The sky is filled with the recognizable scent of erupted fireworks, and the barbecues have all ended. With the parties over and the celebrates subsided, it seems appropriate to focus on the reason why we gather each Fourth of July. Many people (not wargamers, of course) seem to forget the Revolution was a hard-fought war that lasted eight years and killed thousands on and off the battlefield. We would fight the British again some 40 years later, and the results would be more inconclusive.
Most people know the basics of the Revolution and how it all came to be, but the core history aside, the truth is far more nuanced. And in that truth lies a lot of good wargaming opportunities.
And that’s what this is about. We’re going to talk about how you can find some themed wargames to celebrate the United States’ Independence Day. The Revolution doesn’t get a ton of play in the board wargaming sphere, but that’s changed of late, and I am impressed with what’s being done lately. GMT’s efforts are particularly good, but we will get into that in a bit.
When most gaming grognards think of games about the American revolution? This is typically the one they think about. I’ll be honest. I owned a copy of this game for a while, and I didn’t find it all that interesting a wargame. The game has four campaign scenarios set in 1775-76, 1777, 1780-81, and 1781 respectively. My biggest pet peeve with the game, well, it was the Tactical Combat Cards. You would resolve combat by using the cards in various tactical maneuvers that then decided your die roll modifiers on the final combat roll. While it’s neat and interactive in a sense, it seemed an over-complication to me on what had an excellent premise going.
I know a lot of people like this system, but I was kind of “meh.” But that said, the game overall wasn’t bad, and while the game is out of print, it’s still readily available on Board Game Geek and eBay. The game also has a VASSAL module to facilitate online play.
I’ve played the Brandywine and Saratoga games in the series, and I really enjoyed them. I will say I played the earlier editions of both games and not the updated ones found here, but it appears that the changes were small, and someone who played the earlier editions shouldn’t have any real issues picking up the new editions.
The games were all well-received, and just about every wargamer who had any interest at all (and a few that didn’t) owned copies of at least one out of the three games in the series. Brandywine won the Charles S. Roberts award in 2000, and Saratoga was nominated in 1998 (Saratoga won in 1998 for graphics, and I will say I think it’s one of the best-looking wargame maps and counter sets I’ve personally ever seen, probably only eclipsed by Brandywine, who won for graphics in 2000).
I was very intrigued by the tactical challenges both Saratoga and Brandywine provided. I will say I am kicking myself for not getting copies of the game for myself (I played a friend’s copies when I lived in New York). The game has well-written rules in the usual GMT style with a series of rules and has specific setting rules for all three games (which are downloadable from the GMT website). GMT sells the three in one set for $65 from their website. As for VASSAL, Brandywine and Saratoga have modules that can be found here and here.
I personally think you could do a lot worse than pick this tri-game setup. It really does a good job of showing how these open-field contests of the American Revolution played out and presents both players with a real challenge.
Several other games in the series were also published, covering the battles of Monmouth, Germantown, Pensacola, Newtown, Savannah, and Rhode Island, and Newport. I haven’t played any of these, but they share the same game system as the games mentioned above. These games are a bit harder to get as most are out of print currently, but GMT is seeking to put them back into print soon, which is a good omen for folks looking for the games in this great series.
Conclusion
While there’s not a lot out there for hex and counter enthusiasts for the American Revolution, there are some options. I do hope this article inspires some designers to get out there and design more games for this interesting period.
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(This article is credited to Jason Weiser. Jason is a long-time wargamer with published works in the Journal of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers; Miniature Wargames Magazine; and Wargames, Strategy, and Soldier.)