SQUARES - The Civil War Battle Game
http://www.dvgc.com/summary.html
Yes the website is a bit dated looking
Yes its a small indie game
Yes the board quality isn’t that great
Yes the rules are worder/structured poorly
BUT…
The game mechanics and design are wonderful. Its a great strategy game!
It’s an abstraction of a few square miles of Civil War battle field. It’s a no-luck game (think Chess) but often combat resolution is a test of nerves…who’ll blink first. Do you retreat to preserve your unit, or hold your ground knowing that the bloody battle to ensue will remove both units from the game?
As an aside, I used to this via PBEM a lot until I starting playing A&A Miniatures here on A&A.org. I’d be open for a game if anyone wanted to give it a try!
Mot
Cool, Deer Valley Games is a local company, I could get a copy of that game pretty quick I imagine;)
Small world!
If you are intersted in playing I can post a rule synopsis and starting stratgies.
It’s already got a MapView module if you want to PBEM/PBF it…
Screen shot:
It looks cool, I’m too buisy to start something new right now but maybe soon.
Hey Motdc:
when you gonna use AARHE maps for your players?
These are community based variants and are very well made maps.
I welcome any and all submitions on modules. I’ll even host the files on my domain for easy access. The module creation process is open and fairly easy to do, and I can offer advice and minor help. What can I do to assist you?
Mot :-)
So i just give you the links and you take them and convert them to games?
Exactly how do i package them. Its an inventory of maps, rules, player aids etc…
@Imperious:
So i just give you the links and you take them and convert them to games?
Exactly how do i package them. Its an inventory of maps, rules, player aids etc…
I wish I had enough time in the day to do so, but alas, I do not. What I can do is help instruct you how to do so. But not in this thread, its a bit off topic. You can start a seperate thread or PM me.
Mot
THE BASICS:
The game is turn based, with the players deciding who goes first (though I always thought with the North being the agressor they should go first).
Victory is acheived if your opponent cannot make a legal move (never happens), you enter your oppoents reserve area (never happens because it has to be empty to enetr it), or you meet or exceed a score of 10 points. If both players meet this goal at the same time then the player with the higher score wins. Tie score is a draw.
There are three types of units: Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry. While there is a base set of rules that apply across the board, the unit types add or subtract from that baseline in a different way.
On each turn a player must MOVE, ATTACK, or PASS (and may not PASS twice in a row).
A MOVE is just that, moving a unit from one square to an adject or diagonally adjacent square.
There are three types of ATTACKs: UNSUPPORTED, SUPPORTED, and FLANK. An Unsupported Attack is a single unit attacks another adjacent unit. A Supported Attack is like an unsupported attack, with an additional adjacent or diagonal unit being designated as supporting the attack. (This is the most common type of attack), A Flank Attack is a Supported Attack when either the Attack and/or Support unit is “behind” the defender (on its retreat path).
A PASS allows a player to give up his turn, and on his next turn he basically performs two back-to-back turns.
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Mot
well how do you attack?
what are unit values?
Can you buy units?
Can defender retreat?
As a no-luck game, attacking is done merely by declaring your attack as your action. Attacking is different than a more dry, abstract game like Chess where the outcome is known because it is the defender that determines the outcome of a battle. Its generally a trade-off between saving a unit by retreating him VS losing the unit to inflict a casualty or retreat on your opponent.
Towards “game” an Infantry is worth 1 point, and Artillery is worth 2 pts. Cavalry is worth 1 point as long as at least half are in play (you start with four). If you lose more than 1/2 your Cavalry then they become worth 2 points each.
You cannot purchase units, as the scale of the game does not lend itself to such a concept. Someone will win or lose long before you run out of units in your reserve so purchasing isnt really needed.
The defender can definately retreat. The rule book does not do so, but I think a matrix with the the 3 unit types VS each other is the best way to illustrate combat. I’m going to see if I can figure out html tables within A&A.org forums to see if I can set one up. Give me a few minutes…
I gave up, I couldn’t settle on a layout I liked.
Below is an excerpt from the rules that define the framework of the combat system.
It is modified by unit-specific restrictions (defending Cavalry must Retreat), unit-specific abilities (a units adj to an Artillery can only attack or support an attack against that Artillery), and terrain rules (Artillery may retreat in they are defending from a Forest square). The “tricky” part of the rules is remembering these modifiers to the normal combat framework.
For an Unsupported Attack, the attacker designates which unit is attacking and which square is being attacked. If the enemy unit in that square RETREATS then the attack is over with no further effect. If the enemy unit STANDS (does not RETREAT) then both the attacking unit and the defending unit are eliminated (i.e. removed from play).
For a Supported Attack, the attacking player designates which unit is attacking and which unit is supporting. If the defending unit RETREATS, the attacking unit may enter the vacated defender’s square (the supporting unit may not enter the square). If the defender STANDS, the attacker has the following options:
1. eliminate the defending unit, RETREAT the supporting unit, and then RETREAT the attacking unit, or
2. eliminate the defending unit, eliminate the supporting unit and optionally advance the attacking unit into the defender’s vacated square, or
3. eliminate the defending unit and eliminate the attacking unit, or
4. RETREAT the attacking unit, or
5. RETREAT the supporting unit.
Flank Attack
A Supported Attack where either the attacking unit or the supporting unit (or both) is closer to the defending unit’s Reserve Area than the defending unit is called a Flank Attack. If a defending unit is attacked by a Flank Attack it must RETREAT if possible. If a defending unit cannot RETREAT from a Flank Attack it is eliminated with no effect to either the attacking or supporting unit (neither are retreated nor eliminated). The attacking unit may advance into the vacated defenders square after a Flank Attack.
Movement in the game is relatively simple.
On your turn you may:
1. Move one Infantry into an adjacent square. Infantry may not normally move diagonally.
2. Move one Artillery into an adjacent square. Artillery may move diagonally.
3. Move one Cavalry upto two squares (diagonal movemnet allowed) OR move two Cavalry units one square each.
Except for you own Reserve area, only one unit may occupy a square at a time. A unit may not move through a square occupied by another unit.
Moving into a Forest hex costs double. This means that Infantry and Artillery may not Move into a forest unless they are performing a double-action (the turn after you PASS, you get two back-to-back actions).
These rules remind me alot of the old milton bradley Battlecry! game printed in 1962, except it was the ENTIRE civil war
the rules are very similiar, except cavalry need to be up front and artillery in the back and each unit had a power rating
inf: 2
Art: 2
Cav: 1
higher total wins and unit in back “jumps” over and captures the new territory ( except if its artillery)
Though i’m aware of Battlecry! and know that it is well regarded, it pre-dates my game-playing years so I have not played it.
I imagine that Battlecry! to SQUARES what A&A is A&A Miniatures. The scale of the game is much different. Of course, that begs for using both systems to create campaigns, right :-D WotC did that via their msg board a couple of years ago I think, with A&A and Minis.
No disrespect to any of you old-timers, but this looks like playing combat on atari…
What, Chess?
Anyone interested in kicking some tires via PBEM or PBF?
