"Your favorite turn sequence(s) in ACW gaming?" Topic

Hello!
While Im waiting for BFF and BBB rule books to come in the mail, Ive been trying to create my own homebrew rules for solo or multiplayer sessions.
Ive read alot about peoples opinions on IGOUGO, alternative IGOUGO, order chits, simultaneous, etc.

Which ones do you prefer when fighting an ACW battle?

In any mass battle for any era I'm a fan of alternating activations of commands between the sides with the ability to interrupt the enemies or to complete a complex move if momentum allows.

Johnny Reb II uses chits for basic orders that are flipped simultaneously in a mechanism resembling rock, paper, scissors.

I have just started playing them, but I find "Gettysburg Soldiers" way of doing things very interesting. It is IGOUGO but you roll for initiative for the movement phase then roll initiative again for the fire phase.

"In any mass battle for any era I'm a fan of alternating activations of commands between the sides with the ability to interrupt the enemies or to complete a complex move if momentum allows"

smithsco, could you provide more of a detailed example of this? Id be happy to test it in my rules. How does a complex move work in terms of alternating commands?

"It is IGOUGO but you roll for initiative for the movement phase then roll initiative again for the fire phase."

That sounds neat, Son of MOOG (lol love that name btw)
Would this be more intended for regimental scale or could it work with rolling initiative for corps/divisions/brigades?

Im starting at 2mm so everything is basically a brigade/division/corps OOB

I play homebrew rules because I love tinkering with mechanics. Typically a brigade activates per side in alternating activations. When it is your turn you can attempt to seize momentum by making a save that allows you to activate an entire division at the same time so two brigades may assault making the attack more difficult to stop while another moves to envelope the enemy position. The risk is that each time you fail you add a negative modifier to any future attempt. If you can't seize it it becomes less likely you will in the future. If you can seize momentum in that moment you can out your opponent in a very bad position.

Now that sounds interesting to use! Ive been trying to figure out a way so that a player can move multiple brigades in a turn, so that idea of a saving throw for momentum sounds beneficial.

Ill give it a playtest and see how it spans out. So it would look something like this?

Roll for initiative
Player A attempts a momentum throw
Player A moves unit(s)
Player B Defense fires
Player A fires back
Resolve close combats
Turn end

Jack John

The rules "Gettysburg Soldiers" are Regimental. 1 stand =50 men (using any basing system you want but recommending standard "Fire and Fury" size bases. I have never been a regimental civil war fan but these rules are steadily making me rethink my previous position.

I don't see why it wouldn't work for any higher level of organization. In fact my friend was just mentioning that last weekend during our game.

Forgot to mention that if you fail your momentum save that is your activation. Huge risk huge reward. Used sparingly and in key moments unless you're a serious gambler

I printed business cards with the name of each unit on them. The cards from both sides are shuffled together and drawn one at a time. This creates a nice randomness and tension. I also have a table that produces some random events.

For multiplayer games of any genre, I'm a fan of good ol' IGOUGO because it gets half the players doing something every turn and keeps the movement phase from languishing. One-unit-at-a-time systems tend to drag on with everybody watching one player do something.

One-unit-at-a-time systems can be excellent with smaller unit counts and up to 4 players.

Roll dice high roll chooses who goes first.

A moves
B fires
B moves
A fires
Rally
Melee

I second Yellow Admiral. One of my "Reflections on Wargaming" essays makes basically the same point:
link

Thanks for ordering BBB. I hope you enjoy it. Presumably you've found all the free ACW scenarios in the BBB group files?
groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles

Jack John: that sequence is the basic Fire and Fury one.

works well and can be picked up quickly

Agree with basic F & F – works well

My group plays F & and, more recently, Alter of Freedom. While both are as playable as IGO/UGO rules ever are they are not as satisfying to me as simultaneous movement using order chits.

Im glad to see more responses here!
Shagnasty, can you explain more about the order chits and simultaneous movement? Im probably going to play test all these different suggestions but Im not familiar with the chits too much

JJ, the order chits, at least as used in Johnny Reb, are given to each unit or brigade in the first phase of the turn sequence. In JR there's a three minute time limit to the orders phase and if you dither then you'll run out of time. Some units won't get their orders and are marked "Conditional Hold" (chit 'CH'), so can only defend themselves. A fairly good reflection of a unit either waiting for orders to arrive- or getting orders that they don't understand.

The orders are to do with either firing or movement, for example "Fire" (chit 'FR') means that the unit will only fire, and won't move, change formation or facing, etc. All the Fires from both sides are resolved before moving to the next phase- we have a house rule that the sides fire alternatively, by unit, going from their left to their right. Casualties on an enemy unit which also has an FR order are ignored until after the unit fires.

"Hold" means the unit will hold position and may fire after the movement phase. Units that move are able to fire, with some penalties, at the end of the movement phase. There's other orders, too- Charge, Change Formation, Disengage, etc, and each different order will be carried out in the appropriate phase of the turn. As each phase involves actions by both sides and are determined by the order chit, effectively negating reactive decisions in a turn, it's considered to be simultaneous.

Some orders will affect, or be affected by, orders given by the enemy, eg a unit ordered to move will be affected if an enemy unit charges it.

I like it because as well as planning what your unit will do, you have to consider what the enemy orders may be and how they will affect the orders you give your troops.

Side A Moves
Side B Defensive Fire
Side A Offensive Fire
Melee
Side B Moves
Side A Defensive Fire
Side B Offensive Fire
Melee

I like the now old Piquet rules, where there is not a set play sequence, but each army has it activation deck of cards and each turn has a different amount of 'initiative points' to spend on them. It makes for a very unpredictable battles and games, sometimes frustrating, I admit, but it lifts the fog of war on the table