Command Combat: Civil War - Tutorial 4 (Command Colors)

Command Combat: Civil War - Tutorial 3 (Turn Sequence)

Command Combat: Civil War - Tutorial 1 (Choosing Your Army)

Command Combat: Civil War Battle Report - Fremont v. Polk (1861 Meeting Engagement)

Today we see a battle between General Fremont and General Polk in 1861.

Final Primary Plans for Command Combat: Civil War

Now that the 1864 expansion is released, I have completed the bulk of what I had planned for Command Combat: Civil War.  But there are a few other major elements yet to finish.

First, I need to put together the hardcover compilation of everything from the 1861 core rulebook through the three main expansions, ’62, ’63, and ’64.  Plus there will be a few added elements from 1865.  There was supposed to be an entire expansion just for that year, but as I got to researching it, I learned that there really wasn’t enough from that year to make an entire expansion.  I had somewhat known this and intended to make it a what if expansion, including things like European troops and the Gatling gun, but it still just wasn’t enough.  So I decided to make it added content to the compilation book.  Thus, 1865.  I had intended on coming out with this expansion on the 150^th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant, but will have to settle for the 151^st anniversary of it, (or near that time.)

I also wanted to release a battle pack of the Battle of the Wilderness, which will include Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg.  This would make it so there was at least one battle pack for each year of the war.  I could just skip this and let Gettysburg be the last one, but it just feels odd to leave 1864 out arbitrarily.  So I’ll be coming out with that next year as well.  The one thing that will be missing from this is the unit pieces.  They take a tremendous amount of time, and if I wait to finish these, it may never end.  Plus, the sizes of the armies in these expansions are so huge that they would make the books way too large.

Finally, as I’ve taken this journey through all these expansions, I’ve found better ways for the game to be played, and even some elements of the game that aren’t very strong.  I’ve been altering them through house rules as I’ve been playing with people more recently, but it would be best to provide these rules to the public so they can have the best experience possible playing.  So I need to create a version 2 of the game.  However, I always hate when a game company requires their players to go out and buy a whole new game after they’ve been loyal, purchasing all the games in the past.  So I’ll be posting all the changes on the website so those people who already had version 1 can simply use these altered rules without having to spend more money.

I also have found a number of typos throughout the other expansions, so I need to go fix those as well.  And once those are all finished, I’ve completed the major elements of Command Combat: Civil War.  I’ll have more things to make over time, including a regimental version, a navy game and individual battles to release.  Plus I want to expand into other periods.  But these elements are the main parts of the game that I had envisioned when I created Command Combat: Civil War.

Command Combat: Civil War - 1861 (Fremont v. Polk)

Command Combat: Civil War - 1863 Battle (Hooker v. Johnston)

Today we see a battle between General Hooker and General Johnston in 1863.

My Source of Information

When looking up information, I always start with Wikipedia.  Some people criticize that for some reason.  I don’t understand why.  First, they provide a great overview to get you started, and they have everything in one convenient location.  You add to that the fact that not only does it list the various connections, (what battles the unit or general was in, etc.) but they have links!  These links become enormously helpful.

But here’s what’s specifically great about Wikipedia: They list their sources, with links, at the bottom of the page.  That’s right, if I want to learn more about what I’m reading, I can click on those links and find out more, or learn where to buy a book I need, etc.

I also have a small library of Civil War books.  The most useful one, of course, is Shelby Foote’s The Civil War.  Nothing is more complete, and easy to navigate.  As I was making each book, I read through the years of which I was writing in Foote’s book, occasionally picking up something to use I hadn’t gotten out of Wikipedia.  I also had Ken Burn’s documentary running almost on a continuous loop on the specific year of which I was writing.  This provided inspiration and, again, small ideas I hadn’t considered before.

And, as I said, I have a few other books that I went through to find a bit more to put in.  For instance, I knew there was something interesting Forrest had done in ’64 that I wasn’t seeing in my regular sources, so I picked up his biography again and found it, placing it in as one of his special rules.

A more specific example of something that came out of Foote’s book was Longstreet’s special ability to create a flank attack.  I knew he had played an important role in the Battle of the Wilderness, coming in at just the right time to hit the Federals and taking them by surprise; but what I had forgotten was that he split up a brigade, creating a separate one under a temporarily promoted officer.  This way the Federals thought they knew where every Confederate brigade was, and was therefore surprised when a new one appeared on their flank.  As such, his rule allows him to break up a brigade and have a new one appear within a certain distance and attack.

Command Combat: Civil War - 1864 Generals Preview 5

Here's the last preview of Command Combat: Civil War - 1864.  It comes out on Sunday on Wargame Vault and Amazon.

1864 General Preview - Early

1864 History

1864 Preview - Barlow

1864 Cover

A Soldier's Letter

7 Score 10 Years Ago continues to have fascinating articles.  Here's one of them that tells a lot about life between the battles.

http://7score10years.com/index.php/north/82-north/1275-january-27-1864-a-soldiers-letter

Old Glory Miniatures

My favorite miniatures for Civil War figures has always been Old Glory.  There are the obvious things to like about them, such as the quality and the various poses.  But what I like most about them are the pieces that seem like they're merely decorative, but they are so interesting that I had to make them into relevant pieces for the game.

For instance, the signal tower is a piece they constructed.  This has no game value for any other rules set, but I liked it so much that I added it to the 1862 rules.  Players are able to send orders over great distances using this piece.  I've also used the civilians in the Bull Run scenario, their photographer for Matthew Brady, their dead pieces for bodies, and several others.  Most impressive are their generals.  They have packs of figures molded to look like specific generals.  These are perfect for the generals you choose out of the Command Combat books for your armies.  If you have generals they haven't specifically sculpted, many of their non-named generals look close enough to whomever you want to field.

You can find their Civil War figures at:

http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/products.asp?cat=662