A "Rebel Raiders" Homage Admiral David Glasgow “Damn the Torpedoes” Farragut!

A "Rebel Raiders" Homage to Admiral David Glasgow “Damn the Torpedoes” Farragut!

On this day in 1870 David Glasgow Farragut passed away.   The admiral appears in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas not only as a Leader counter but on TWO Union cards (USN Card 1 – “Damn the Torpedoes…Full Speed Ahead!” and USN Card 33 – The Grand Fleet).  The first card gives Union ships extra dice when firing on Rebel batteries – but only after they take a round of fire from the Confederates, thus mimicking the Navy tactic of directing fire at Rebel gun positions that have exposed themselves, and the second allows the Union to amass a larger stack of ships (10 vice the normal 6 allowed in the rules) when making an attack – which represents Farragut’s accumulation of a massive force to hit Mobile Bay.

Farragut was one of the first admirals in the U.S. Navy – attaining the rank of rear admiral as a reward for taking New Orleans in 1862.  Nine such rear admirals were authorized by act of Congress in 1862  (among these were Samuel Francis DuPont – USN Card 54,  John Dahlgren – USN Card 31, David Dixon Porter – USN Card 2 and Andrew Hull Foote, who appears as a Leader in the game).  Farragut later became the nation’s first vice admiral – promoted by Lincoln for his storming of Mobile Bay, and its first full admiral (four star rank), an honor he was given a year after the war in July 1866.

Farragut, though born in Tennessee and married to a Southern belle, stayed loyal to the Union – so much so that he told his wife that he was going North even if she and the family stayed South.  He and Confederate Admiral Franklin “Old Buck” Buchanan (a Confederate leader in the game) were among the senior officers in the Navy, and just as Buchanan felt Farragut had betrayed the South by coming North, so did Farragut believe “Buck” had betrayed his oath to the Union by going South.   The two men quite literally fought eye-to-eye at Mobile Bay,  Farragut supposedly uttering his famous “damn” not so much because of the torpedoes, but because from his perch on the rigging of the USS Hartford (USN Card 37) he could see Buchanan looking up at him from the pilot house of the ram CSS Tennessee (CSN Card 86), as depicted in the famous painting of that action by William Heysham Overrend (see below).

“American Civil War games are very popular in Japan”

Rebel Raiders – In Japanese?

“American Civil War games are very popular in Japan” 

My old friend, the renowned artist Rodger MacGowan made that comment when he sent me the photos (see below) of the Japanese language edition of Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

“Based on my contacts in Japan and the photos I have seen on the web from Japan,” Rodger told me, “the American Civil War is a very popular subject among wargamers in Japan today.”

Rodger should know, he has been doing covers of my games for 30 years – including all of my Civil War titles, from the early 1980s Army of the Potomac, Army of the Tennessee pairing that combined make Mr. Lincoln’s War right up to, of course, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

Look for more Rebel Raiders images on his website, and for major coverage of Rebel Raiders in an upcoming issuing of his C3i magazine.

“The Unsinkable” USS Brooklyn

The Ships of Rebel Raiders    - The Men o’War

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships.

Part IV – The Union Screw Sloops: “The Unsinkable” USS Brooklyn

The sloop-of-war USS Brooklyn  (USN Card 13)  was practically a one-ship Navy; she did it all, and fought everywhere, in every kind of action.   She helped frustrate Confederate attempts to take Fort Pickens in Pensacola in 1861, then captured several blockade runners.  When Raphael Semmes made his initial foray out of New Orleans on the CSS Sumter (the Raider counter that begins the game there) she gave chase – but the elusive Semmes got away, as he always did.

