American Style Board Games
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Wargame developers love the American Civil War, with its romantic notions of ‘brother against brother’ and the development of warfare from line battles to quasi-trench warfare slug-fests. Alongside the two World Wars, Napoleon’s conquests and the grand imperial conflicts of antiquity, it ranks among the ‘most gamed’ wars in all of human history. It probably also helps that a lot of modern wargame designers are American.
Unsurprisingly, for a war largely fought over whether white people should be allowed to own black people, American Civil War games have at times been a magnet for controversy. Nevertheless, the conflict’s key advances in warfare technology and its epochal importance in US history have made it an endlessly compelling and popular setting for wargames of every format throughout the 20th century, spawning a whole genre of games, many of which are worth your time.
There have been plenty to choose from over the years, in different scales and contexts, focusing on various key battles and engagements – so, to make your choice easier, here’s our list of Wargamer’s favourite American Civil War digital strategy games.
What are the best American Civil War Games?
- Grand Tactician (Early Access)
- Victory and Glory: The American Civil War
- Ultimate General: Civil War
- Gettysburg: The Tide Turns
- Civil War: 1863
- Civil War II
- Scourge of War: Chancellorsville
- Brother against Brother
- The Operational Art of War 4 (Specific Scenarios)
- War of Rights (Early Access)
There’s a couple of more suggestions right at the bottom of the article as well.
Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865) (Early Access)
Publisher: Oliver Keppelmüller
Available from:Steam
Best American Style Board Games
We’re putting Grand Tactician front and centre because at the moment we feel it’s going to become one of the most important ACW releases in recent times, although other recent games like Victory and Glory below were also pretty solid. Grand Tactician is proving to be quite ambitious in what it wants to do, and of Mr. Keppelmuller manages to pull it off then this game will easily take the crown.
If its rough edges are dealt with, this game will easily take the top spot
As things stand though, there’s some big caveats you should be aware of. It’s in Early Access, for starters, which essentially means this is a beta – warts and all. Our own Bill Gray was blown away by his time with the game and even Bill – who’s always tended to focus on positives over negatives – does mention problems, ranging from dodgy AI behaviour to off casualty figures.
Read around and you’ll see other people struggling with other rough edges this game still has. With any luck these will all be ironed out over time, but know that even though this game sits at the top of our ACW list, it’s not yet in the state it needs to be in to earn that spot.
Victory and Glory: The American Civil War
Publisher: Lock’n Load Publishing
Available from:Steam
One of Lock’n Load’s three digital releases in 2020, Victory & Glory’s American Civil War outing is an excellent board-game style experience featuring an area-control style strategy layer, card mechanics and a tactical battle interface. You can play out the entire conflict as either the Union or the Confederacy in a campaign that’s highly replayable.
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Naval warfare is highly abstracted, but the land war is well represented. Apart from some documentation issues around concepts like supply and some bugs, this is actually a pretty decent ACW strategy game and an excellent showing from Lock’n Load.
Ultimate General: Civil War
Developer: Game-Labs LLC
Available from:Steam
Ultimate General: Civil War is a wonderful follow-up to Game-Labs LLC’s already wonderful Ultimate General: Gettysburg. Civil War puts the player in command of either Confederate or Union armies throughout the entirety of the war, allowing the player to build their army composition, from unit size to weaponry of individual units. The title brings Total War-style tactics (the lead on this game did make several mods for Total War games) to the well-known battlefields of Antietam and Gettysburg, as well as battles with less coverage in games, such as Gaines’ Mill and Chickamauga.
The ability to follow individual brigades and their officers throughout the war is one I learned to miss after playing this game. Seeing a unit you created during the first year of the war get utterly dissolved by enemy canister rounds is heartbreaking, but following an officer’s career path from lowly Captain to Major General brings pride I rarely get from playing games. It’s easy to connect with your army on a personal level, as you can name each unit in addition to being able to manage their training and outfitting.
For more information, check out our Ultimate General: Civil War review.
Gettysburg: The Tide Turns
Developer: Shenandoah
Available from:Direct, Steam
Speaking of Gettysburg, it’s impossible to list off the best American Civil War games without mentioning a game about Gettysburg at least once. Gettysburg marked the high-water mark of the Confederacy during the war, and The Tide Turns is a beautiful display of… well, how the tide turned. The map is wonderful, drawing inspiration from old Engineer Corps maps, with unit markers distinctly popping out against the backdrop.
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What makes The Tide Turns such an interesting game is the turn system. Units have their turn order decided by the random drawing of “lots” from the total amount of units on the field. This leads to an uncertainty of combat that is not present in IGOUGO or WEGO type games, but is certainly more representative of the chaos of Gettysburg.
Civil War: 1863
Developer: HexWar
Available from: Fanatical
HexWar’s charming Civil War: 186x series made the jump to PC from Android and iOS, bringing what our reviewer Jeff Renaud called a “quick hit” wargame. It’s easy to jump into a scenario pulled from the many different battles of 1863 (or any of the other years of the war, there are companion games featuring all of them!), with combat frequently beginning on the first turn.
