Introduction

The American Civil War, as simulated in games, tends to be set up in the same fashion: the same leaders, the same troops, the same…everything. Oh, sure, there’s a variant here and an alternative set up there; depending on the game, a following could exist that has all but rewritten the rules to a gamer’s favorite Civil War era wargame, inviting them to try it out. 

Originally published by QED, Blue vs. Gray was taken over by GMT and had a few bells and whistles added on, including some rewritten rules, before it was shipped out the door. GMT’s website is short on background information; on top of that they point to QED’s website, which is now defunct. That's a shame because their website used to provide a huge amount of information, including a sample game, card descriptions, rule clarifications, and the like. Most were pertinent to the game as it currently exists in its deluxe GMT format. 

Luck of the Draw

To start this section with a tired cliché is actually more of a reflection on those games that have very little in the way of alternative set ups. Blue vs. Gray Deluxe Edition, on the other hand, can provide a vastly different gaming experience each time it is played. Purists may argue the luck of the draw is too much to bear, and I may be one of them, but the attraction of not knowing what comes next is really the magnet embedded in a rich, detailed, and yet easily playable board game.

Each side – North and South – has their own deck of cards; the South has 80 while the North has 76. Strange that the South has more cards than the North, but this is not so much a reflection on a Southern numerical superiority (which never existed) as it is on play balance. The cards are more than up to the task of ensuring that things don’t get out of hand. Occasionally, a player may beg to differ: if they get into a card-draw slump, it could haunt their hand (and war effort) for a good long while. Or short while, too – I've played a few games here and there that ended after two or so turns. These are the exception rather than the rule, however.

The cards represent most aspects of the Civil War, including military leaders, political activity, historical units, and maps (parts of the country). The cards are very detailed – almost too detailed. I may be getting old, but I don’t think I’m quite ready for bifocals; however, they may have helped to read the tiny print on the cards. Most of the space is taken up by a historical description of the event, unit, or commander pictured therein, but the information has absolutely no relevance to the game itself. Had this information been instead included on a side handout, it would have made for interesting reading and given up some extra space to print the game-specific effects on.

One of the additions GMT included is a map; the original QED title did not use a map but there are handy tracks printed on it for record keeping (there are rule cards for this as well, but they’re not nearly as colorful as those on the map). It is small and provides spaces for the players to play Map Cards on.