The ACW Way of War
Three ziplock back issues for a great price!
What a great way to introduce yourself (or a friend) to ATO games, or catch up on back issues you've been meaning to get. A price like this is almost "buy 2, get one free." Don't miss it!
If all the campaigns and environments of American Civil War could be described in one word, that word would be "diverse". Through thick forests and agrarian breadbaskets to mountains and seacoasts, Civil War armies proved willing to fight in any place and at any time.
Now, the "ACW Way of War" gives you three great back issues that capture three remarkable campaigns.
Lee's Greatest Victory
The Chancellorsville campaign, which took place in and around Virginia’s Wilderness in May 1863, is considered by many to be Robert E. Lee’s masterpiece, a true triumph “against the odds.” Opposing Lee was Union commander Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker, who had devised a plan that seemed assured of success. His cavalry would raid deep behind Confederate lines, cutting Lee’s supplies, while Hooker and four of his seven infantry corps would march west, then south, and appear behind the Confederate defenses opposite the city of Fredericksburg.
Lee would be compelled to withdraw south, in which case he would be pursued, or he would be compelled to attack with his numerically inferior army to avoid being crushed between the hammer and anvil of Hooker’s forces. “May God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none,” Hooker declared. (Needless to say, the ensuing Union disaster became Lee's greatest victory...)
Lee's Greatest Victory and issue #55 of ATO:
Map - One full color 22"x34" area mapsheet
Counters - 176 full color large 5/8" die-cut pieces
Rules length - 12 pages
Charts and tables - 2 pages
Complexity - Medium
Playing time - Up to 3 hours
How challenging is it solitaire? - Poor
Design - Michael Rinella
Development - Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphics - Mark Mahaffey
A Gate of Hell
During the summer of 1863, in the aftermath of the Gettysburg and Vicksburg campaigns, battles on land and sea were fought over control of the birthplace of the Confederacy, Charleston, South Carolina. A Union victory here would send an unmistakable signal to the states in rebellion as well as the rest of the world that the Confederacy’s cause was lost and further fighting a waste of lives and effort.
A Gate of Hell uses an interactive design to portray this decisive battle of the American Civil War. Players use “military support points” (MSPs), representing the logistical and political support for the campaign, to mobilize and support their forces (ground and naval) on one of the most inhospitable battlegrounds of the war. Both sides have a variety of military assets to deploy, but the planning and effective use of MSPs throughout the game will determine in large measure who is the victor. Units represent mostly regiments for the ground units, and each ironclad for the naval units. All of the famous batteries and forts, including Sumter and Wagner, are portrayed.
A Gate of Hell and issue #49 of ATO:
Map - One full color 22" x 34" area mapsheet
Counters - 200 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces
Rules length - 12 pages
Charts and tables - 2 pages
Complexity - Medium
How challenging is it solitaire? - Poor
Design - Paul Rohrbaugh
Development - Lembit Tohver
Graphics - Mark Mahaffey
Look Away! The Fall of Atlanta
Look Away! takes place around the climax of the American Civil War where the armies of the Confederacy were pressed back into their heartland as the rebellion tried desperately to sustain itself against Union forces. One of the most important campaigns occurred in southeastern Tennessee and Georgia, as Federal armies pressed toward the Confederacy's vital city of Atlanta, home to much of its remaining industry and gateway to the southern and western lands the Confederates still held. The campaign for and siege of this vital city broke the power of the Army of Tennessee, the key rebel command outside northern Virginia.
The game is a strategic-operational simulation of the Army of Tennessee's campaigns in the Georgia theater of the Civil War. The game covers the fighting between Union and Confederate forces in Tennessee and northern Georgia during the spring and summer of 1864. Each hexagon represents an area roughly 2.6 miles in diameter (4 km). Each turn in the game represents about four days of real time. There are four scenarios dealing with the major engagements of the war plus a campaign game covering the entire period..
Look Away! and the 2007 ATO Magazine Annual
Map - One full color 22"x34" hex mapsheet
Counters - 480 full color 1/2" die-cut pieces
Rules length - 24 pages
Charts and tables - 6 pages
Complexity - High
How challenging is it solitaire? - Poor
Playing time - Up to 2 to 3 hours for the smaller scenarios, 16 to 20 hours for the full campaign game
Design - John Prados
Development - Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphic Design - Craig Grando
|
