Subject: Fw: 1864 Year of Decision - Omega Games Brandon wrote in message ... The game is a high level operational game on the 1864 campaigns of Grant and Sherman against Richmond and Atlanta. Army/corps level plus a few divisions+garrisons+militia, 6 turns per month. 2 half maps, 1 for each theater, and both are used for the campaign game. The emphasis is on playability and being a simulation, and I think the designer (Don Alexander) accomplished his goal. The emphasis is onplayability so the designer abstracted where he could. The game uses a pt-pt map which is kind of abstract. There are few units per side, say 10 mobile units and some militia and garrisons. I estimate a scenario (Shermans Drive on Atlanta) acn be finished in 1 gaming session with experienced players. Some of the interesting ideas in the game: 1) the combat system is the best part of the game. Units and HQs are rated for initiative. To attack each participating unit rolls a die. If it blows its initiative it sits out. An HQ can control 2 or 3 units (Grant can control 3, Johnston 2). If the HQ makes its roll then all its subordinate units may attack. Typically the veteran and well lead units have higher initiatives. Lee is a 5, Johnston is a 2, so dont count on him to attack much. Units also have a tactical rating, which is rolled against on a variable tactical table to see the battle rating. Grant can have a bad day (he must have rolled a 1 at Cold harbor), and Polk can have a good day. The net DRM is usually 1 to 3, but can be as high as 5. Troop quality also contributes a battle DRM. Combat is odds based with many columns broken out by 25% increments. Losses are percentage based, with POS suffered at the extremes. The DRMs are important and can turn a big attack into a repulse. Say Longstreet is entrenched. He gets a -2 DRM for the entrenchment, probably a -1 or -2 DRM if attacked by a mixed force of veterans and newly raised units, and maybe another -1 DRM for tactical skill. Say a -4 or -5. If hes attacked at 2.25 - 1, he will stop the attacker cold. 2) replacements - 1/2 the combat losses return at the end of the month. Plus each side receives replacements. But units are limited to how many men they may absorb each month. A unit that takes very heavy losses will take a couple of months or longer to rebuild. Unist also have a maximum size you you cant give Longstreet 40,000 men. 3) political points - victory is based on political points which are gained/lost by taking objectives, devatating regions, winning battles, conducting off map cavalry raids, and suffering losses. Political points also affect attrition. If you take very heavy losses and lose some objectives (say Atlanta) your troops will be more likely to desert. This may cost a few thousand men per theater per month. 4) Supply is simple, its based on proximity to rail lines. A units supply state deteriorates each turn its out of supply. Combat will cause a reduced supply unit to become out of supply and suffer nasty combat DRMS, and suffer nasty attrition. What happens in practice is the Union tries a flanking maneuver and fater a few turns rotates the units so the original flankers are back in supply befor ethey reach a critical state. This can result in some forced marching, attack from march, and other maneuvering to try and get around the souths front line concentartion.