"Dweeb" wrote in message news:<9um604$ni5$1@bob.news.rcn.net>... I actually bought this game, and since it seems that everyone else is waiting for opinions on it, I've decided to provide one. I may have previously mentioned that while the components are very nice, they seem somewhat cumbersome. It's true that a single artillery piece is bigger than the entire state of Delaware on the map. However, after playing the game it turned out to be not such a problem. My opponent and I mainly kept our forces in 2 or 3 "armies", for which "flag" pieces are provided. However, for these to be truly useful, it is necessary to number the flags and provide corresponding areas to group the units. As to the gameplay, you may be disappointed if you are hoping for a hard-core military simulation. The game is comparable to Axis and Allies in complexity. It may have been previously mentioned that there are no supply rules and that the rivers have no effect on gameplay. This also turns out to be not such a problem. Due to the victory conditions and unit-production system, I think there will usually be a split between eastern and western forces in an almost "historical" manner. Also, due to the nature of the retreat rules, an army ranging far from its base is in danger of complete destruction, so supply rules are basically unnecessary. There are some oddities. Philadelphia is NOT a port. The South can try an amphibious invasion of New York. And the strangest thing of all, we decided - the most powerful unit BY FAR is the cavalry. A strong cavalry force is necessary for the attacker to have any chance in battle, and is critical for the defender as well. An army can retreat from any battle with almost no loss if it has a few cavalry. In our game, massed cavalry attacks won the day for the south. This is because both sides "build" new units at the same time, but only 1 may be placed in each area. Since the south gets cav cheaper, and gets to move first after each build phase, it is often easy for them to get as many a 5 new units into an area before the north can respond. If these are all cav and are used together against an enemy's weak flank (setup is secret), they can win a battle before the enemy can even fire. Despite the occasional queerness, we enjoyed the game. The tactical battle system is really cool, and if France doesn't enter the war there is plenty of room to lay out the pieces for these. I expect "house rules" to come flying for this game. Next up: WAR! Age of Imperialism