October 22, 1998 - Pulse on the Net
Confederate Strategy Brief: FOR THE PEOPLE
Confederate Strategy Brief: FOR THE PEOPLE
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October 22, 1998 - Pulse on the Net
Confederate Strategy Brief: FOR THE PEOPLE |
1 of 4
|
by Steven Bucey
(Updated by author on 10/22/98)
The following manuscript was published online at the ConsimWorld Discussion Board on 10/20/98, and definitely worth sharing. We thank ConsimWorld.COM member Steven Bucey for this excellent Confederate Strategy Piece on FOR THE PEOPLE (TAHGC). Now we just wonder when the Union Strategy Brief will be coming...We have also added a special ARTICLE FEEDBACK FORM!
You're outnumbered, outgunned, and the Federals have complete naval supremacy. So, just exactly how does the CSA (Confederate States of America) player win a game of For the People? He does it by not losing.
That’s not as sarcastic as it sounds. First, let’s look at the victory conditions. To win, the CSA player must do several things, but they all revolve around SW (Strategic Will). For instance, he can drive the Federal SW (Strategic Will) to half the CSA SW. He can force the Federal SW to 50 or less by the end of game turn 12. Or, he can simply last to the end of the game (13 turns) with a positive SW and control of a sufficient number of Confederate states as compared to the Union player. This does not cover all the combinations, but as you can guess, SW is the measure of victory in this game. It literally represents the will of the people to continue the fight.
At the start of the game, both nations’ SW starts at 100. It can go up or down for many reasons: winning/losing large battles, gaining control of states, destroying confederate CSA resource hexes, naval blockades, and others. By far, the biggest swing in SW can occur when one captures the opposing nation’s capitol. Losing DC cost the Federal player 30 SW. Losing Richmond VA cost the CSA player only 15 SW, but the city of Richmond itself is a 12-point resource center (the largest on the board). If the Federal can also destroy the resource center – which is not automatic – the CSA player loses an additional 12 SW while the Federal player gains 12 SW! Losing your capitol is a demoralizing, but not necessarily game losing, experience.
Looking at the map, one can quickly see that there are several obvious pressure points. The line between DC and Richmond is the most obvious. Historically, both sides expended a considerable amount of energy in this area, and it should be the same in the game. But there are other areas to consider. Consider the so-called blockade runner ports. These were CSA ports from which the CSA attempted to maintain contact with the outside world. Goods flowed out, while supplies flowed in. The Union player needs to shut them down either by capture of specific ports, or the forts that guard them, or increases in the naval blockade. There is nothing the CSA player can do about the constricting blockade other than hope he can find ways to make the Federal player want to use his precious blockade cards to activate an obstinate general. Direct defense of the ports is another matter I’ll cover later.
There are several less obvious pressure points. First is the greater Mississippi River. In game terms this includes the Ohio River clear to Wheeling WV. The Federal navy controls the river up to any space not covered by or between CSA forts. At the start of the game, CSA control includes the area from New Orleans LA to Columbus KY, with a small branch of the Tennessee River south of Dover TN. The Federal player has several incentives to control the entire river, not the least of which is preventing the CSA player from crossing into Ohio, Indiana or Illinois in force! For all practical purposes, the CSA has only two points of access, or choke points, to the Far West: Memphis and Vicksburg.
There are several other spaces on the map that are choke points. For the Union, the most sensitive point is the rail line running through Coshocton Ohio and Pittsburgh PA. CSA control of either of those two spaces cuts Federal east-west rail. Also, CSA occupation of DC, Baltimore or York PA disrupts and reduces Federal reinforcements. Otherwise, points along the greater Mississippi River where the CSA player can build a fort and attempt to cross need to be watched by the Federals.
South of the Ohio River there are additional pressure points that the CSA player must guard. One such point is Knoxville, TN. Knoxville sits on a rail line that easily connects the eastern and central theaters, as well as locations to the south. Along the border between KY and TN the entire string of spaces from Nashville TN to Columbus KY serve as locations from which the Federal player can stage campaigns deep into the heart of the south. In fact, control of KY and TN is key to both player’s strategies. Once the CSA player loses TN, it is only a matter of time before he’ll lose the war. Another pressure point is Columbus GA. Besides being a blockade-runner port, Federal forces that manage to get here from the sea have immediate and easy access to several CSA resource areas.
In the Far West, the states of MO, AR, LA and Texas look deceptively inviting for Federal conquest. But good CSA play can make the Federal player wish he’d done otherwise until he has gained control of the Mississippi River. First, there is only one way in and out of Texas by land. A Federal force that works its way that far before the port of Sabine City TX is controlled risks losing his army if caught without a LOC when attacked. Even further north, there is a single space of entry into lower AR at Little Rock that the CSA player can threaten from Memphis TN.
Finally, in the far south there is a single land entry into lower Florida at Lantin, GA. The Federal player may find getting into Florida by sea easy, but getting out by land should be a different matter.
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Copyright © 1999-2002. ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com
Headline News | Archives | New Products
Game Ratings | Clubs | Events | Discussion Board
Copyright © 1999, 2000 ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com
