‘Gettysburg’ is a two player wargame recreating possibly the most famous battle of the American Civil War
Each player has a set of eight command blocks, numbered from 2 to 5 (just like the ones in Waterloo!). As an action a player can place a command block on the map. This allows him to place order discs in later turns. Order discs can be used to activate units in the vicinity of the command block. Once the number of order discs matches the value of the command block then no more orders can be issued until the block has been removed (along with the order discs) and replaced with a new block, which uses two valuable actions. The key effect of this system is the stutters it creates in controlling your forces. The enemy may have left himself in a vulnerable position but if you are not able to issue the orders to take advantage of that then you will miss that opportunity. The Confederate player has the advantage of being able to issue a certain number of double orders. The Union player is at a disadvantage in that he has a small number of order discs and if he leaves too many on the map then he will be forced to pass for a number of action rounds, which could be fatal.
Assault combat is similar to Waterloo. The main exceptions are that the attacker and defender use different morale check tables. The defender is more likely to retreat than be eliminated, but there is also the chance of a counter-attack to throw back the assaulting forces.
The Confederate player wins by taking two starred areas, or Little Round Top. Each day is divided into four periods and the key locations must be held by the end of one period, so the Union player has the chance to fight his way back into the lost terrain.
Overall the game is simpler than Waterloo, mainly because there are not the complications associated with the interaction of three formations (infantry, cavalry and artillery). Cavalry does appear in Gettysburg but it fights in the same way as infantry, although it does benefit from being able to bug out rather than take damage.
For more information, including rules translations, visit
BoardGameGeek.
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