Description

This game recreates the situational challenges of charismatic Union spy, James Andrews, and his band of Union raiders just as they have arrived incognito in Marietta, GA from TN and are making final preparations to steal "The General," a Confederate engine with a tinder and 3 boxcars. Their plan is to travel north to meet up with Union General Mitchel's force heading to attack Chattanooga. Their assignment is to burn bridges, tear up track, and sever telegraph wire along the way so that reinforcements and supplies cannot be brought up from Atlanta. This is not an easy task since there is only a single line of track and extra trains are unexpectedly heading south to Atlanta carrying people and supplies! Meanwhile, Confederate railroad-men Fuller, Murphy, and Cain did not take the train theft very well and began chasing the "engine thieves" (as Southern newspapers referred to them)- first on foot, then by pole car, and finally on several trains. Can you fare better than the original raiders, all of whom were captured and some were hanged, and meet General Mitchel in Bridgeport with the mission accomplished?

The Raiders player must decide, in 15-minute increments, what Actions they want to accomplish, all the while keeping an eye on the train's wood supply and planning stops to replenish it. With the trainmen and a train from Marietta in hot pursuit, the player must negotiate southbound trains, Station Challenges, and Encounters with Station workers and suspicious citizens, all deep behind enemy lines and surrounded by Confederate Units. Sometimes all that will save the group from disaster is Andrews' Persuasive ability!

The raiders player begins a turn by choosing 15 minutes worth of Action cards, in order, to move, damage track, burn bridges, cut telegraph lines, resolve challenges and encounters, initiate combat, and more. The game’s bot controls the dogged pursuit of the trainmen and the movement of the southbound trains. The Raiders player must be careful to not use up too much wood in their tinder or allow the Alert Level to rise high.

The game ends when the Raiders player either passes through Chattanooga and reaches Union General Mitchel in Bridgeport, must abandon the stolen train, all Raiders are killed or captured, or the time track reaches 4:00pm. The Raiders player wins by accumulating a net of at least 22 Victory Points. Victory Points are mostly gained by reaching Bridgeport by 4:00pm, burning bridges, cutting telegraph wire, damaging track, and eliminating Confederate Units. The Raiders player loses Victory Points for each Union Raider captured, hanged, or killed.