USS Brooklyn caught several blockade runners in 1862, and battled her way up river past the guns of Forts Jackson and St. Philip to engage the Rebel Ironclad Ram CSS Manassas (CSN Card 71 in Rebel Raiders). The ironclad did ram her, but as the captain reported “did us little injury.”  (Only on the USS Brooklyn was a 24-foot long gash in the hull a “little injury.”)    Later in the summer of 1862 she went upriver to run the batteries at Vicksburg and drove the Rebel gunners away while troops landed at Donaldsonville, La.

USS Brooklyn was pulled out of the Mississippi to blockade Galveston, where she again was stymied by Semmes (who returned in the CSS Alabama (CSN Card 63) to trick, engage and sink the USS Brooklyn’s consort, the gunboat USS Hatteras (USN Card 16).   The mighty warship, however, got some measure of revenge by capturing a pair of blockade runners, including the Kate, skippered by the legendary and until then always lucky Thomas Lockwood – until then “the most successful of many Charlestonnians engaged in blockade running” (according to Robert N. Rosen, in his book, Confederate Charleston).  Kate was one of nine blockade runners captured (and one sunk) by the USS Brooklyn during the war.

Mobile Bay in August 1864, however, was where USS Brooklyn would be most sorely tested – as she led the second column into the Bay; when the ironclad USS Tecumseh immediately off her port bow hit a torpedo (i.e. mine) a sank in seconds, the captain stopped and began backing as the USS Brooklyn had also run into a net of mines.  The Rebel Ironclad Ram CSS Tennessee (CSN Card 86) tried to ram her, but she fended off the ram and added her guns to those of the other Union ships that forced the Rebel ship to strike.

Nearly 100 of those aboard USS Brooklyn were killed or wounded in the action, and 23 sailors and marines aboard were awarded the Medals of Honor.

After extensive repairs, USS Brooklyn was sent to aid in the attack on Fort Fisher.  After the war  she became the flagship of the South Atlantic Squadron and later that of the Asiatic Squadron.  For her final service, in 1889, she circumnavigated the globe – running Cape Horn – before returning home to New York to be decommissioned.

USS Iroquois: Ship of War, Ship of Mercy - 50 Years of Service

The Ships of Rebel Raiders    - The Men o’War

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships.

Part IV – The Union Screw Sloops: USS Iroquois: Ship of War, Ship of Mercy - 50 Years of Service

Few ships serve their country for 50 years – and fewer still serve as both men o’ war and ships of mercy.  Such, however, is the legacy of USS Iroquois  (USN Card 12 -  “Sloop of War ” in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas).

USS Iroquois was commissioned in 1859 and sent the Mediterranean – where it hosted no less a figure than the renowned Italian freedom-fighter Giuseppe Garibaldi.  Recalled home as war loomed, she was sent to the Caribbean to seek out commerce raiders  (those very ships for whom Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is named).  She found the first of those, the CSS Sumter (the Raider counter that starts the game in New Orleans) but its wily captain, Raphael Semmes (who would later command the CSS Alabama – CSN Card 63 – and which also appears on the game box cover) gave the mighty Union warship the slip. 

USS Iroquois also later intercepted a British sloop, aboard which were the Confederate ministers James M. Mason and John Slidell (of the Trent Affair – CSN Card 83 fame).  Commander James S. Palmer, however, wisely and diplomatically let them proceed.

USS Iroquois finally got into the shooting war as part of Farragut’s (USN Card 1) squadron during the attacks on Forts Jackson and St. Philip (which appear in the game as well).  She also took part in the shelling of Vicksburg before being recalled downriver for service hunting blockade runners in the Gulf of Mexico (a key role for Union sloops in the game).  USS Iroquois performed that same task in 1863 as part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, catching several blockade runners, notably the Kate and the Merrimac.  After repairs, she was dispatched to the Pacific to hunt the raider CSS Shenandoah (CSN Card 64).

After the war, she became part of the Asiatic Squadron and later the Pacific Squadron, landing her Marines to protect U.S. interests in Panama in 1885.  In 1892 this antique man of war became a hospital ship, a role she performed until finally retired and struck from the Navy List in 1910.

