American Civil War Boardgames?

Whitemouse · 14th September 2008, 10:53 PM

My son is starting to learn about the American Civil War in grade school since I am going to be having him next weekend I'm curious to know what board games there are based on the time frame.

Something not too war-game centric would be best.

Klaus · 15th September 2008, 02:07 AM

Fiery Dragon has "CSA - American Civil War": FDP5016: C.S.A. America's Civil War

Whitemouse · 15th September 2008, 02:35 AM

How do I go about buying this?

Klaus · 15th September 2008, 03:39 AM

Link to online store: Fiery Dragon Productions : C.S.A. America's Civil War

Whitemouse · 15th September 2008, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klaus

Link to online store: Fiery Dragon Productions : C.S.A. America's Civil War

Many thanks Klaus!

scitadel · 15th September 2008, 08:31 AM

Phalanx Games also has a war game called 'A House Divided'

And if you can find it, Avalon Hill has one called 'Battle Cry' that is considered pretty good. Uses the same system as Battlelore and Memoir '44 so it's easy to learn.

MerricB · 16th September 2008, 03:29 AM

I've just ordered "For the People", a GMT card-driven wargame of the civil war, which is very well regarded. However, it's probably too involved and long for your son.

If you can find "Battle Cry", that'd definitely be my choice of a good game that you could play with him. Alas, it's out of print.

Not really surprisingly, most civil war games are wargames!

Cheers!

Whitemouse · 17th September 2008, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MerricB

Not really surprisingly, most civil war games are wargames!

I figured as much, I just din't want the game to be too 'minis heavy.'

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

mikelaff · 17th September 2008, 06:42 PM

Well - -this is a fantasy/comical Civil War game - so it might not be your cuppa.

But I'll throw it out there because it looks like a lot of fun...

Yetisburg

MerricB · 18th September 2008, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitemouse

I figured as much, I just din't want the game to be too 'minis heavy.'

...wait one moment. When I talk about wargames, I rarely mean miniatures. I was playing For the People last night, and there wasn't a miniature anywhere!

Cardboard counters and cards, sure! Minis - not a one!

Here's part of the map:

and a close-up of the map with counters on it

and one of the cards...

It's probably still a little too complex, but one nice thing about the game is that you can play shorter scenarios - one year of the war... any year of the war - as well as the full campaign. I'd expect most scenarios to take 1-2 hours depending on which year (1st year shorter, of course). Full game is probably 6 hours.

Cheers!

Sabathius42 · 18th September 2008, 05:03 AM

I second (or third or whatever) BattleCry by Avalon Hill. I am sure you can find a copy on Ebay.

Its fun, replayable, and able to be played by a higher graded grade schooler. I think that most counter/map wargames would be too hard for anything other than an uberhardcore young game nut.

DS

MerricB · 18th September 2008, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabathius42

I second (or third or whatever) BattleCry by Avalon Hill. I am sure you can find a copy on Ebay.

Its fun, replayable, and able to be played by a higher graded grade schooler.

Indeed. I have the other three games in the series (BattleLore, Memoir 44 and Command & Colours), and it's definitely worth getting if you can find it.

Cheers!

Meloncov · 18th September 2008, 11:15 PM

I'm fond of Eagle Game's American Civil War. Unlike many wargames, it pays attention to the political aspects of the war, which were fairly essential.