Mr. Daley,
I just want to echo the comments already shared. When I played the Talonsoft games against the A/I, I made the mistake of comparing the Talonsoft A/I to some computer chess A/I. Because of that, I came away with the mistaken notion that I was pretty hot stuff as a Civil War general. When I joined the club, I lost my first three battles and was scratching my head to figure out what had hit me.
That's not to say that you will lose your first games, necessarily, but if you do don't get discouraged. If you enjoy a challenge, you'll love playing against a human.
One of the (many) nice things about the club is that you can play at your own pace. If one turn a week is all you have time for, you won't have any trouble finding an opponent. On the other hand, there are many club members who will turn around several files a DAY.
There are no dues or initiation fees of any sort. Besides purchasing the games themselves and having your own internet access, there are no costs involved in joining the club.
When you first join, you'll be given the rank of Cadet and assigned to the Vicksburg Military Institute (VMI) to go over the procedures of play-by-email. You'll play a short game against your instructor, just to make sure you have the hang of exchanging files, etc. Your instructor will be happy to share some of the things to watch out for from humans (and from Yanks, too -- although we're not sure they're all human, we give most of them the benefit of the doubt [:D]), and give you some pointers on how to handle them.
Upon completion of your practice game, you'll be graduated, promoted to Field Lieutenant, and assigned to a brigade in one of the four CSA armies. Brigade command is the entry level in the club (yes, it seems a bit awkward to be commanding a brigade as a Lieutenant, but war sometimes forces us into strange situations [:)]!). As a brigade commander, all that will be expected of you is to have at least one club-sanctioned game going and to respond to 'muster calls' from your division commander. (We do muster calls once a month, just to find out who is still active. In an internet organization, especially one that doesn't charge dues, there is a tendency for people to just disappear. We've found this to be the best way to keep in touch.)
You'll receive points for playing the games (basically the same number of points whether you win or lose -- this club is based on the fun of playing, rather than winning at all costs). As you accrue points, you'll be promoted up to the rank of Colonel.
Club administration is handled by division-level (and above) officers. Promotion to the general ranks requires serving in an administrative position, in addition to having a minimum number of points. Many members are perfectly content to simply play the games and stay at brigade level. Most, however, take a turn helping out with the administrative tasks necessary in the organization.
I hope this answers many of your questions. We look forward to having you join our ranks when you are able.
Your humble servant,
LGen 'Dee Dubya' Mallory
David W. Mallory
ACW - Lieutenant General, Chief of the Armies, Confederate States of America
CCC - Corporal, Georgia Volunteers, Southern Regional Deaprtment, Colonial American Army
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