Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863 by Worthington Publishing

 Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863

by 

Worthington Publishing

 

 So, where do we begin this review? Gettysburg July 1st, 1863 touched off the bloodiest three days in the American Civil War. However, Gettysburg was not the largest battle in The Civil War. That distinction actually goes to The Battle of Fredericksburg. Because of the ramifications of the Battle of Gettysburg, most people assume it was the largest battle (one can make the case that the fall of Vicksburg at the same time was more momentous) of the Civil War. Yes, it did have the most casualties on both sides of any battle during it. However, at the time, it was not seen as the momentous occasion that it was. Lee was able to escape back to Virginia, much to President Lincoln's chagrin, and drag out the war almost another two full years.

 The next question about the battle comes from the grognard community itself, or at least a portion of us, and that is why another game about this battle? The big three games in wargaming are Waterloo, The Bulge, and Gettysburg. Someone said once, (it has been attributed to a few people), that NATO, nukes, and Nazis sell games. However, the big three games that I just mentioned are really the big sellers. The American Civil War is slightly behind World War II in wargaming circles. It is even a large seller in the European markets. So, why another game? Is it just a money grab or is there something else to it. To my way of thinking, it is not a cash grab. Designers have been bombarded with Gettysburg games since they were children. I believe they feel a burning need to try their hand at it. They have tallied up the pros and cons of all of the different Gettysburg games they have played and want to put their own spin on it.

 So, let us take a look at this go round by designers Grant and Mike Wylie and see if they have hit the mark or couldn't hit an elephant at that distance, much to Sedgewick's chagrin.

 This is what Worthington Publishing has to say about the game:

"GETTYSBURG 1863 is Volume IV in the Old School Wargames Civil War Brigade Battle series. The game allows gamers to refight the historic and pivotal battle of Gettysburg in 1863 using a large mounted map board, large pieces, and a streamlined set of series rules that is just 8 -12 pages long. The Battle Booklet will give you historical details, design, notes and 7 scenarios:

July 1 - Meeting Engagement

July 1 - Take That Hill (Can Ewell take Culp's Hill?)

July 2 - The Fight for the Flanks

July 2 - The Fight for Little Round Top

July 3 - Lee's Folly

July 4 - Should Meade Have Attacked?

July 1 - July 4 (the full battle)

The single day scenarios should take between 1 to 3 hours to play with the full battle taking 6 - 10 hours to play.

Special rules for early or late arrival of reinforcements, Follow up attacks, new terrain rules for multi level hex changes, a new rout rule, and more!

Game Scale:

Game Turn: 1 hour

Hex: 200-250 yards / 183-229 meters

Units: Infantry/Cavalry Brigades & Artillery Battalions

Game Inventory:

Two 22 x 34" full color mounted map boards (34x44" when combined for game play)

Five dual-side printed countersheets (540 3/4" counters - including 4 extra Tide of Battle counters intended for the earlier Antietam & Shiloh games)

Two 8-page Brigade series v1.4 rulebooks

Two 16-page Gettysburg playbooks

One Cavalry Battle Board Play Aid

Two Order of Battle Charts

Two Reinforcement/Casualty Charts

Two dual-side printed Combat & Terrain Charts

Two 10-sided dice

One Counter Tray

Solitaire Playability: High

Complexity Level: Medium

Players: 2 or more

Playing Time: 1-10 hours"

This is what comes in the box

 

 Although Worthington Publishing has been around a good number of years, it is sort of a dark horse. You don't see its games mentioned a lot when games are discussed. This is truly a shame because of their excellent product line. Hopefully, their Civil War Brigade Battle Series will make the above a thing of the past. The series now includes Gettysburg July 1-3 ,1863, Antietam September 17, 1862, Shiloh April 6-7, 1862, The Seven Days Battles, and the newest Franklin November 29-30, 1864. 

The Union Counters

 The production value of Worthington Publishing has always been one of their strong points. They go for substance rather than art form. The game comes with two 16-page Playbooks and two 8-page Brigade Battle Series rules. They are both in full color and have nice large print. In substance, they are much like a substantial magazine. Next, we have two card stock with all the charts needed to play, and on the reverse, the terrain chart. The player also gets two pages of a single-sided reinforcement chart with a casualty track at the bottom. These are also printed on card stock. Then we have a one-page card stock cavalry battle board. Finally, each player gets his own chain of command fold out sheet. The counters are incredibly easy to read and use and are 3/4" in size. These are not the largest we have seen but they are quite large enough for easy viewing and movement. The very large and nicely done map comes in two parts. There is no ambiguity of each hex's terrain for grognards to fight over. The large box is nice and sturdy which is another Worthington Publishing trademark. It even comes with a sleeve to cover the box. 

This is a close-up of the southern end of the battlefield

 I am a big fan of Worthington Publishing games, whether they are hex and counter or block games. They have always been a proponent of KISS for game rules and play. However, that does not mean that their games have no historical flavor. You can get as lost in their games as much as you can a game with four to five times the counters and size. Worthington Publishing adds as much historical flavor and reality as they can while still bringing you a playable and enjoyable game. The player has ability in this game to just play a smaller scenario or take the plunge into the entire battle and beyond. This is one of the few games that gives you a July fourth scenario to see if the critics of George Meade are correct. 

 One of the rules that makes the game different than most is the 'Tide of Battle Marker'. It is like a wild card to be used by a player once a day during a scenario. This can be used by the active player to:

 Reroll any one combat die roll made by their unit.

 Reroll any one morale check die roll made for their unit.

Various Game Markers

 With a rulebook that is only eight pages long the Worthington Brigade Battle Series is meant to be a player's game. You do not have to read through, or meander with some rulebooks, 40 plus pages to get a grip on how the game plays. Gettysburg was a large battle so you will need a large enough table for the maps and the ability to have it placed there for some time. You are not going to be able to squeeze in a game on the dinner table with only an hour until the food is served. This is perfectly fine and something that most wargamers, and especially grognards, thrive on. Much like a connoisseur of wines we like to gaze at the map and take it in slowly to get the full flavor of the game and setup, although most of us know the historical Gettysburg setups in our sleep. As Lee, do you attack as he thought he must, or do you take a more surgical approach to the battle? Playing as Meade, do you hesitate as he did, and rightly so, or take the bit in your teeth and go for broke? Worthington allows us to try any and all of the strategies that you can come up with. Thank you, Worthington Publishing, for allowing me to review this very well done on a much-gamed battle. Please take a look at the other games in the series and also Worthington Publishing' large stable of other wargames.

Robert

Worthington Publishing

Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863