AGAINST THE ODDS #55:Lee's Greatest Victory - The Chancellorsville campaign

1-ATO055

Area-impulse game but one unlike anything seen before. Since the appearance of the 'sunset die roll' nearly three decades ago, players have alternated activating a single area, with variation coming in the form of an uncertain turn length.

Play has a chess-like feel, with players able to act and react with a great deal of prior calculation. Players no longer know how many impulses they, or their opponent, will have in a turn, creating both opportunities and crises that cannot be anticipated in advance. The 'momentum' swings back and forth but rarely the same way twice. Yet each turn lasts as long as the players wish it to last, ensuring something will happen every turn.

Units of maneuver are Union divisions and Confederate brigades for the most part, with historical leaders present to provide a combat boost though at the risk of being wounded or KIA. Pontoon bridges and entrenchments are part of the basic rules while optional rules incorporate weather and optional units for both sides.

It's just six turns long and very playable in one sitting. This game forms part of a trilogy of titles by the same designer, with all three games using the same system. Considering ordering the other games, too: ATO # 19 Not War But Murder (Cold Harbor, 1864) and ATO # 32 Birth of a Legend (7 Days Campaign 1862).