Battle of the Wilderness: Gaining the Initiative, May 5-6, 1864 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of the Wilderness during the American Civil War. The game was originally part of the four-game collection Blue & Gray II , and was also released as a stand-alone "folio" game.
After a series of defeats and retreats in the Eastern Theater by a string of Union generals, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant, victor of several notable battles in the Western Theater, to command of the Union armies. Grant decided that the way to end the war was to engage with Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of North Virginia while driving towards the Confederate capital of Richmond. As Grant told Major General George Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, "Lee's army will be your objective point. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also."
In May 1864, Grant's Overland Campaign started with Union armies crossing the Rapidan River into Spotsylvania County. The Union forces attempted to flank Lee's army by moving through a patchwork of thick forest and clearings known as The Wilderness. Lee correctly guessed at Grant's intention, and the two armies met in The Wilderness. [1]
Battle of the Wilderness is a two-player wargame where 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".
The game system, adapted from SPI's 1972 game Napoleon at War , 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 two days.
Units are surrounded by a zone of control — enemy units entering the zone of control can move no further, and cannot leave the zone of control except through combat. [2]
Movement of Union units on the first day of battle is restricted to roads an trails through wooded areas, reducing the Union player's ability to maneuver. [3] On the second day, Union forces can enter forest hexes that are beside roads or trails. In contrast, Confederate forces travel on trails as if they were roads, and in forests as if they were trails. [4]
A new concept, "Attack Effectiveness", was introduced as an optional rule for the Blue & Gray 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.
In 1975, SPI published Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles , its first quadrigame — four different battles using the same set of rules, packaged into one box. The concept proved very popular, and SPI quickly produced Blue & Gray II , which rose as high as #4 on SPI's Top Ten Bestseller list, and stayed on the list for 6 months. [5] The four games in Blue & Gray II were Fredericksburg ; Hooker and Lee ; Chattanooga ; and Battle of the Wilderness The latter was designed by Linda Mosca, with graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen. It was also released as an individual game packaged in a double LP-sized cardstock folio. [2] Linda Mosca, at the time, was the only woman in a creative role in the North American board wargame industry, [6] and with this publication, became the first woman to author a board wargame. [7]
It proved to be the least popular game in Blue & Gray II; in a poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular board wargames in North America, Battle of the Wilderness placed 80th out of 202 games (compared to 54th for Chattanooga, 65th for Fredericksburg, and 44th for Hooker and Lee.) [3]
In the April 1976 edition of Airfix Magazine , Bruce Quarrie called this game "Good exciting stuff, challenging for experienced players but basic enough to make a good starting point for anyone interested in the Civil War and wishing to try board wargaming." [8]
In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames , game designer Jon Freeman noted that of all the games in Blue & Gray II, "Battle of the Wilderness features the only fluid situation, but even there the Union player must contend with movement restrictions imposed by the rules." Freeman concluded by giving the game an Overall Evaluation of "Good", calling it "handy but not essential, and it's not as attractive as Napoleon at War." [9]
In Issue 54 of Moves , Steve List thought that Battle of the Wilderness was the weakest of the four Blue & Gray II games, pointing out that the difference in Union and Confederate mobility meant that Confederate forces could conduct surgical strikes on Union forces, which was quite unlike the historic battle, described by List as "an inchoate brawl that eventually died out due to mutual exhaustion." List concluded by giving the game a grade of D minus. [4]
In Issue 20 of Simulacrum, Steven Busey commented "This is certainly not a simulation. However, it is a very playable game system that often demands careful thought during play. The combination of easy-to-learn rules and short games makes this an excellent alternative when time and attention are short." [2]
In the book Feminist War Games?, Anastasia Salter examined the role of women in the wargame industry from a feminist perspective, and noted that with the publication of this game, Mosca became the first published female wargame designer. "The game is certainly not recognizable as a feminist work, as its mechanics are traditional, but its existence itself is significant." [7]
Cemetery Hill, subtitled "The Battle of Gettysburg, 1–3 July 1863", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 as part of the "quadrigame" Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles that simulated four battles of the American Civil War. Cemetery Hill was later released as a stand-alone "folio" game.
