Saturday, December 21, 2013

Stonewall Jackson's Way II: AGA Scenario II: Johnston Vs. Patterson

As much as the first scenario of "All Green Alike" presented a straightforward situation, the second scenario offers a far more complex series of decisions and victory conditions that belies its small scope.  "Johnston Vs. Patterson" recreates the situation of July 1861 when Gen. Johnston slipped away with his Confederate Army to reinforce Gen. Beauregard and tip the scales to a Southern victory at 1st Bull Run.  The is the only other scenario except for the previously reviewed Scenario 1 and the full Virginia campaign that will use the west map from "Here Come The Rebels."  The game is 3 turns long and musters roughly 5 brigades for the South and 8 for the North.

The Confederates are tasked with exiting the map, defending Winchester and attacking the Union army with the goal of creating panic.  The North achieves its objectives by also exiting the map, preventing the South from exiting, taking Winchester and causing the Confederates to panic.  Panic is a new game mechanic added to "All Green Alike", a far more comprehensive rule than the relatively simple concept of panic that was found in the original "Stonewall Jackson's Way."  Each army in the game is given a panic level.  Once enough units in the given army take retreat or rout results in combat the whole army may panic.  A panicked army suffers various effects, most notably a -1 modifier to all combats as attacker or defender for the rest of the game.  Each side has to carefully pick its objectives while planning both offensive and defensive possibilities, all under the fast moving 3 day time limit.  Be sure to read the victory conditions carefully.  On our first playthrough I failed as the South to account for the fact that all 5 brigades must exit the map or face a VP penalty.  That mistake cost me the game by a very narrow margin.
Johnston Vs. Patterson Setup

Memorial Circle American Civil War Monument

Location: Augusta, Maine

Features: Monument

History: Unknown

Traveler's Notes: Photographed October 2013

Resources: http://www.maine.gov/civilwar/monuments/augusta.html



Thursday, December 5, 2013

Stonewall Jackson's Way II: AGA Scenario 1: Across the Potomac

The first scenario from SJWII's "All Green Alike" focuses on the overlooked pre-Bull Run campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.  The game takes place from July 2-5, 1861 as Gen. Patterson leads the first major Northern invasion of the region.  The historical dates for this scenario are the earliest represented in the GCACW and even fall before the dates set for the AGA advanced games, making this scenario the unique starting point for the whole war.  This scenario does take place exclusively on the "Here Come The Rebels" west map, so ownership of that game is required to play.

This scenario provides an excellent introduction to the game system with low counter density and a simple set of victory conditions.  The Southern force contains 4 infantry brigades vs. the North's 6 brigades.  The Union objective is to secure a series of locations, the deeper into enemy territory they go the higher the overall VP reward. This sets up a nicely balanced meeting engagement as the Confederates move north to stop the incursion and take back objectives.  All the "green" restrictions are in play here as leaders have a limited ability to command troops to march and attack.
Across The Potomac Setup