American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

Josh, FoF is WeGo, not RT, so many games so little time

I noted your post elsewhere about Crown of Glory, Emperors Edition, and checked it out, definitely sounds strategic with tactical battles but a steep learning curve per the reviews. On that note, War & Peace by Avalon Digital is also currently on sale on Steam, although not greatly reduced, not particularly expensive anyway, but.....it is a direct port of the all time classic board game of the same name by Avalon Hill. It's definitely on my to get list !

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Karl McEntegart
Brigadier General
Officer Commanding
Army of Tennessee





Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.

Hey, thanks for noticing. Didnt know you played the Napoleonics as well! What Im gathering and didnt realize is that Crown and FoF are based off the same system. Probably gonna try them out, why not? On sale.

Thanks for the tip on War and Peace. However, I dont use steam, not a fan of that lack of ownership of the games, but thats for a different conversation and over drinks

Appreciate the insight though, Sir!

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Lt. Colonel JJ Jansen
3rd Calvary Brigade, 4th Calvary Division
Army of Tennessee
CSA

I'd recommend Crown of Glory & FoF! I've enjoyed them over the years and the learning curve is not as steep as other games of their kind.

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General Scott Ludwig
4/II/ANV

Thanks Scott, the new Crown of Glory, Emperor's Edition looks good.

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Karl McEntegart
Brigadier General
Officer Commanding
Army of Tennessee





Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.

I'm sorry for the delay in responding. I somehow overlooked your post [I only noticed it when I saw a new post in this thread and went back to see where I last visited it].

Yes, I have Forge of Freedom but haven't played it for some time as I notice it's not on my computer which I bought in June this year (just on an external hard drive). The AI is not great but it can be some fun. I have only played as the CSA.
It's a mix between IGOUGO and real-time. The strategic moves are IGOUGO while the battles are real-time. [Note: From memory you need to select 'playing the battles yourself' in order to play them or the AI does a calculation on who wins.] You should have a much better chance of winning the battles if you play them (it increases the length of the game) because the AI Generals are not too bright. The battles are fun because it's a good 'miniatures experience' and smoke is even considered (obscures visibility) but they do not represent real battlefields (they are generic maps based upon where they are fought and the time of year).
Strategically I usually send Lee, and a couple of other well-rated Generals, to the west to secure the Mississippi then head north. That often causes me to lose Virginia by 1864 but by that stage I am advancing in the far west and north from Kentucky. You'll probably lose Virginia over time, even with Lee there, due to the sheer weight of numbers (you'll lose it a lot quicker if you let the AI conduct your battles).
It's not a great intellectual challenge but it can be fun, especially in the battles (though they can be very time-consuming to play).
'Go West, young man, go West.'

I have not played War in the East 2. I have been tempted to buy it on a number of occassions but wonder if it is sufficiently different/improved from WitE 1 to justify the expense. I would appreciate comments on it.

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

I find WitW hard, very hard, to win as the Axis. I can 'win' the separate Italian campaign but not the full War in the West. The reason is Allied airpower, it is incredible. True to life but truly staggering. It must be winnable somehow through a thorough study of air doctrine and application of strategies/tactics for it but that's not a great area of interest to me (I prefer it to be more abstract, like WitE). WitW is an extremely challenging game to play as the Axis; I suspect it would be very easy if you played as the Allies.

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

I second Paul's question above. WitE 2 is currently on sale at Matrix/Slitherine @ -30%, WitE 1 @ -70% and Gog the same % but cheaper !

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Karl McEntegart
Brigadier General
Officer Commanding
Army of Tennessee





Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.

@Karl McEntegart & @Scott Ludwig

Crown of Glory looks interesting. Do either of you have any other comments, or tips, about it?

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

I know nothing of it other than checking it out following Scott's recommendation, it looks 'interesting though ! Right price, Traditional PBEM and IGOUGO, I hate RT games personally, whilst prepared to suffer WEGO. Now I'm in a 'Rock & Hard Place' SC ACW, Civil War II or CoG EE, ............so many decisions, so little cash

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Karl McEntegart
Brigadier General
Officer Commanding
Army of Tennessee





Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.

Well, I purchased FoF and Crown so I will let you all know. Thanks for the recommendation Scott. Ive booted Crown and I actually like the map and the interface seems easy enough. We will see.

Paul, I own WitE 1 and love it. I did purchase 2 earlier in the month after reading some of the upgrades and Im excited to jump into that soon to. So many strategy games, so little time :/

Glad you enjoy WitW, might splurge and get that one soon. Just dont like that it begins in ‘43. I understand that the Axis is probably not winnable, but if it were say a ‘42 start, maybe there would be a chance… I dunno.

I have a suspicion based on the WitE2 map (its size and design) that they are planning a War In Europe game…. That would be… well… awesome!

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Lt. Colonel JJ Jansen
3rd Calvary Brigade, 4th Calvary Division
Army of Tennessee
CSA

Crown of Glory looks to have some similarities with Forge Of Freedom although expanded in areas like economies and other nations. The 'Quick Battles' and 'Detailed Battles' look to have identical game engines although with some different unit types.

WitW starts in 1943 because it covers the Italian theatre. Aside from other scenarios you can start in 1943 (full map with the action beginning in Sicily - if you do too well in Sicily the AI Allies land in mainland Italy [usually near the heel but not always]) or 1944 (Axis still holds Rome and a defensive line south of it - Allied invasion [not necessarily Normandy] seems to occur soon after you start, May 1944).
If you ever work out a simple method to minimise Allied airpower I'd love to hear about it.

I agree, a full War in Europe combining WitE and WitW would be "well… awesome!"

What are the main differences between WitE and WitE2? [If there is no significant differences between the two it doesn't seem worth me buying WitE2.]

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