Cart (0)For me this is the best of the American Civil War games out there. This seems the least bugged and most robust and plays quite quickly. It's not as detailed as the other ACW sims (this one really puts your in role of Lincoln or Davis) and perhaps not quite as good graphically but it has the best manual and interface (although could still be a lot better very few wargames get this right). Where this game wins is in PBEM play, it is really tense and well balanced with many twists and turns and reproduces historical decisions and outcomes very well. If this game was more moddable and had more scenarios it would be 5 stars.
Really hope Gary returns to non-WW2 in the future as this is great first foray out of his main period.
I am giving three stars for "effort" but I still don't like this game and regret the purchase. The bottom line is the game is so abstracted that it barely resembles a wargame. I find it overly complicated (even for a Gary Grigsby game) and not fun. The supply system is a demon to understand and I won't even mention production or the horrid interface. I know a TON of work went into the production of this game but again I just can't get into it despite being a 40 year veteran of wargaming of all kinds.
For those who are familiar with Gary Grigsby's works, this game is another fine example of his grasp of history. While there have been many civil war games published over the years, few have been worth purchasing. This is one of the few. You also have the option of playing hot seat or pbm. My only complaint is that the pbm process of saving the game and emailing it could have been explained more clearly. Actual game play is no problem. All in all it is a great game.
