"My Gettysburg good deed" Topic
6 Posts
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ChrisBBB2  | 07 Oct 2025 9:04 a.m. PST |
I caught up with an old friend I hadn't gamed with for decades. He told me ACW is his passion and his dream was one day to fight the whole of Gettysburg. I made it happen for him:
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| FlyXwire | 07 Oct 2025 9:14 a.m. PST |
Stellar Chris, really, and with Context too! Cramping Deployment. That Confederate success on Day 1 really was important, as I didn't have space to use my numerical advantage effectively. I struggled to find space to set up a gun line; when I did, I then managed to mask it with my infantry. Some of this was my own ineptitude but it was also due to the situation Dave's success had created.Unit Bases. The big single bases for units worked very nicely. People do occasionally ask about this, so in future I can point them to this report. Ground scale vs. unit frontages/basing can make a huge difference – and as illustrated by your comments above. Oh, and it all looks good too, but it's really about expanding the board table to the Bigger Battles (w/appropriate terrain)….and then gaining those command decisions that follow. |
 Old Contemptible | 07 Oct 2025 2:44 p.m. PST |
Great looking game. But try it with regiments. |
 Murphy  | 07 Oct 2025 3:55 p.m. PST |
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| ChrisBBB2 | 07 Oct 2025 11:10 p.m. PST |
Thanks, chaps. All credit to Dave for how good the game looked. "But try it with regiments." How many regiments were there at Gettysburg? About 250+ US vs 200+ Confederate? That's an awful lot of units for two people to push around a tabletop. My facetious answer is therefore "life's too short". My other facetious answer: why stop at regiments? Why not get really granular and represent individual companies or platoons? More serious answer: apart from the problems of time and physical space, playing with that many units creates the problem of not seeing the wood for the trees. If I have to do thousands of tiny little moves to fight the battle, it becomes hard to see the big picture. Distilling it down to a dozen or so units a side and just 11 game turns makes it much easier to appreciate the shape of the battle. And you don't need 17 players, a 17-foot table and 17 hours to do it. Of course, a game of that size can be a magnificent spectacle and a wonderful occasion and worth doing for many good reasons. But it's a different experience and won't teach the same lessons or give the same insights as a more distilled approach. |
| FlyXwire | 08 Oct 2025 3:56 a.m. PST |
Oh yeah, the ole 17's problem (or 18, or 15….). I remember way back, guys setting up the mega board game Terrible Swift Sword (SPI 1976) – usually down in their basements (with bad lighting, the noisy washing machine, and with the usual smells). Most of it got moldy (like their basements), long before they ever finished a game. It was one of those old bragging rights in our area – "we almost finished TSS…..but the cat wiped-out Longstreet's Corps". Thinkin' Old Contemptible might be pulling your leg a bit here Chris…….but your answer sounds as fresh as ever (moldy basement or not). ;) |
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