Kentucky in the Civil War: Speed Bump or Trap Play?

Rebel Raiders Strategy Question #1:

Kentucky in the Civil War:  Speed Bump or Trap Play?

At the WBC (World Boardgaming Championships) convention in Lancaster last week, I got into an interesting discussion about the role of Kentucky, most notably Louisville, in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas (as well as in other Civil War games and in history).   It began with this comment from my friend Evan:

“Why would any Rebel player in their right mind NOT invade Kentucky on turn one?”

In Rebel Raiders as in many Civil War games the South goes first.  That means it can get into Kentucky and take Louisville before the North, presenting the Union with a fait d’accompli.   In Rebel Raiders the South takes it by simply placing in Louisville one of the two batteries they can build in a turn.  The South then rolls two dice, and loses the difference in Victory Points.

Evan put forth the notion that this is a no-brainer move.  It is an “in-your-face” challenge to the Union to take this initially neutral city, and it blocks the Ohio – which means any Union warships built in Cincinnati cannot join the Union fleet on the Mississippi unless and until Louisville is taken.  In addition, he pointed out, it protects Nashville.

“What Rebel player in his right mind doesn’t take Louisville on turn one?” He reiterated.  I answered: “me.”

While Evan is not WRONG, I see Louisville not as a speed bump but as a trap play. 

First, the Union never has to take Louisville back from the South – not to win, not even to attack Nashville – which can be assaulted by hitting Forts Henry and Donelson out of Cairo.  So that means the battery may never fire a shot, and that he Victory Points lost will never be recovered.

Second, if the South does not take Louisville, the North might just be tempted to grab it – and that uses up one of their attacks (although in 1861 their attack odds are poor, they can still get lucky in a fight in an undefended port or fort space).  It also means the North has to roll two dice, and give the South the difference in the roll as Victory Points.  The maximum difference is only FIVE – but that is enough to build a Blockade Runner or Gunboat for the South.  It is as much as five Blockade Runners can bring home in a turn from going to any ports other than the two big European ones.

Third, the battery that is used to take Louisville for the South is better used anywhere else:  at Nashville or Forts Henry and Donelson, for example, or at Island No. 10 or Memphis – and that is just in that same theater of operations.  In addition, compensating for the Victory Points expended to take Louisville, as noted above, means extra work for the Blockade Runners – or, if the difference between the dice is the full Five, it means it cost the South a ship it could have built – either a gunboat for defense or a Runner to make points.

The Yankee Case: Louisville is an easy victory and a jumping off point.

There are, of course, those who see Louisville in a different light.  A Union Louisville does open up Cincinnati as an extra shipyard to build up the Mississippi Squadron more quickly.  It does threaten Nashville from the land side – which means the South has to worry about Tennessee being invaded from another direction, and if Nashville falls the North can immediately strike either Memphis or Chattanooga before the South can react (assuming the North took Nashville on its first attack of the two it gets each turn, or that the Union purchased or has cards that give it additional attacks).

Bottom Line:  Both Sides are Right

As in many games (and many wars) both sides make a good argument for why Louisville is or is not important.  Next time you play Rebel Raiders, which way will you jump?

(Photo below shows a Union Louisville - top center, yellow square with round blue marker with white star - and a Union controlled Island No. 10, with a fleet at Cairo.)

What Gamers Are Saying about Rebel Raiders:

“Fun and pretty darn grounded historically;”  “what an ingenious game!” 

“Simple to play, very good for solitaire…thanks for taking the risk and breaking new ground.”

 Gamers continue to say good things about Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  Here are just a few comments we have received this week:

Panzer Digest magazine: “Fun and pretty darn grounded historically;” 

-“Katie and I welcome Mark McLaughlin – designer of that truly awesome game at GMT: Rebel Raiders.  It’s both fun and pretty darn grounded historically considering the scale – and keeping it playable!”

