American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

The title's pretty self-explanatory - what titles do y'all feel like are the best for PBEM and which ones are the worst? I have been playing against the AI for years, and have mainly purchased titles where I thought the battles were interesting or based on how enjoyable playing the AI would be (for instance, assuming that playing any large scenario against the AI would not be very fun for very long). But playing against an actual person is different. I thought the various small battle scenarios in Forgotten Campaigns were interesting, but a number were admittedly gimmicky, and looking through the DOR records and the game guides, the Club as a whole doesn't seem to use that title much. Same with Campaign Ozark - I played that title against the AI quite a bit because I found those battles interesting, but if I'm pulling the DOR data correctly, there have only been 15 completed games from that title since the start of 2023.

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Fld Lt Will Koch
5th Brigade, 3rd Division, I Corps
Army of Northern Virginia
CSA

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Gen. Blake Strickler
Confederate General-in-Chief
El Presidente 2010 - 2012

I don't have a favourite title, although Shenandoah used to be my favourite.

I look for 'balanced' games. To me 'balanced' means that each side has a fair chance of winning and the forces deployed are appropriate for the map size. I especially dislike scenarios where there are many units crammed into a too-small map. I have found several balanced scenarios that I have played many times (often as both sides) and the joy has been that they play out differently each time. Some of those I have played repeatedly are:
Antietam 002 Bull Run, 014 2nd Bull Run;
Chickamauga - 005 Perryville (plus variants), 039 Chickamauga (plus variants), 107 On to Nashville;
Corinth - cfc12u4 Purdy (plus variants); and
Shenandoah - 041 Goods Farm, 049 Cross Keys.

There are others but the above are the main ones. I can't recall any of those listed playing the same way twice. I'm sure to play them again at some stage although lately my main interest is in bigger battles on large maps, three days or more in length. It is essential that your opponent in such large scenarios is a fast responder, unless you like to play the one scenario for a year or more.

You mention Forgotten as not being used much. In part that is because it was the last title released. Late last year I analysed the total number of plays recorded in the DoR for all the titles and got the following results:
1. Gettysburg - 3,638.
2. Antietam - 2,038.
3. Corinth - 1,727.
4. Shiloh - 1,642.
5. Chickamauga - 1550.
6. Ozark - 1,032.
7. Peninsula - 950.
8. Atlanta 948.
9. Vicksburg - 846.
10. Chancellorsville - 709.
11. Shenandoah - 514.
12. Franklin - 498.
13. Overland - 454.
14. Petersburg - 146.
15. Forgotten - 100.

It was pointed out to me that the analysis was probably skewed by the release dates of the various titles. So, I analysed recorded plays from 2022 and got the following:
1. Antietam - 312.
2. Gettysburg - 237.
3. Chickamauga - 190.
4. Shenandoah - 161.
5. Vicksburg - 132.
6. Shiloh - 106.
7. Overland - 95.
8. Forgotten - 91.
9. Chancellorsville - 78.
10. Ozark - 57.
11. Atlanta - 54.
12. Corinth - 52.
13. Peninsula - 41.
14. Franklin - 38.
15. Petersburg - 36.

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Paul Swanson
Lieutenant-General
First Division
First Corps
Army of Northern Virginia

Balance is subjective. For most of us, a balanced scenario is one in which we won but we had to struggle a bit to achieve it. The opponent may not feel like it was balanced. Even building an equal force scenario on identical terrain isn't necessarily balanced because someone gets to go first (or last).

If you want to get down to the nitty gritty, balance depends heavily upon the gaming skills of the opponents. Finding an opponent that you enjoy playing and that can challenge you every game (and win some of them) is far more important than what scenarios that you play (although many of them can be very one sided but some of those can still be fun to play). Won/loss records of scenarios and/or opponents are also misleading because how good were the opponents.

An additional item for consideration is that the WDS games offer many playing options which have been added to by members' house rules. Changes in those options can make huge differences in how the game is played.

All in all, trying to figure out which scenarios to play can be wasted energy. Find the ones that look interesting then jump in and enjoy the ride.

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Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

I have never cared about balance when it comes to battle selection. For me if I can change history, it is all the sweeter. Plus, I have learnt a lot of history every time I have played a new battle - that is the fun of the Forgotten Campaigns.

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General Cam McOmish

1st Division Commander
Medeiros Corps
(1/1)
Army of Tennessee
Confederate States of America