A single scenario can take less than an hour, but the brevity of the games can’t be mistaken for easiness. The AI can be downright painful to play against on the higher difficulties, which is a refreshing change of pace from other “quick hit” wargames.
Civil War II
Developer: AGEOD
Available from:Fanatical
Ageod’s Civil War II (note: not about an upcoming second civil war) pulls back from the close, action-oriented look of many other American Civil War titles. The player is instead put into the boots of president / commander-in-chief of the operational aspects of the war. The WEGO style of play makes running into the enemy challenging and frequently surprising, forcing you to plan well in advance for future offensives.
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The chain-of-command in armies can be customized by the player, allowing obsessive micromanagers to truly fine-tune their army. Decisions don’t stop with merely military matters; determining how much money should be printed or placing embargos also fall into the rhythm of gameplay. Wargamers with a taste for grand strategy could comfortably find themselves at home with Civil War II.
Scourge of War: Chancellorsville
Developer: NorbSoftDev
Available from:Direct
The Scourge of War series feature some of the most realistic depictions of generalship of the 19th century, and Chancellorsville is no exception. The player can take command of different units within either the Union or Confederate forces; from commanding a lone Brigade to commanding the entire army.
Orders given and received are a nice touch, as virtual couriers will arrive with and send out letters you can pen yourself. Units can be directed to form into specific formations and have several different movement options, including instructions to travel via road and to form into a certain formation type upon arrival. These options are necessary to success, as the AI may have read ahead in the history book, and will prove to be a fierce opponent.
The battle of Chancellorsville was an important prelude to Gettysburg, but is not as frequently covered as the latter. However, if you are looking to get your fix of Chamberlains and Picketts, you may also be interested in Scourge of War: Gettysburg.
Brother against Brother
Developer: Western Civilization Software
Available from:Direct
Brother against Brother has a great nostalgic feel to it. The sprites and the maps are reminiscent of wargames a generation or two ago, but the game packs several unique features that make it worth mentioning. The first is the inclusion of Wilson’s Creek, a battle in the Western Theatre of the war. Any battle not on the east coast is normally glossed over, so kudos to Western Civilization Software for broadening our collective horizons.
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The title also packs an “active ability” feature that generals can use on their units to encourage them to fight harder, à la the more recent Total War offerings. This coupled with a novel movement system, where units can sometimes refuse to move in a representation of orders being jumbled and lost, brings a refreshing yet familiar take on some less covered battles of the war.
The Operational Art of War 4
Developer: Talonsoft
Available from:Steam, Direct
Before you all storm to the comments to yell at us for TOAW4 not being an American Civil War game, we know the whole game is not about the American Civil War. However, there are several great scenarios to choose from that take place during the war, using TOAW4’s excellent systems to simulate battles such as Antietam, as well as whole campaigning seasons, particularly highlighting the Chancellorsville/ Gettysburg campaign.
Should you not be in the mood for the several scenarios TOAW4 has to offer, there are community scenarios available for download, as well as a scenario editor, so you can finally simulate a brawl at Appomattox Court House. Read our review of TOAW4 for an idea of how the game as whole plays.
Reinforcements! Promising Games in Development
War of Rights
Developer: Campfire Games
Available from:Steam
War of Rights is an Early Access FPS that looks quite impressive so far. 150 players can duke it out on the battlefield, which so far includes Antietam and Harper’s Ferry. The gameplay looks and feels solid, like a cross of Mount & Blade and Holdfast’s combat style, while bringing a more realistic visual fidelity to the fight.
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A chain-of-command system is currently under development, so far with higher ranking officers passing down orders to their subordinates, who can in turn order their men to follow their lead. The game is primarily multiplayer, so the experience does depend on other players, but players do tend to actually work together. War of Rights has a development roadmap laid out, and it looks to have a promising future ahead.
More American Civil War Game Recommendations
John Tiller Software did a series called Civil War Battles, which cover specific battles and campaigns during the American Civil War. They’re old-school hex-and-counter affairs, but they’re currently being remastered by Wargame Design Studio with new graphics and engines updates. We’re looking into these now and as we evaluate them, we’ll add them to the main list. We’ve put this here though so that you’re aware they also exist, and are considered pretty good ACW war games for what they are.
As was pointed out in the comments, we’d also be remiss not to mention Sid Meier’s Gettysburg! & Antietam! games from the late 90’s. Gettysburg! especially was considered one of the best strategy/war games of the time, and is a bench mark for many ACW and Gettysburg-themed games that have come out in the decades since.
We haven’t listed it below, mainly because they are fairly old now and there’s no official support for them although you can find a digital copy via Abandonware websites. If you’re interested in exploring one of the gold standards of digital ACW wargames, you’ll want to check it out.
Ameritrash
- What About Waros?
