276:, and noted that if the Confederates were able to establish strong defensive positions early in the game, the Confederate player "really doesn't have to move any units at all except to beat back any Union advance. So, for the Confederate Player, the game is really static from about Game-Turn Six until the end of the game." Conversely, they noted that the Union player, hampered by the movement restriction rule, must attempt to attack strong defensive positions and concluded that prospects "are looking pretty dim for the Union."
89:. Lee arrayed his army in strong defensive positions around the town of Sharpsburg, behind Antietam Creek. Due to miscommunications in the Union command structure, the numerically superior Union army attacked in an uncoordinated fashion from several directions. What followed was the bloodiest day in American history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing.
301:, Steve List was not impressed by the rules limiting Union movement, calling them "a cheap out for the designer." He commented that it would be more historically accurate "to limit movement to the units of any three corps each turn." List concluded by giving the game an average grade of B−, saying, "All things considered, this is the second best of the eight games in the "
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and called the simple rules "ideal for short playing times and for introducing newcomers to wargaming." Freeman disagreed with the Union's movement restriction rules, saying, "While perhaps necessary for balance, they're tiresome." Freeman concluded by giving the game an
Overall Evaluation of "Good",
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Both players receive
Victory Points for eliminating enemy units. (If, at the end of the game, any Confederate units cannot draw a line that is free of interceding Union units to Botelers Ford, they care considered eliminated for the purpose of calculating Union Victory Points.) In addition, if one
80:
in the
Confederate state of Virginia only a few miles from the border of the Union state of Maryland. Confederate leadership believed that a battlefield victory on Union territory might win international recognition and financial support, so on September 3, the Confederate army crossed over into
115:, uses an alternating "I Go, You Go" series of turns, where one player moves and attacks, followed by the other player. Each turn represents 1–2 hours of game time, and the game lasts for ten turns. A new concept, "Attack Effectiveness", was introduced for the
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were also included. One of them limited the number of Union units that could move to fifteen in the first turn and only ten in each following turn, in order to emulate the disorganization of the Union command structure at that time.
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is a two-player wargame in which one player controls the Union forces and the other player controls the
Confederate forces. With a small map and only 100 counters, the game has been characterized as "simple".
119:
battles: If an attacking unit receives an "Attacker
Retreat" result during combat, then that unit cannot make any further attacks for the rest of that game day, although it may defend as normal.
148:, its first quadrigame — four different games simulating different battles but using the same set of rules and the same map scale, packaged into one box. The four games were
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60:, and was also released as a stand-alone "folio" game. It proved to be one of SPI's most popular games in the year following its publication.
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259:, Charles Vasey noted the special rule that limited the number of Union units that could move and concluded the rule made
186:. It proved very popular, and in a poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular board wargames in North America,
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side is in control of all four hexes of
Sharpsburg at the end of the game, that player receives extra Victory Points.
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and published a
Japanese edition in the November–December 2008 issue of the Japanese magazine
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calling it "solid but unspectacular suitable for a casual afternoon of beer and pretzels."
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Maryland and moved towards
Baltimore. On September 17, they were met by the
272:, Rick Mataka and John Zseller outlined possible strategy and tactics for
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197:, SPI immediately produced a sequel containing four more battles,
437:
Mataka, Rick; Zseller, John (October–November 1975). "Antietam".
170:. The latter was designed by Tom Walczyk, with graphic design by
371:
Koff, Bill (October–November 1988). "The Games of
Gettysburg".
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In 2008, Kokusai-Tsushin Co. (国際通信社) acquired the rights to
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placed 7th out of 202 games, SPI's highest-rated land game.
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List, Steve (January 1981). "Blue & Gray I: Antietam".
233:(#83). Kokusai-Tsushin republished the Japanese version of
54:. The game was originally part of the four-game collection
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was also released as an individual game packaged in a
514:. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 138–139.
157:Shiloh: The Battle for Tennessee, 6–7 April 1862
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163:Chickamauga: The Last Victory, 20 September 1863
57:Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles
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109:The game system, adapted from SPI's 1972 game
31:Antietam: The Bloodiest Day, 17 September 1862
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206:In 1983, TSR took over SPI and republished
419:The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming
256:The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming
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345:The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam
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68:On 30 August 1862, Confederate General
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413:Vasey, Charles (1977). "Antietam". In
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421:. London: Sphere Books. p. 129.
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347:. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books.
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484:"Blue & Gray (1975): Versions"
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532:American Civil War board wargames
87:Major General George B. McClellan
455:"SPI Best-Selling Games - 1975"
241:in the October 2022 edition of
182:cardstock folio as part of the
16:Board wargame published in 1975
537:Simulations Publications games
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40:Simulations Publications, Inc.
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512:The Complete Book of Wargames
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282:The Complete Book of Wargames
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443:. No. 23. pp. 5–7.
305:Other reviews and commentary
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184:Blue & Gray Folio Series
122:A number of rules unique to
25:Cover of folio edition, 1975
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542:Wargames introduced in 1975
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397:. No. 54. p. 10.
377:. No. 58. p. 58.
343:Bailey, Ronald H. (1984).
313:Vol. 1, #3 and Vol. 1, #32
214:games in a new reprint of
78:Second Battle of Bull Run
74:Army of Northern Virginia
193:Given the popularity of
237:and the other games in
225:and the other games in
144:In 1975, SPI published
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323:Pursue & Destroy
263:was "a close game."
210:and the other three
374:Fire & Movement
172:Redmond A. Simonsen
140:Publication history
83:Army of the Potomac
46:that simulates the
200:Blue & Gray II
131:Victory conditions
52:American Civil War
48:Battle of Antietam
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488:boardgamegeek.com
279:In the 1980 book
253:In the 1977 book
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216:Blue & Gray
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180:double LP-sized
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491:. Retrieved
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287:Jon Freeman
93:Description
50:during the
526:Categories
493:2021-04-19
464:2021-05-26
330:References
325:Vol. 1, #3
317:Simulacrum
64:Background
289:reviewed
249:Reception
42:(SPI) in
510:(1980).
274:Antietam
261:Antietam
235:Antietam
223:Antietam
208:Antietam
188:Antietam
176:Antietam
168:Antietam
124:Antietam
105:Gameplay
98:Antietam
76:won the
417:(ed.).
243:Command
231:Command
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166:; and
440:Moves
394:Moves
299:Moves
269:Moves
34:is a
349:ISBN
44:1975
319:#20
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