Michael Syrett  (from Scotland):   “Simple to play, very good for solitaire…thanks for taking the risk and breaking new ground.”

  

“As a veteran board gamer and purchaser of GMT products (I have 30 of your games), I’d like to congratulate Mark McLaughlin and Fred Schachter on their excellent new offering Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  The naval war between the States has been the one aspect of ACW gaming that has been sadly neglected.  This game, along with Iron & Oak, more than fills the gap.  It is simple to play, very good for solitaire – yet covers most of the key events.  It is right up there among my top five favourite games.  Many thanks for taking the risk and breaking new ground.”

  

Paul Pressler (on Consimworld):  “what an ingenious game!”  “We have had a really great time!”

 My brother and I just finished playing four straight games of Rebel Raiders starting in 1861 each time.  We have had a really great time!  What an ingenious game! It’s easy to play but really brings out a flavor for the war and covers aspects of the war never covered by other games on the war.  Covering the Blockade Running, Confederate Raiders aspects of the war lets the war be seen in its full international scope, which helps one to fully understand the conflict.  Good job on that!  The assortment of Confederate and Union cards was well thought out and guaranteed that each game was different from the other.”

The Ships of Rebel Raiders   -  The CSS Advance

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships.

The Blockade Runners – The CSS Advance

Most blockade runners made a profit by their second voyage; the CSS Advance (CSN Card 67) made 20 such successful runs, making her one of if not the most profitable of all of those ships that ran the Union blockade.   A side-wheel steamer built in Scotland as the Lord Clyde in 1862, she was purchased by the state of North Carolina and renamed in honor of its governor, Zebulan Vance.   She eluded capture on over 40 occasions before her luck ran out on September 10, 1864 off Wilmington, where she was caught by the gunboat USS Santiago de Cuba.  The Union impressed the ship into service, refitting and rechristening her as the gunboat USS Frolic.  She finished out the war, ironically, enforcing the blockade.

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 8 –August 1863)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we last left off, the South was reeling from the loss of Nashville – whose capture took no less than three assaults (two by river and one by land) in one turn to secure.  The capture of the city allowed the North to declare the Emancipation Proclamation, thus further hampering Southern efforts to bring in badly needed cargo from abroad...

Blockade Runners – We Few, We Happy Few…

While there are still at least a few (oh, how very few) Blockade Runners out there, Mark plays Cotton is King (Card 87) which increases the value of each Cargo counter brought home this turn by 1 extra VP.  Although three (fully loaded, of course) Blockade Runners go down, five get through – and thanks to King Cotton they unload 12 VP.   Raiders manage to scramble about for 4 more VP.

Of course one problem with being one of the “few” is that the band of brothers keeps getting fewer….

After losing 5 VP on the Supply roll (an attrition roll to reflect on the cost of maintaining the war effort) the South has 35 VP left – and Mark cashes in 20 of them to start another Ironclad.  Batteries go down in Chattanooga and Atlanta, to attempt to build up a line of defense against the now unleashed Grant, who may strike out of Nashville toward the Confederate heartland. Four Blockade Runners, bringing the total in play to eight, and a Raider are built.

The Rebel deck is reshuffled as per Cotton is King.

Tomorrow, the Union half of the turn....To be continued....

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

-Dedicated to Civil War episodes, battles, people and ships that also appear in my game, GMT’s Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

June 11, 1863  -  Grant Brings Up the Big Guns

            Historical Event:  As the siege of Vicksburg tightens, Grant brings up two monstrous 10-inch Columbiads and places them in firing positions a mere 100 yards from the Rebel front lines.  The huge guns begin pounding the city daily, forcing its civilian population to dig underground shelters.

            Game Connection:  Union Card 48 – Siege Train – gives the Union an additional die in assaults by land.  This bonus can be decisive, especially when faced with heavily defended cities such as Vicksburg, one of the keys to victory in the Civil War, just as it is in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 7 –Mid-game Pause and Assessment)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we last left off, the South was reeling from the loss of Nashville – whose capture took no less than three assaults (two by river and one by land) in one turn to secure. 

