Easter holidays don’t get much better than this. Whilst the wives sank the vino and the kids were busy searching for Easter eggs, it was time to try out the latest rules to catch Rob’s eye. I’ll post his review of the rules in the ‘pages’ section of the blog, what follows is a brief run through of the initial game. We played a divisional level game over the course of around three hours, allowing for visits by wives and crying children. We had similar sized forces in terms of infantry but I had an extra artillery battery and Rob had an extra cavalry squadron. The terrain was wooded on my left flank and wheat fields providing cover in the centre and on the right. My plan, if you can call it that, was to form a defensive arc and use my artillery to rake the advancing blue-bellies.

Rob is the only player who is consistently more aggressive than myself on the tabletop. It was turn two before his Yankee columns crossed the table centre line. The rules differentiates between the types of ordinance and was quite realistic. Although troops can move or fire twice in these rules , the non-moving player can also fire as a reaction. This kept the action going and  again keeps both players involved in a modified I-go-you-go system.

The first assault was beaten off but the wily Federal general smashed through my right in double quick time.

But of course there is always the centre and my left, and here it was even worse! The rules handle period flavour very well. The attacks are most reminiscent of period battle accounts with the ebb and flow of the American battlefields. For me, it was all over! My counter attack in the centre claimed a few scalps but it was too little too late. I was most impressed by the rules and would definitely recommend them!