This blog is dedicated to the historical simulation game The US Civil War (GMT) which explores the strategic level of this conflict. I organize pbem tournaments to allow the meeting between passionate wargamers like me for this game.
Official website of the game (GMT):
https://www.gmtgames.com/p-729-the-us-civil-war-2nd-printing.aspx
Presentation and discussions on the game and its rules
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/162009/us-civil-war
Version Française: https://tuscw.home.blog/
Thanks:
To Mark Simonitch and Jim Dauphinais for the quality and beauty of this excellent game. Playing wargame for forty years, I have rarely had as much fun immersing myself in complete strategic campaigns and feeling so much suspense until the last game turn.
To all my fellow wargamers who had the patience to be my opponents. And without which mutual enrichment by understanding the rules and discovering a lot of subtleties of the game would have escaped me. Thank you for their humor and fair play to Germain, Jérôme, Jean-Louis, Laurent, Romain, Paul, Roger, Alain, Steve, Mark, Henry, Chris, Charles, Stephane, Jean-Christophe, Harti, Frank, Will, Jay, Mac, Nes, Marco, François, Jesse, Clayton, Andrew, Lincoln… Long live everyone!
Registration for the current tournament (2022-2023) was free.
Conditions:
1- email to tournoi.tuscw.1861@gmail.com to be registered in a discord server where the meetings are listed and the logs stored
2- create an account (it’s free) at http://acts.warhorsesim.com/index.asp for dice rolls and card draws.
3- know the rules of the third edition, especially the advanced naval rules . The optional rules are only played after mutual agreement between the opponents.
Progress:
The 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 tournaments were knockout.
The 2022-2023 tournament is on the “round-robin” mode so that each participant plays at least 4 campaigns.
If at least a dozen participants register for the next tournament (2023-2024), the latter will begin in June 2023. This time it will be possible to play without the advanced naval rules for those who prefer it.
Each campaign played can provide the participant with one or more points so as to allow his classification in the tournament when the winnings are totaled:
0 points for the player who forfeits for a campaign abandoned at any time or lost before the 7th turn
1 point for a campaign lost after the 6th turn without abandonment
2 points for a campaign won after the 10th round
3 points for an Automatic Victory or a Union victory despite + 1 VP granted to the Confederate side during the set up.
In case of abandonment, the opposing player can either be satisfied with a gain of 2 points, or ask that the game be ended by another player if he thinks he will succeed in winning 3 points and not just 2. A draw randomly among the possible volunteers having completed their round in progress takes place to designate the opponent. If the opponent succeeds in beating the applicant, this opponent gains 1 point maximum regardless of his performance and the applicant does not earn the 2 points provided. Otherwise, the latter wins the number of points provided for under the aforementioned conditions.
A volunteer to finish an abandoned game must wait until all volunteers have completed such an abandoned game in turn before playing a second in this manner.
This system is intended to reward those who take up the difficult challenge to continue the fight in a situation deemed hopeless and to limit the frustration of a potential winner who sees his reward unfairly reduced by the abandonment of his opponent
For an 1861-65 campaign that lasts 20 turns, the maximum expected time is 5 months, with generally some 250 logs exchanged, which means that an average rate of 2 logs / day exchanged is needed to meet the timing. If a player does not send any logs or messages to his opponent for more than 2 weeks, he is disqualified.
*Determination of sides by victory point auction system:
Players can see the conditions of victory and store theirs logs on the Discord server https://discord.gg/8ubVgrSETF
For any question of rules or operation, tournoi.tuscw.1861@gmail.com will answer
I’ll not carry out a formal verification of the logs, the detection of any errors is under the control of the participants.
Some principles to respect interactivity despite the pbem process:
Whenever an activated unit enters an ZOI, ask your opponent (on ACTS) before they continue moving if the unit exercising the ZOI wants to react – intercept or maneuver (optional rule). Then before an attack, also ask if the attacked unit wants to avoid. If you play second in a round, send the log to your opponent before rolling the next round’s initiative dice. For the same reasons, the Confederate player must send the log recording the arrival and transfer of the new generals before rolling the dice for the initiative of the 1st action cycle.
How to record the logs?
Some principles to respect interactivity despite playing the game in pbem:
– Each time an activated unit enters a ZOI, ask your opponent (on ACTS) – before this unit continues its movement – if the unit exercising the ZOI wants to react. Then before an attack, ask if the attacked unit wants to avoid.
-If you play in second during a cycle, send the log to your opponent at the end of your cycle – or indicate the final positions of the activated units on ACTS before continuing registration on the log – before rolling the dice for initiative of the next cycle.
For the same reasons, the Confederate player must send the log describing the management phase of the generals – those who arrive or are transferred – or indicate their positions in ACTS before rolling dice for the initiative of the first action cycle of the turn.
Reminder for all players: in pbem at this game you must systematically ask the opponent if he intends to react (interception then avoid) when your stack comes into contact with his and wait for a clear answer before rolling any dice for any purpose: his interception, his avoid or for your attack.
2022-2023 Tournament
1sr round:
Bid Union players ——– CSA players x = winner
66 Laurent S x ———-Jérôme
63 Charles x ———– Pete (abandonment of the tournament)
64 Germain x ———— Andrew
68 Didier x ————- Will
61 Mac x ————- Fredrick
60 Laurent J x ————– Jean-Marc (abandonment of the tournament)
2nd round
Bid Union players ————- CSA players x winner
65 Laurent S x —————– Germain (automatic victory turn 12)
63 Charles ——————- Mac x (automatic victory turn 8)
68 Will x ——————– Andrew (abandonement turn 6)
64 Jerome x —————— Fredrick (abandonement turn 13)
65 Didier ——————– Laurent J x (abandonement turn 7)
3rd round
Laurent S vs Will, Jerome vs Germain, Andrew vs Charles, Mac vs Didier
Bid Union —————— CSA x winner
68 Will ——————- Laurent S x
64 Didier ——————- Mac x (Automatic Victory turn 7)
64 Germain x ——————– Jerome (abandonement turn 13)
61 Andrew ——————— Charles x
4th round
Mac vs Laurent, Will vs Germain, Charles vs Jerome, Andrew vs Didier
Bid Union ——————— CSA
64 Germain x ——————- Will (abandonement turn 5)
66 Laurent ——————— Mac
63 Jerome ——————— Charles
63 Didier x ———————- Andrew (abandonement turn 6)
2020-2021 Tournament
1st round :
Union players ——– CSA players x = winner
Chris ——————- Franck x (turn 3)
Charles x —————— Didier (turn 19)
Laurent x ——————- Richard (turn 4)
Henry x ——————— Alain (abandoned game)
Mike ——————— Andrew x (turn 11)
Marco ——————- Jean-Christophe x (turn 5)
Mark x ———————– David (turn 5)
Second round:
Union players—————CSA players x = winner
Jean-Christophe————Charles x (turn 7)
Mike————————-Laurent x ( turn 5)
Franck———————–Henry x (abandonment turn 2)
Andrew x ———————-Mark (turn 5)
Third round (semi-final):
Union players —————– CSA players x = winner
Andrew ———————— Charles x (turn 6)
Henry ————————– Laurent x
Fourth round (finale):
Charles faces Laurent
Laurent wins at turn 6 with the Union
TUSCW tournament 