The fall of Nashville means more than just battering open the gates to the largely unprotected heartland of the Confederacy.  It also allows the Union player to declare the Emancipation Proclamation.  Here is a brief note as to what that means, and an assessment of the game’s overall situation as the players cross the midpoint.

Emancipation Proclamation

The capture of a city in 1863 allows the Union to declare the Emancipation Proclamation – which Brandon does.  This removes the Trent and Royal Navy cards now in play – and forever removing the threat that the North will again have to send three Screw Sloops that had been placed on the later earlier in the game.  Maximillian is also removed from the deck, and both sides reshuffle all discards.  In addition, two of the six 2VP cargo markers are removed from play, which, combined with the nearly complete destruction of the Blockade Running fleet, and the tight inner and outer blockade, all but put an end to the Confederate blockade running option.

All hope for VP to keep the South in the war now rests with the Raiders, who are being hunted mercilessly by killer packs of Screw Sloops…..one pack of which finds but misses one Raider, while another pair of stacks sinks two more Raiders.

The Union builds two Ironclads and buys a third attack for next turn….

OVER THE HUMP – Mid-game Situation

Rebel Raiders normally has 12 turns, although a 13^th is possible through card play and die rolling.  Seven of those turns are now over, putting the game over the hump and past the midpoint.

In terms of cities, as August 1863 (Turn 8) dawns,  the South is not doing badly at all.  It has lost Island No. 10 and Fort Henry, and Louisville. It is not the loss of this shield but the capture of Nashville that truly hurts – for this opens up the Confederate heartland, which Mark has ignored in favor of building a strong outer ring.  It also allows the Union a shot at Memphis from the land side.  This means that even if the Union fleets do not manage to sink the Rebel ships (two ironclads, two gunboats) the Union Army can take its chances against the Batteries.

On the coast, only St. Augustine has fallen, but the blockade is solid.  Every Blockade Station on the Atlantic and most on the Gulf has one or more ships on patrol, and there are one or two Screw Sloops offshore in each zone as well.  There are very few Blockade Runners left, and with Emancipation Proclamation reducing the number of 2 VP cargo available, things look very bleak for the smuggling trade.   The Raiding fleet has been decimated, and the Union has strong forces sweeping the seas.

While the South has a long way to go before falling,  the tide has turned…..

To be continued…. (Illustration below is a (fuzzy) bird's eye view of the situation)

"Wow!" and other nice things gamers are saying about Rebel Raiders on the High Seas

-We pause in our continuing coverage of the replay of a game between the designer and a naval historian to note and acknowledge some kind words posted about the game:

"Wow!"
- Jean Leviathan of Lublin, Poland

"Oh, now you've gone and made me want to buy this.  My wife will not like you."
-Barry Kendall, Lebanon PA

"It's an easy system to teach and learn.  As others have said, 15-20 minutes and we're good to go! If anyone likes tension in a game they will love Rebel Raiders."
-Pat Kearns, BGG

and also from Pat:

 "Happy to read that a module" (for Vassal) "is in the 'works.' I (and others) will patiently await its arrival as I go about teaching the game to a few more eager friends"

-Thank you all, and I hope you all continue to enjoy playing Rebel Raiders on the High Seas!

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 7, Continued)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we were last here, the North had just retreated from its abortive naval attack on Nashville…a battle in which three Rebel and two Union cards were played.  Brandon, however, pulled back the remnants of one fleet only to come on again with a fresh force…

Turn 7  (Part II)  The Second Battle of Nashville:  – Gunboats vs. Batteries

Brandon may have retreated from his first attack, but he is not done with Nashville.    He has a SECOND fleet on the river - with one Ironclad and five Gunboats….and in they come to fight the two remaining Rebel batteries.

