"RRI1" wrote in message news:<20020101130114.14912.00002909@mb-fp.aol.com>... >Sounds like a great game based on physical quality and the >game's reputation. Can anyone give a more detailed >explanation of the game though, please? A House Divided is a simple wargame. Like We the People it is based on a point point based map (though some of the points are connected by rivers and rails (which aid in movement) and some of the connections are shown as crossing a river (giving a penalty on attavking that space from that direction. However, unlike WtP, the game does not use cards and the mechanics are quite a bit different. There are only 6 types of units: - Infantry: Green (2), Veteran (3) and Crack (4) - Cavalry: Green (1), Veteran (2) and Crack (3) All units enter the game as green recruits and as they win battles and the game progresses, they become better units and improve their hit number. It has been a while since I played, but here are the basic mechanics: - Roll for number of "marches". You roll a die to determine how many groups can move. A group simply has to start in the same space, but they can be split into different areas. If the Union rolls a 6, they may elect to move by sea. Confederacy never gets this right. - Move units: Infantry units move 1 space on roads, 2 on rail or river. They must stop if entering an enemy occupied space. Cav units may always move 2 space and may "jump" move (i.e. move through an enemy occupied space and not cause combat. Forts may also be built. - Battle: If both sides have units in the same space, they fighting. The fighting is somewhat similar to VitP: the defender lines up his units, the attacker pairs each unit against an enemy. If there are any units left over on either side, they can double up on a single unit. Each unit rolls a die and scores a hit if they roll equal or less than their hit number. (Attacking vs. forts reduces the hit number.) Defender fires first and attacker must take losses before he fires. Both sides must fire at least once (IIRC) (except in when the unit cross a river--the attacking units cannot fire in their first round as penalty). Each unit may take 2 hits before being eliminated. After each round of battle, either side can retreat or elect to continue the battle. The side that retreats is considered the loser. The winning side grants any one its units a promotion. - Promotion: Each side may promote one unit of the choice. There are countermix limitations. - Recruitment: Each side can recruit green units from the recruitment pool. This pool is a fixed number of green units at a time--but the number increases each year as to introduction of conspription. Also the total number of units cannot be larger than the supply valus of the cities each side holds. Each game turn presents about 1 month (10 turns per year--the winter months were doubled up) The game last from April 1861 to April 1865 or 40 turns maximum. The object is for the Union to control every supply city in the south (there 10-12 of them). The Confederacy must either capture Washington or hold out until the end of the game. They also include many optional rules to flavor and balance the game: leader counters (only Lee, Grant and Sherman), European intervention on the South's behalf, Northern recruitment problems, etc. Any or all of these can be added to improve balance or for historical flavor. The standard game without rules is only slightly in the Confederacy's favor. The game takes about 3-4 hours to play, but there are scenarios for each year that can be used. >And general opinions also please. >I've seen a few reviews on Grognard and Luding >that say great things, but not much details about mechanics, >complexity level, balance, etc. I understand the game is >based on point-to-point movement, but what differentiates >this game from the "We the People" series? Is it meatier >than We the People? Hannibal? Paths of Glory? etc. I'm sort >of looking to branch out beyond the Axis and Allies >complexity level - but don't wish to ignore games in that >category from now on. It is about the same level as We the People. This is an introductory game. There is not a lot of detail, but it does play out remarkably similar to the war. This sounds like the type of game you are looking for. Richard Irving rri1@aol.com Made with recycled electrons!