I received my two copies of "Gettysburg Soldiers" in the mail today. After a very brief reading, here are my initial impressions.
The book is 5.5" x 10", spiral bound on the shorter dimension. I thought this was odd on first glance, but quickly realized it allows the book to be left on an unused edge of a playing area without intruding onto the table too greatly. The book is all of 22 pages, 24 if one counts the front and back cover. Cover and pages are printed in full color on heavy card stock. My guess is 110# or heavier stock. This is a sturdy book, safe from all but the most abusive handling.
There are a number of photographs showing diorama-like game tables. True, it is eye-candy, but some photos are used to differentiate between types of terrain as well as types of troops used in the game.
A number of tables are evident to illustrate maneuver distances, firing ranges, cases for combat bonuses, fire combat results and melee results. The tables are easy-to-read and the ranged and melee combat tables are set in the middle of the book so it may be left open for quick reference.
The rules are individually numbered and are referenced in the combat results tables by these numbers. This also makes for easy reference on the publisher's forum. The rules appear to be set up for casual games between friends. This is illustrated in the rules as "Deliberate targeting of generals is permitted but discouraged as ungentlemanly."
There are allowances for differentiating between troops, as bonuses to combat. These are spelled out, but it is up to players to apply these bonuses in their own scenario write ups. These include identifying veterans, sharpshooters for ranged combat and +1 for being Confederate in melee for early war.
Rules for maneuver and combat are pretty well spelled out. There are a few ambiguities, but these can be remedied with a look on the forum. This could also be alleviated with illustrations of firing arcs, formations and other cases. This may have increased page count and I'm not sure how the pagination for printing was done. If this were an issue, perhaps they could have used the photographs for more illustrative purposes.
Ordering was easy. Clicking the "Contact Us" button on the website produces a phone number, mailing address or a webform to fill out with the order request. This results in a PayPal invoice being sent to email. Perhaps not the best method of doing business, but it worked in my case.
A nice feature of ordering is that while one copy is $15 USD a second copy when ordered at the same time is only $5. USD A single copy may not be a good value, but two copies for $20 USD definitely is. Shipping cost $5 USD and the books were backed with 5mm black foam board secured with two rubber bands, wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in a padded envelope. The books arrived in fine shape, the USPS having treated the package in a decent manner.
If I have a complaint, it is the lack of scenarios or suggested forces in the book. Perhaps if enough copies of the rules go out, a second book with scenarios could be in the works. Given the previous book format, I can see doing a map with battle notes on one page and the force lists on the facing page.
Overall, I'm glad I ordered the books and look forward to using these rules as a way to dip my proverbial toes in the period.