The battle opens with a mighty cannonade of rolling dice and….

Every shot by every ship and battery in round one MISSES!

Round Two:  One Union Gunboat is sunk.  Yankees miss.

Round Three:  Three Gunboats go down.   No Batteries are hit.

The much-reduced Union fleet retires.

A lesser man (say, a Halleck or a McClellan) would call it a day – especially after losing two battles and two-thirds of the fleet in that second battle, but Brandon is made of sterner stuff.  Even if he can not weaken the city sufficiently by water, he will try by land….

Third Nashville  -  On Comes Grant and his Big Guns

The Union always gets two attacks a turn but Brandon, however, as is good practice for the Union from 1863 on has bought a third attack (the North can buy enough to make four attacks per turn).  He comes at Nashville by land, with Siege Train (Card 48) and Grant (Card 8).  He uses Union Tactics (which is a rule, not a card, giving up one of his dice to gain a +1 to the highest die he rolls).   Mark rolls higher…but Brandon throws down “Willing to Fight”  (Card 5) which allows the North to re-roll..and comes back in again – and Nashville FALLS!

It took five of the six cards in Brandon’s hand to take Nashville … but he got Siege Train back into his hand (a property of the card if victorious and with a decent die roll) and now Grant is out in the open, face up.

Having kicked open the door to the Confederate heartland (which is entirely undefended) presents the Union with many possibilities, and also allows for the declaration of the Emancipation Proclamation....the consequences of which, along with the mid-game strategic situation, will be discussed in the next posting....

To be continued….

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 6)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we left off last time, the Union blockade had become so formidable that nearly half of the vessels trying to run it were caught - most with their cargo.  The net suitably tight, now the North is starting to send out packs of screw sloops to hunt down Raiders....

Four more Blockade Runners go down --- Brandon is capturing them faster than the South can build them.  Twelve victory points are acquired by the South this turn, bust mostly from Raiding, not Running.  Memphis is strengthened by the Gunboat the South built last turn (which was built in Vicksburg, as I failed to mention, as an Ironclad appeared in Memphis last turn and the South may only place one ship per port per Build Phase, other than through card play).

Beauregard (Card 88) again appears, with that blessed third battery, and Nashville and Memphis are now brought up to full strength with three batteries each, and another is placed in Richmond, just to safeguard the capital.   The South builds four Blockade Runners, one for each lost this turn, and builds a Gunboat in Memphis.

Brandon decides it is time to start chipping away at the Atlantic, and goes for an Amphibious Assault on Wilmington.  His fleet of four Gunboats and the Screw Sloop Brooklyn (Card 13) gets a surprise as the Ring of Fire (Card 101) adds a second battery to the defenses…although Mark rolls horribly (even with the bonuses from the card) and sinks only one Gunboat, Brandon backs off rather than take on two batteries with his under-gunned force.

Diplomatic Pressure  (Card 55) is applied through the card of the same name, which sends the Trent and Royal Navy (Cards 83 and 62) to the Discard Pile - this frees up the three screw sloops that were on the later card, giving the North yet more big warships to go a'Raider-hunting.

Brandon buys an extra Attack for next turn, as well as another Ironclad and some Gunboats.   Turn 7 apparently is going to be the start of the "big push," as it will be 1863 - which means the North increases its attack dice from two to three - giving it the edge on the South, which remains at two.  The Union is learning the art of war...and how to use its massive industrial base to powerful effect.

Images below:  The big map situation early in Turn 6, before the Union play...

...and some of the cards played on Turn 6....

Boardgamegeek Praises, Recommends Rebel Raiders in After Action Report

In an after action report posted on June 3, on Boardgamegeek,  J.R. Tracy calls Rebel Raiders on the High Seas:  "a surprisingly light and breezy (in a good way) treatment of a sprawling topic. The vast scope of the naval war was captured in a way that still left room for a little tactical nuance in terms of deployment and combat resolution. The cards add a lot of flavor...."

