
Antarctic

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

It is predictable that suggestions will be suggestions for wargames on the computer.

But if you wish to offer a suggestion for a straightforward easy purchase of a traditional board game, then your search need go no further than Columbia Games.

They have in their wooden block line of games some outstanding titles of the civil war era (as well as Napoloenics as well).

You won't find better introductory wargames anywhere on or off the computer.

[Kanon Fodder]

Their Card Games are fairly good, as well.

They are similar to the old Avalon Hill "Up Front" series.

I have "Dixie", which covers Bull Run (or 1st Manassas), and my son has the "Eagles" set, which covers "Waterloo".

Now that they sell the complete sets I will likely pick up "Shiloh" and/or "Gettysburg" at some point in the future.

Then all I have to do is find someone to play them with again ...

[Mad Cow]

Originally posted by maybewar
My uncle is a historian fo r a newspaper and his specialty is the civil war. I think he would be able to appreciate wargames, and I would like to know if anone has any suggestions as to what civil wargames are good (especially for beginners)

I always like Civil War Generals 2 by Sierra, i think.

Its a good game and can be purchased for something like $10 at any Wal Mart.

[VictorH]

Try the following link, it's Frank Hunters new company Adanac Command Studios. There is a free download of a great Civil War Game -> http://www.adanaccommandstudies.com/

[Brigz]

Originally posted by VictorH
Try the following link, it's Frank Hunters new company Adanac Command Studios. There is a free download of a great Civil War Game -> http://www.adanaccommandstudies.com/

I'm glad you posted this, VictorH. I have the free Civil War game they are offering for download, but I didn't know they were going to upgrade it with a larger map and some new features. At $22 this should be a good deal. The free game is pretty good, but the new version should be much better. I'll most likely buy it when it's released.

Come on, Matrix! There are a lot of us ACW enthusiasts out here. Start thinking about publishing some ACW games. I'm willing to shell out money to the above company and I'd just as soon pay you for a similar product. How 'bout it?

[pasternakski]

Here's my two cents' worth (in Confederate money, of course).

In the paper-and-cardboard line, absolutely the best simulation of the Civil War on the strategic level is Victory Games's title, "The Civil War" (catchy name, huh?)

It is not so complex as to put off the casual gamer, and its design is pure pleasure in its streamlined sophistication. No other game I have seen, computer or print, handles the vital role of leaders better than this.

For individual campaigns, I don't think anyone has yet topped Avalon Hill's "Great Campaigns of the American Civil War" series. Easy to learn, fun and quick to play, these are just excellent.

I have yet to run across a computer simulation of the Civil War on the strategic level that does much for me. There was a title that came out a few years ago called "The American Civil War" (the company name escapes me) that was probably the best of the lot. As far as individual battle simulations are concerned, I have yet to run across anything that beats Strategic Studies Group's old series (there were three volumes of it, as I recall).

If you want to browse through the old computer titles and get free downloads of them, go to a site called "The Home of the Underdogs" (www.the-underdogs.org - don't forget the hyphen). The guy who built and maintains this site has done extensive digging to come up with hundreds of the old, fun games, including a pretty comprehensive list of the Civil War titles. Each game is reviewed, evaluated, and presented (unless it is still licensed) for free download. Nearly all of the games are DOS-based, of course, but I have found that you can run most of them on Windows, either straight up or after a little fiddling around.

This site has a lot of popups and popunders that can be very annoying, but - hey - it's FREE! Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

[KG Erwin]

I found "The Road from Sumter to Appomattox" on http:www.the-underdogs.org. This is the first PC strategic-level land, naval and economic Civil War game I've tried, and if you want a great free game, then I recommend it. (BTW, this is a completely Windows-based game.) It seemed a bit overwhelming at first, but the manual is included in the package, and after a few fits & starts you get the idea. You can play against a competent AI as either the Union or the Confederacy, computer vs computer, or H2H. Wanna manage the Confedederate war effort, setting production levels for individual cities, and deciding where to initially place the capital at setup? You can choose between Richmond, Montgomery, Atlanta or Raleigh. Wanna free the slaves or even enlist them in the Confederate Army? You have that option also. You also can create new brigades (not represented on the map), divisions, corps and armies, and assign & promote commanders. You also have to keep an eye on the national supply/cotton levels, railroad capacity, the chances for European intervention, and international & domestic political prestige (replacing popular but incompetent commanders can cost you prestige points). You can choose to start in either 1861, 1862, or 1863, and either play to December of that year or play out the whole 1861-65 war. Now, being a student of the war & knowing the capabilities of the Confederate commanders, I had an advantage, so I was able to end the war by capturing Washington DC in the second week of July 1862. Turns are ten days in length, so a major series of battles could take place in the span of one turn. Most of the time, though, you're managing the entire war effort and manuevering troops over half of the North American continent. This game was originally released as a multimedia package by Interactive Magic, but in the freeware release, all the video and music bells & whistles have been removed, so this game doesn't take up much HD space. If you are NOT familiar with the history of the American Civil War, there's plenty of background material in a help guide. This is a well-thought-out and engaging game, so take the time and download it.

[VictorH]

Originally posted by KG Erwin
I found "The Road from Sumter to Appomattox" on http:www.the-underdogs.org. This is the first PC strategic-level land, naval and economic Civil War game I've tried, and if you want a great free game, then I recommend it. (BTW, this is a completely Windows-based game.) It seemed a bit overwhelming at first, but the manual is included in the package, and after a few fits & starts you get the idea. You can play against a competent AI as either the Union or the Confederacy, computer vs computer, or H2H. Wanna manage the Confedederate war effort, setting production levels for individual cities, and deciding where to initially place the capital at setup? You can choose between Richmond, Montgomery, Atlanta or Raleigh. Wanna free the slaves or even enlist them in the Confederate Army? You have that option also. You also can create new brigades (not represented on the map), divisions, corps and armies, and assign & promote commanders. You also have to keep an eye on the national supply/cotton levels, railroad capacity, the chances for European intervention, and international & domestic political prestige (replacing popular but incompetent commanders can cost you prestige points). You can choose to start in either 1861, 1862, or 1863, and either play to December of that year or play out the whole 1861-65 war. Now, being a student of the war & knowing the capabilities of the Confederate commanders, I had an advantage, so I was able to end the war by capturing Washington DC in the second week of July 1862. Turns are ten days in length, so a major series of battles could take place in the span of one turn. Most of the time, though, you're managing the entire war effort and manuevering troops over half of the North American continent. This game was originally released as a multimedia package by Interactive Magic, but in the freeware release, all the video and music bells & whistles have been removed, so this game doesn't take up much HD space. If you are NOT familiar with the history of the American Civil War, there's plenty of background material in a help guide. This is a well-thought-out and engaging game, so take the time and download it.

This is the exact game I mentioned above that Frank Hunter has updated and is giving away on his website at Adanac Studios. He has updated in from the Interactive Magic version and is working on a "New" version.

[Brigz]

Originally posted by VictorH


This is the exact game I mentioned above that Frank Hunter has updated and is giving away on his website at Adanac Studios. He has updated in from the Interactive Magic version and is working on a "New" version.

Hey, that's almost the exact thing I said too!

I'd recomend downloading the game from Adanac Studios instead of the one from Underdogs. Not that there is anything wrong with the Underdog site but I think the one offered by Adanac is the most current version. Just to help avoid confusion, the old title is "From Sumter to Appomattox" and the new version is usually refered to as just "American Civil War".

Can't wait for the new improved version Frank's working on.