From the BoardgameGeek Glossary:
Ameritrash is 'a catchphrase for 'American style boardgames.' In general, this means games that emphasize a highly developed theme, characters, heroes, or factions with individually defined abilities, player to player conflict, and usually feature a moderate to high level of luck.'
There is a great deal of dispute over what Ameritrash means, even when it is accepted as a meaningful term. Many gamers would never call the 'old' Avalon Hill a producer of Ameritrash. Ameritrash means something to most hobby gamers, but what it means still varies somewhat across communities.
In sum, the concrete definition of 'Ameritrash' is considered by some to be hazy.
Examples
Examples of Eurogames
American Style Board Games
Ameritrash games also do not include traditional wargames. These tend to focus on history and detail to a level that would probably not appeal to the typical Ameritrash gamer.
What About Hybrids?
Hybrid games are by definition part Eurogame and part Ameritrash. So in a sense they are both.What About Waros?
Waro games are by definition part Eurogame and part Wargame. These can be difficult to classify. In general, most Waros would not be considered Ameritrash, especially those with very Euro-like themes and mechanics.What About Mass-Market American Games?
Some mass-market American games can be considered Ameritrash, but many are not. The distinction is typically in the theme. A fantasy RPG style game such as TSR's Dungeon! is clearly Ameritrash because it has a highly developed fantasy theme. On the other hand, an abstract game such as Scrabble would not be considered Ameritrash.
- Monopoly - a more traditional mass-market game; some luck and some player interaction (including player elimination, usually not found in Eurogames)
- Diplomacy - an older game with no luck and simple game mechanics, but high player conflict (including player elimination)
- Civilization - a game with minimal luck, lots of theme and some player conflict
Ameritrash Publishers
The following publishers have published a significant number of Ameritrash titles:- Games Workshop Ltd. - published a large number of Ameritrash titles in the 80's
- Fantasy Flight Games - currently the leading publisher of Ameritrash titles, some of which redevelop titles previously published by Games Workshop Ltd..
- The Avalon Hill Game Co - classic publisher of many Ameritrash titles. Purchased by Hasbro.
- Avalon Hill Games, Inc. - the reincarnation of The Avalon Hill Game Co, which has published many of the more recent titles.
Some people feel that the term 'Ameritrash' is unnecessarily negative and prefer not to use it. Others feel that the reference to America is a problem because not all of these games are published in America. Suggested alternative terms include Amerigames, Amerigold, and Ameritreasure. To date none of these has gained traction. BoardGameGeek has recently created a category system for games, and named the category for these games 'Thematic Games', argueably a more professional name for the category and less offensive to the game publishers themselves.
Classic American Board Games
Detailed Analysis of Ameritrash
The following analysis of Ameritrash was authored by Jezztek in a thread discussing the subject. Many players agree that it does a good job of capturing the subject:
Although the etymology of the term 'Ameritrash' hasn't been subjected to rigorous analysis, it was used on rec.games.board in January 2000 to mean games dominated by luck, or games where you move around a track 'Parchesi' style as dictated by dice rolls. (Richard Hutnik talks about it here.) Another early use was by Greg Schloesser in a July 2000 article which may be viewed here: http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/FutureofAH.shtml
While probably originally intended to apply just to genuinely bad American games, in deference to the much higher professional standards of mass-market games in Germany, the scope has since been expanded. Players of 'euro' games probably used it as an insult for poorly-developed American games (after Hasbro bought out Avalon Hill in 1997, the center of game design and development experience shifted to Germany), and then some fans of those American games adopted the term as a badge of honor.
The term is presumably a sly repurposing of the term 'eurotrash' used by Americans to refer to some aspects of European music and culture ('euro' is a commonly - although not universally - accepted term for games designed and developed in Europe, even though those games are overwhelmingly German).
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It came into its current use on BoardgameGeek after user crackedlcd81 was called an 'Ameritrash apologist', which in turn inspired user robartin to create the geeklist A Tribute to Ameritrash.
Caveats
Ameritrash, along with almost all the other terminology used to describe categories of games in this article, is gaming jargon. All are used by a small segment of online hobby gamers. Not only do they have no broadly accepted usage, their usage is frequently divisive even amongst people who do use the terms, as the meanings seem to confound simple explanation, and in addition evolve over time.
The nearly-complete globalization of games in recent years has made the terms such as Ameritrash and Eurogame confusing to some gamers. It should be noted that these names refer to a style of game's point of origin. Certainly it is not required for Ameritrash to be American, nor do all American game companies make Ameritrash, nor is it even easily identifiable which game companies are actually American. Fantasy Flight, a company frequently identified with Ameritash, is in large part a publisher of European game designs. Mayfair and Rio Grande, large publishers by the standards of American hobby game companies, produce European games almost exclusively.
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Other Information
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Euro Style Board Games Vs American
- Ameritrash microbadge
- All items tagged ameritrash
- BGG Wiki entry on Game Genres