Description

1863 is a two player wargame of a pivotal year in the American Civil War. 1863 saw the Union victories at Gettysburg in the east and Vicksburg in the west, and the Chattanooga-Chickamauga campaigns when the Confederates had the opportunity to win a decisive battle and potentially gain foreign recognition.

Each player commands one of the two Theater of Operations; East and West. What makes this game unique is that one player commands the Union in the Eastern Theater, and the Confederates in the Western Theater; the second commands the Union in the Western Theater, and the Confederates in the Eastern Theater. Both players are competing to gain the most Victory Points in each Theater while defeating their opponent on the other.

The objective of each player is to score the most Victory Points in terms of seizing critical cities and winning battles. The idea is that you are positioning yourself for a major promotion for total command of all your side's armies for the rest of the war. Units represent corps, divisions and individual leaders with their staffs. Each turn is one month.

Published in S&T 297, Mar/Apr 2016