Description

The Battle of Macysburg , a Command and Maneuver scenario, portrays a meeting engagement between two well-matched armies converging on a town that’s important as both supply point and road junction. Two players maneuver armies composed of units representing infantry, cavalry, cannon, skirmishers, and leaders, to capture and hold Macysburg, and chase off or destroy the opposing army. The battle lasts for 3 days, 36 day turns divided by 2 night turns. Units arrive at diverse points on the field during the first 2 days. At night, the armies separate and rally some of the units lost each day.

Command and Maneuver is a simple abstract strategy rules set that allows very rules-light wargames to be constructed. But as Macysburg demonstrates, it does not necessarily mean a light wargame. By abstracting all of the “fiddly bits” of wargames, what gets represented are the basic ideas of command control, supply, and maneuver to obtain both strategic and tactical advantage over your opponent. Since all combat is deterministic, players aren’t trying to overcome the randomness of combat results tables or dice towers or card draws. But they are trying to overcome chaos created by the combination of the combat and leader rules, which often result in units being out of command.

Armies are fragile in this game, and they “feel” that way. Combat is very bloody and unforgiving. If you are not careful in your dispositions and advances, you can lose a major chunk of your army in a very few turns, without adequate compensation. Players quickly find themselves adopting combined arms tactics and using formations and units in ways that look very much like standard tactics of the era. By doing things very differently than most wargames, the CaM games tease out and examine different aspects of war.

Macysburg, an abstract riff on the Battle of Gettysburg, is just one of the scenarios you can build with the CaM package, available in a Print and Play and in a Vassal version. The terrain (woods, hills, and town squares) is movable, allowing for a different set-up of the game each time. The elements of the scenario are broken down, laid out, and discussed for players to see how the scenario is constructed and how to vary it. Other scenarios are available and more will be provided. Players are encouraged to experiment with the system.