Lee's War: The War in Virginia 1861 - 1865
by
Worthington Publishing
This game has seven days left on KickStarter. Below is what Worthington Publishing has to say about the game:
"Lee’s War: Command the War in Virginia
Lee’s War is a strategic-level game covering the American Civil War in Virginia from 1861 to 1865. Players command the Union and Confederate forces, maneuver armies across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; engage the enemy in battle, and fight for control of key cities and rail lines.
The two national capitals stood less than 100 miles apart, making Virginia the war’s most politically and strategically important battleground. Its varied geography created several distinct theaters of operation. Armies fought through the mountains and valleys of the Shenandoah, across the rolling and wooded terrain of Northern Virginia, and throughout the Tidewater region in the east.
As President Lincoln and President Davis discovered, having troops in the field was not enough. Victory depended on the commanders entrusted with leading them.
Leaders Shape the Campaign
Leadership is at the heart of Lee’s War. The game includes more than 25 Union leaders and more than 15 Confederate leaders, representing commanders at the division, corps, and army levels.
Each leader is rated for initiative, command ability, and combat leadership. These ratings affect how effectively your forces maneuver and fight. Players must contend with the same differences in ability, temperament, influence, and ambition that challenged both governments during the war.
Can you succeed with the commanders available to you? Can you avoid their historical mistakes, exploit their strengths, and achieve a better result than Lincoln or Davis?
Fight for Military and Strategic Victory
The destruction of the opposing forces is the primary objective in Lee’s War. Control of important cities and rail lines also contributes to victory.
Although the game does not directly simulate national politics, the political consequences of the war are incorporated into its victory conditions. The longer the Confederacy prolongs the conflict, and the more casualties it inflicts on the Union, the greater the possibility that Lincoln will lose the 1864 presidential election. A peace candidate, most likely George B. McClellan, might then bring the war to an end and leave the Confederacy independent.
This gives the two sides different strategic pressures. The Union must defeat Confederate forces and secure key objectives before Northern support for the war collapses. The Confederacy must preserve its armies, inflict losses, defend vital territory, and keep the struggle alive.
The game shows the war at the big picture level, while battles are the ultimate door to victory - it is the maneuvers that are the keys to the unlock the door. Each strength point equals roughly a brigade of 2,500 infantry and artillery. Each hex is 5 miles from side to side. Each turn equals roughly a week.
There are rules for army and cavalry reaction, rail movement, Union naval movement, the destruction of rail and supply depots, leader casualties, entrenchments, weather, and we've kept it to 12 pages. (So far!)
Worthington Publishing has always released great wargames that are easy to learn and short on the rulebook.
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