From: Russ Bunten (rbunten@eagnet.com) (EMCS Bunten) Subject: This Hallowed Ground (From The Gamers) Review Review: This Hallowed Ground Published: 1998, The Gamers Subject: ACW Battle of Gettysburg Scale: 1 Hex = 110 yards, 15 minute turns, units are regiments/batteries, 1 Strengthpoint = 1 gun/50 Men, Individual Leaders from Army level to Brigade Level. Components: 2200 Counters, 5 maps Price: $85.00 US (approx) This game adds to the current collection of titles covering what many consider the premier battle of The American Civil War. This particular release covers the engagement at the regimental scale and includes scenarios and campaign games depicting actions from 1 - 4 July (the addition of a "fourth day" being optional). Components: As is The Gamers' tendency, the materials included in THG are outstanding. The 5 maps come together to portray the battlefield as accurately or more so than any to date. Civil War Brigade players will note a significant departure from the standard "full hex terrain" hills and slopes. Instead, contour lines have been substituted. The result is an absolutely stunning map that is remarkably easy to read. Hill and slope contour lines are readily visible, though the shading given to the various heights could have been a bit more contrasting. At times it takes quite a keen eye to note a subtle change in altitude. The map configuration is a bit odd as three maps line up end to end with the 4th and 5th maps extending as "wings" from the lower portion of the playing area. This adds a large amount of maneuver room on either side but also makes the space requirement significant. Thankfully, The Gamers saw this as a problem and included a version of the Campaign Game that "trims" these wings allowing the map to fit easily on a standard 4'x8' table. This is a very insightful step and will allow many more players to experience the full campaign than had it not been otherwise included. The counters are uniformly excellent. Counters have their corp symbol superimposed (in a color dependent on which division they belong to) with the unit data (weapon type and intiial strength, unit morale) and designation. Players familiar with Thunder at the Crossroads II will recognize the style immediately. A great addition to the CWB counters is the inclusion of unit morale on the front of the counter. This greatly speeds play and reduces the need to pick up counters to see the reverse side. Another greatly insightful step by The Gamers is the inclusion of "correction counters" in the game itself. Sheet 4 includes a small number of counters used to add to/replace those printed on sheets 1 through 3. The countersheets were printed in separate stages of development and five minor errors were noted. The errors were corrected on sheet 4 and are included, standard issue. Bravo. The play aids also are a great improvement over the standard CWB issue. A full page, color terrain effects and movement sheet is included (vice printed on the map) as well a full color tracking sheet for each side (which includes artillery ammo, dead/wounded leaders, etc). The charts are nearly identical to CWB though there are several subtle changes. Formost of these are the changes in acceptance values and initiative values. Previously, these were determined by a straight two-die roll (i.e.2 - 12). THG's tables are now based on an 11 - 66 scale and provide for a much wider variance in results. Overall the charts get a B however, as they include several small errors. None are significant but they should have been caught during the proofing process. Scenarios: The game includes a variety of scenarios varying in size from only one map to all 5. Each of the days are covered in detail and a 4th day is added as a bonus. These scenarios are well distributed complexity-wise. There is an excellent introductory scenario convering the collapse of the Union 11th Corps as well an excellent MacPhereson's Ridge scenario. Both of these require only one map though the MacPhereson's Ridge actually requires two half-maps. Rules: Included is a "Rules Bridge" that modifies the CWB Series rules to the regimental scale. This bridge is very slim and deceptively complete. The approach taken is one of modify/add/delete specific sections of the CWB Series Rules v 3.0. If it is not mentioned in the bridge, it is the same as in CWB. Quite clean and tidy. Game Play: Veterans of CWB will be able to dive right into this game as well. It has a definitely distinct fell to it however. A number of factors contribute to this. First, losses are recorded specifically on each unit using a strength counter. Stragglers are still accounted for, but only at the Brigade level. Any regiment that suffers a straggler result treats it as a loss instead (i.e. the strength marker is adjusted). Record keeping is reduced as only Bde level straggler recording is required. This greatly speeds play, expecially when coupled with the morale printed on the counter. No more sifting through loss charts to find the status and/or morale of a specific unit. Hooray. BTW, loss charts in the "traditional" sense are also included for those CWB purists who desire to keep specific records for each regiment. I tried this briefly during a smaller scenario and it was very cumbersome. The consolodated straggler tracking is a very good addition. Second, the morale tables are a bit skewed to the right when compared to those in CWB. This results in more units with less than perfect morale states. This can have significant effects on a line's cohesion. Hence a much greater emphasis exists on maintaining some sort of a reserve. Veterans of CWB will quickly learn that though they have 3 to 4 times the number of units, they cannot simply plug them all into a line 4 times as long. Another difference is the new order acceptance and initiative values allude to earlier. They not only now depend on a 11 - 66 range, but include many new results. For example, delayed orders can now exist in stages of D1 - D5 vice only D1 or D2. Add to this the shorter turns (15 min vice 30 min) and you have a much better chance to get orders accepted over the course of a day. However, there is also a greater chance of distortion than before as well. The end result is a slightly different flow of the game with regard to issuing and accepting orders. Artillery is somewhat restricted in that limbered arty may only unlimber at the beginning of its movement phase, before it spends any other MP. This forces arty to undergo fire for a full turn (meaning it gets shot at twice) before it can unlimber in new positions. This in principle is a great addition but can result in some very quirky situations. Because of the fire bonuses applied to firing at limbered targets, moving arty can seldom get into position when faced by even paltry numbers of opposing arty. This is particularly evident when combined with the new ability to split fire from a single unit at more than one target. Union batteries of 6 guns will have little difficulty chasing Confederate batteries off the hilltops as they try to reposition, even from extreme ranges. Whether this is supported historically is beyond my expertise but from a game perspective it stinks. About the only way we've found to keep this from happening is to give the enemy arty too much infantry to shoot at to worry about the guns 1000 yards away. But perhaps the biggest factor changing the flow of the game deals with movement and stacking. In a nutshell, any time a unit stacks with (even momentarily) or separates from a stack (even when it is the only unit left from a stack splitting up) a 2MP "penalty" is imposed. For example, if an infantry regiment moves into a hex with another infantry regiment, it costs an additional 2MP to do so. Should these units start the next turn together, each unit must pay an extra 2MP to enter the first hex (i.e. to split up) unless they move together. Even the second unit pays this penalty after the first unit has left. This really discourages (or at the very least slows down) moving lines of troops through other lines of troops and CWB veterans will need to adapt the way they coordinate their moves to suit these new requirements. Bottom Line: The influence of SPI's Terrible Swift Sword is readily apparent in this release. Though the former title was found to be flawed over time, this release has few faults that readily jump out at the players. It is not simply CWB on steroids but rather an elegant treatment of arguably the most fascinating battle of the ACW. Grades: Overall - A Map - A+ Counters - A+ PlayAids - A+ Charts - B Rules Completeness - A Playability - B (for the CG due to its 249 turns, scenarios get an A) I highly recommend this to any ACW enthusiast. It is a very complete, and well developed game. "Shut up and Play" Russ Bunten rbunten@eagnet.com