"McCambridge Farm - Longstreet AAR" Topic

Last night we got to test the new Longstreet rules from Sam Mustafa. He gave us a pre-release copy of the rules to test them in their final format while they are being printed. For me, they are the most fun I have had playing ACW and will certainly be my rules of choice. They follow a similar format to Maurice, being partly card driven and give a fast and exciting game that recreates the feel of the period well. They also have a great campaign system too… Plus you can play using a simple points system or as a historical scenario. Really ticks all boxes this set of rules so I cant wait to play again.

The scenario was a 450 point Meeting Encounter straight out of the rulebook with the T-junction as the objective for both sides. The Union split their forces from the start and kept splitting their reinforcements between two flanks, while the Confederates massed all their troops and advanced en-masse through the McCambridge cornfields. The game was decided in a large engagement around the farm, and the Union flanking attack went in too late to make a difference, and suffered at the hands of the Confederate gunners as it did so. The game reached a decision around the farm as the concentrated mass of Confederate units were able to first gain a foothold around the farm and then push the Union troops back. After heavy losses, and with the junction in Confederate hands, the Union army was forced to retreat from the field.

Confederare troops by me and Union troops by Ruardhi.

The first units arrive…

A unit of seasoned veterans heads down the road…

The Confederate attack begins to develop as more troops arrive…

Union troops holding the right flank…

The Rebel gun battery that would do so much damage…

The Union Zouaves race for the farm walls…

Forward for the South!

Fighting develops around the farm…

The struggle for the farm continues as the Union flank attacks races forward…

As always, very nice set up. I have been waiting for these rules. One thing I am glad of is that there are more that 4 stands for a unit.

Maybe I missed it, but how long did the game take?

Matthew

We played for just over 4 hours, at a VERY leisurely pace (one of our commanders likes to think about EVERY move…) and had a fair few checks of the rules to make sure we were doing things right.

Was a reasonably big game too, so I suspect the playing time will reduce as we get more used to it.

All of us playing really enjoyed it, though we are big fans of Maurice, and I suspect Longstreet will be our default choice for ACW from now on.

Very nice looking game! Nice looking battlefield, nicely painted figures! Looks like a lot of fun!

Boy are you lucky. You've got your hands in all the cool stuff (BGK/BGO, Longstreet)!

Great looking game. Can't wait to get my hands on these rules. I have not found an ACW rule set worth playing in the last 30 years. Has the drought ended for one of my favorite periods?

Beautiful paint jobs and terrain !

great job! And yes… the terrain looks awesome. I am waiting for some time now for these rules. They seem to hit all the marks for what a game can and should be.

Good work.

I'm looking forward to these because I've had similar experiences to Doug redshirt, though only for a couple of years and not 30.

Though, as someone who has completely lost faith in ACW rule playtesters, I find it ominous that you were testing them when they were already at the printers! Let's hope you didn't find anything that needed to be changed.

"I find it ominous that you were testing them when they were already at the printers! "

I believe he means, "testing… to see if his group liked them."

The playtesting occurred in 2012-13 and of course was done long before they went to the printers.

best,
Sam

That's good to hear Sam, thanks.