Linda D. Mosca was the first commercially published female board wargame designer. In the mid-1970s, when the wargame industry was dominated by men, she was the only woman employed in a creative role.
Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles is a board wargame originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four battles from the American Civil War.
Island War: Four Pacific Battles is a collection of four board wargames published in 1975 by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) that simulates various battles between American and Japanese forces during the Pacific Campaign of World War II.
Lee Moves North, originally titled Lee at Gettysburg and subtitled "The Confederate Summer Offensive, 1862 & 1863", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1972 that simulates Robert E. Lee's summer offenses of 1862 and 1863 during the American Civil War
MechWar '77, subtitled "Tactical Armored Combat in the 1970s", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates hypothetical tank combat in the mid-1970s between various adversaries, using the same rules system as the previously published Panzer '44.
Napoleon at War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various battles fought by Napoleon.
Bloody Ridge, subtitled "Turning Point on Guadalcanal, September 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Guadalcanal Campaign during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Island War: Four Pacific Battles "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Bloody Ridge was also published as an individual "folio game."
Thirty Years War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a "quadrigame" — four separate board wargames packaged in one box that use a common set of rules — published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976. The four games simulate different battles during the Thirty Years' War, and were sold individually as well as in the quadrigame format. Some of the games were well received by critics, but overall, the quadrigame did not sell well.
Rocroi, subtitled "19 May 1643 – The End of Spanish Ascendancy", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1643 Battle of Rocroi during the Thirty Years' War. Rocroi was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame", but it was also published as an individual game. It received mixed reviews from critics, some of whom called it a "bland tactical problem", while others declared it was the best game of the four in the Thirty Years War box.
Breitenfeld, subtitled "Triumph of the Swedish System", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1642 Battle of Breitenfeld during the Thirty Years' War. Breitenfeld was a free game that appeared in Strategy & Tactics, designed to promote SPI's soon-to-be-launched wargame Thirty Years War. Breitenfeld proved popular and was also published as part of SPI's "folio" series of games.
Blue & Gray II, subtitled "Four American Civil War Battles", is a collection of four board wargames originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that each simulate a battle from the American Civil War. It is the sequel to Blue & Gray published earlier in the year. Each of the four games was also published as individual "folio games."
La Belle Alliance: The Battle of Waterloo is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Waterloo in 1814. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon's Last Battles, but was also released as an individual "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio.
The Battle of Nations, subtitled "The Encirclement at Leipzig, 16-19 October 1813", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but was also released as a "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio. It was popular in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, and critics also gave it favorable reviews.
Jena-Auerstadt: The Battle for Prussia is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt in October 1806. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but it was also released as an individual "folio game" packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardstock folio. Jena-Auerstadt was rated highly in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, but critics questioned whether its simplicity was capable of simulating a complicated two-part battle.
Leyte: Return to the Philippines, October 1944 is a board wargame published in 1975 by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) that simulates the return of General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the four-game collection Island War: Four Pacific Battles, but was also released as an individual game. Leyte was not considered an outstanding success by critics.
Road to Richmond, subtitled "The Peninsular Campaign, May–July, 1862", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates the Peninsula Campaign of 1862 during the American Civil War.
Antietam: The Bloodiest Day, 17 September 1862 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War. The game was originally part of the four-game collection Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles, 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.
Chickamauga: The Last Victory, 20 September 1863 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Chickamauga during the American Civil War. The game was originally part of the four-game collection Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles, and was also released as a stand-alone "folio" game.
Chattanooga: Gateway to Victory, Nov. 24-25, 1863 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Chattanooga during the American Civil War. The game was originally part of the four-game collection Blue & Gray II, and was also released as a stand-alone "folio" game.