Looking for ACW Turn based fun.

[Meach]

Hi

As is says in the title. I tried AGEOD's grand strategy title and to be honest I am totally stumped, I just cannot get into it and figure out how to play. I realised I am looking for a more tactical gameplay than strategy for the ACW. I realise most ACW games tend to be at Corp level for gameplay.

Ideally I am looking for something that deals with maybe an Infantry company (100 men) along with a squadron of cavalry and some cannon. Reasonably small scale warfare.

Any games spring to mind? I played the UFO:X-COM and the proceeding titles, silent storm etc etc and of course all the CM games. Anything of that type that but with a ACW/Musket era theme? Turn based preferred as RTS games pound the snot out of me usually hahaha.

Hope someone has some suggestions. Apologies if I am not allowed to post this type of request here.

[GJK]

Crucible of Courage is a tactical, company level ACW game that just hit it's P# so should go into production very soon. MMP has an excellent policy on VASSAL support, so no doubt that there will be a VASSAL module made soon after release for either live or pbem play.

I don't know of any computer (AI enabled) wargames that are ACW company level-

[Meach]

Ahh that would explain the difficulty in finding such a game. GKJ, thanks very much for the link. I will check it out. Anything else you can think of, even outside the scope of ACW?

[Joe Shaw]

Hi

As is says in the title. I tried AGEOD's grand strategy title and to be honest I am totally stumped, I just cannot get into it and figure out how to play. I realised I am looking for a more tactical gameplay than strategy for the ACW. I realise most ACW games tend to be at Corp level for gameplay.

Ideally I am looking for something that deals with maybe an Infantry company (100 men) along with a squadron of cavalry and some cannon. Reasonably small scale warfare.

Any games spring to mind? I played the UFO:X-COM and the proceeding titles, silent storm etc etc and of course all the CM games. Anything of that type that but with a ACW/Musket era theme? Turn based preferred as RTS games pound the snot out of me usually hahaha.

Hope someone has some suggestions. Apologies if I am not allowed to post this type of request here.

I'm with you entirely on this one Meach. The closest I've been able to find is Sid Meiers Gettysburg and the Take Command games but of course they're both RT and not turn based and both had the regiment as the smallest unit.

There is at least one board game out there that would be excellent for this, Devils Den by AH/OSG ... a similar game on the same area was Little Round Top (in fact I suspect LRT led to DD). Both featured counters that were companies.

I've often wished that someone would do a good turn based game on that scale and I've even asked Steve if BFC would consider such a thing, WEGO would be great. But that's, uh ... unlikely to happen

Let me know if you hear of anything.

Joe

[GJK]

If you look up CoC on Consimworld.com, the discussions there are making the comparisons of it to ASL - a more playable ASL for the ACW, which sounds pretty good to me.

Boardgamegeek.com page on CoC

CSW discussion forum for CoC

[junk2drive]

Civil War Generals II was a pretty good game. Hex and IGOUGO.

[Meach]

If I win the lottery I will pay BFC to produce CM:ACW. How much, Steve?

Imagine being able to command anything from a company (approx 100 men) up to a regiment (approx 600 men) with attending special sharpshooters, cavalry and cannon fire on random generated 3d maps with solid AI. Maybe the upper strategy levels could be incorporated.

There are tons of units and OOB's to play with and for once you don't have to worry about that BMP lurking in the wood ready to fire off a Sagger at your wagon train.

I feel this is a niche that has potential and I for one would love to see it come to life some day.

[JonS]

Isn't that a totally implausible concept for an ACW game?

It's my understanding (sketchy, to be sure) that any form of combined arms didn't occur below regtl level, and was only thin even at that level. Even divisions tended to be fairly 'pure'.

At the company level all you'd have is about 100 guys, each equipped exactly the same, and taught to exactly the same standard. Skirmishers, greandiers, sharpshooters, etc, were - I believe - segregated out into the 1st and/or 10th Companies of each battalion. Cavalry and artillery would typically be nowhere in sight, and certainly not under command of a mere company or battalion commander if they did happen to be within sight of each other.

I suspect that's the reason most ACW games are pitched at the level they are. Well, that and that typically the battles are (just) small enough to encompass the entire thing in a single span.

[Meach]

I got the Take Command: 2nd Manassas to give it a whirl and the QB or open play system is fantastic. It is RTS but it runs at a pace you can cope with and the AI is strong enough for me to go and make a cuppa tea chat to the kids and then come back to find my troops in battle lines lying down cos someone threw some cannonballs at them.

Said troops were commanded very easily to fall back to the cover of some woods and to my surprise AI controlled cavalry outflanked the guns and routed them. You play a part in a big battle and you feel immersed. Well worth a look. You can control a brigade, corp or army depending on how fast your clicky finger is. I go for a brigade which is 4 units and very similar to playing a platoon in CMSF on real time.