To read the after action report (which begins with a brief AAR of a short Advanced Squad Leader game) go to:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/20077/aar-3-june-2013-advanced-squad-leader-rebel-raid

More Praise for Rebel Raiders:

"A very entertaining game," says John Bolash in a posting last week on ConSimWorld.  "Oodles of choices to make and opportunities for variation."

...and this from Steve Duke, commenting on the postings on my blog of the  Replay of the game between Naval Historian Brandon Musler and myself (which will resume tomorrow with Turn 6)....

"I think it says a lot (in a good way) that the designer wants to play his game after all the toil to produce it. I hear sometimes/often that is not the case."

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

-Dedicated to Civil War episodes, battles, people and ships that also appear in my game, GMT’s Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

(NB: Coverage of the Replay of the game between the designer and naval historian Brandon Musler will resume tomorrow, June 4).

June 3, 1863   Lee Moves North

            Historical Event:  On June 3, 1863 the vanguard of The Army of Northern Virginia leaves its encampment at Fredericksburg, beginning the fateful march that will culminate a month later in the Battle of Gettysburg.

            Game Connection:  Although primarily focused on the naval aspects of the conflict, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the entire Civil War, and armies and the generals who led them play a prominent role in holding or taking territory.  Card 77 – Lee Moves North is one example of that, as it reflects the three Confederate invasions of the North in the Eastern Theater (the 1862 Antietam and 1863 Gettysburg campaigns and the 1864 Valley Campaign that brought Jubal Early over the Monocacy and right up to the ring of forts surrounding Washington).

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 4)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we last left our happy warriors,, the Union had taken Louisville only to suffer a horrifying defeat at Nashville – costing them 10 Victory Points and a key Card.  The South, however, is not smiling too broadly, as the Blockade is tightening and the Union is capturing Blockade Runners almost as fast as the Confederacy can build them…

Turn 4 – April 1862   The Battle of Island No. 10

The South’s joy over holding Nashville is tempered by the loss of FOUR Blockade Runners, all fully loaded with 2 VP each!  Still, despite those losses 10 VP of cargo make it through the blockade, and the Raiders manage to squeeze 3 more VP.     The South places the Ironclad built last turn in Memphis, and spends 20 VP to start building another Ironclad.  Once again, a Raider and four Blockade Runners are built. (As it is now 1862, two of those Blockade Runners may be and are built in foreign ports).

Beauregard  (Card 88) shows up, allowing placement of a third battery instead of the usual two a turn, and these go in Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis, as Brandon has been steadily building up Ironclads and gunboats in the West.

Brandon, repulsed by land, is now eager to push on the river, as he has accumulated a strong fleet.

The Battle for Island No. 10 --

Brandon takes his Cairo fleet of 1 Ironclad and 5 Gunboats to fight the two Rebel Gunboats and Battery at Island No. 10.

On the first round, two Union and one Confederate Gunboat are sunk.

On the second round, another Union Gunboat goes down – but the Yankees destroy the Battery and sink the other Rebel Gunboat.

This paves the way for the attack on the fort space itself.  As it is now 1862 the North is no longer at a disadvantage and is rolling two dice a turn in combat, the same number of basic dice as the South. To make sure the Confederacy can’t change the odds Brandon plays “Three Cigars” (Card 45) (as that Union card prevents the South from playing cards in the fight.    Island No. 10 falls; it is the first piece of Southern territory to be reintegrated into the Union.   (See photo of game map below).

…but not without company; St. Augustine falls to the Union Navy in an amphibious assault.   It is the first Southern city to fall.

 All the South can do to take its revenge is to play Royal Navy (Card  62) (as allowed by the previous play of the Trent Card) – forcing the North to build 3 Screw Sloops to put on the Royal Navy card  (to “watch” the British fleet that was assembled at Halifax).

