2016 · GMT Games
Clash of Giants: Civil War takes the game system from Ted S. Raicer’s popular and critically acclaimed Clash of Giants WWI series to two of the storied battles of the American Civil War: Second Bull Run and Gettysburg. CoG: Civil War uses a modified version of the chit-pull Activation system of Clash of Giants II: Campaigns of Galicia and First Ypres, 1914, while retaining the CoG combat system. Every (mostly brigade-level) unit has a Tactical Efficiency Rating based on its morale, training, leadership, and experience, but even a poor unit can have a heroic moment, while the Iron Brigade might not always be made of iron. It is a true player’s system, which produces realistic results without a lot of fiddly procedures, and allows players to concentrate on the game rather than the rules.
Units in CoG: Civil War are mostly infantry brigades, (with the odd cavalry brigade or demi-brigade). Each day is divided into four day turns and one night turn. The maps depict woods, hills, steep hexsides, railway cuts and embankments, roads, rivers, creeks, bridges, towns, marshy ground, and the Devil’s Den at Gettysburg.
The Activation rules, which combines random formation activation (mostly corps for the Union and divisions for the Confederates) with variable movement allowances, creates the fog of war and friction so important to Civil War battles. Ordering your corps commander to take a hill is one thing-getting him to act as you wish is another. And because these effects are achieved without hidden counter/dummy unit mechanics, CoG: Civil War is not only a fast-paced two-player game, but excellent as well for solo play. Some Activation markers also allow you to coordinate more than one formation, such as Longstreet at Gettysburg. But don’t expect Old Pete to do so early in the day!
One thing that speeds play in CoG: Civil War is the unusual treatment of artillery. There are no artillery units depicted; instead artillery appears as Combat Support Markers which are added (attacker first) to the combat strength of engaged units. Artillery CSMs are generally assigned to a specific division or corps, though army reserve artillery can be used to support any units. Artillery cannot be used in combat in certain terrain (woods or town hexes), but there are no line of sight considerations to slow down play or complicate the rules. Instead both line of sight and enemy counter-battery fire are handled with an elegant abstraction: each turn all available artillery CSMs of both sides go into a cup, and then half are randomly drawn. Whatever comes out of the cup is available for use that turn, so the player with more artillery on the field is more likely to get artillery support. This also allows a simple way to model the effectiveness of the Union Artillery Reserve at Gettysburg; once arrived, these markers never go in the cup, and are always available for use. Overall, CoG: Civil War’s portrait of artillery as an occasionally decisive