Rebel Raiders Replay

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

My old friend Brandon knows more about naval warfare and naval games than just about anybody I know, and as he had invited me to NYC where lives to hear a lecture at the Soldiers and Sailors Club that night, we decided to make a full day of it by gaming Rebel Raiders.  Although the Playbook offers many optional rules for advanced and enhanced play that “spice up the game considerably with added variability,” as Brandon put it, we decided to stick with just the basic game as this is where all new gamers should start.

 Turn 1 – April 1861

As the Confederates I open with Card 96 – “The Most Daring Blockade Runner” Francis Nathaniel Bonneau.  This gives me a free Blockade Runner in Havana, loaded with a 2 VP cargo and immune to interception this turn.  I also play Card 94 -  To the Dark Shores, putting bonus VP cargo on three foreign ports ..AND then I also play Card 83 - Trent Affair – a prerequisite for play of cards that can be quite detrimental to the Union (Royal Navy and Maximillian) should I draw them.

Playing my entire starting hand at once is lot a shot across the bow to Brandon, letting him know this game is not going to start slow.

My first move is to take the Raider that begins in New Orleans (historically Raphael Semmes and his CSS Sumter) out into the Gulf – and she is immediately caught and sank!  (A bad opening omen for the South). I send out my six Blockade Runners to load cargo, and hover offshore in international waters rather than use up all of their movement points just to leave them vulnerable to Union searches in the Blockade Stations or Coastal Areas.   Bonneau, of course, does come home to deliver his cargo.

The Confederacy places batteries at Louisville (taking Kentucky) and Wilmington, to guard a Blockade Runner I built there.  Two other Blockade Runners are built in other fortified Atlantic ports, and another Blockade Runner and a Raider are built in Europe..

The Union moves to reinforce the blockade but eschews land combat, preferring not to risk losing VPs in attacks where the Union rolls only 1 die and the South 2 – and where the South wins ties.   As Brandon put it:  “I’m a numbers kind of guy, and the odds aren’t even 50-50.”

He plays Card 30 - Gustavus Fox to get some free gunboats for this and subsequent turns.

To be continued…..

GMT Sale -- Get Rebel Raiders for Half Price!

GMT is having a big sale - for a limited time order one or two games and get them at half off the list price...This offer applies to Rebel Raiders and Iron & Oak as well as their other games...this means you can game the Civil War on the strategic level with Rebel Raiders, and fight out most of the naval actions tactically with Iron & Oak  (as the rules in Rebel Raiders' playbook describes) -- all for the price of just one game!

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Hi guys! We're having a ONE WEEK sale!!!! Here are the details: GMT Games Twitter Celebration Sale!! For those of you with Twitter accounts, you may have noticed that our account on Twitter (and Instagram) is now live. We invite you to Follow us to keep up with the GMT news on a daily basis. Here's the link: https://twitter.com/gmtgames We're happy to have expanded our social media outreach this week, and a bunch of you guys have helped us with background details and information and also with spreading the word, so we're going to have a "Twitter Celebration Sale" for EVERYONE to mark the occasion and to thank you all for your help with spreading the word and helping out with our social media expansion. Details: Between now and next Wednesday (May 22nd), you can make ONE ORDER with either ONE or TWO IN-STOCK GMT GAMES, and get those games for 50% OFF the retail (or sale - the games on our Specials page DO qualify) price. Note: this only applies to IN-STOCK games, and only games from GMT, not from the third-party companies (Consimpress, UGG, etc) that we rep on our website. Coupon Code: When you place your order on our website (www.gmtgames.com) or with our office ladies (800-523-6111 or 559-583-1236 or via online chat from our website), use the following Coupon Code at Checkout to get your discount: TW1350 Normal Shipping Costs apply. I hope you guys can use this opportunity to pick up a game or two that you've been wanting at a terrific price! Enjoy!