Stripped Down for Parts: By Swords and Bayonets

 

 

The Great Battles of the American Civil War (GBACW) series is my White Whale. Or one of them. I circled around the game for years. I heard it was difficult, that the rules were hard to digest, that understanding of line-of-sight was conferred only on the worthy by some greater power. Okay, I’m exaggerating. But everything I read suggested GBACW was tough to start with but incredibly rewarding if you push through and grok it.

So, in a rash moment, I dove in. I bought Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah (GMT Games, 2019), and Into the Woods: The Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862 (GMT Games, 2022) in quick succession. I started reading the common rulebook, and while not something you’ll breeze through, the rules – was reading the latest (2022) version from Into the Woods – seemed clear, sensible, and understandable.

I’ve mentioned previously in A Fast Game that I’m keen to get into GCBACW and was planning to get a couple of the smaller scenarios from Into the Woods to the table (more pushing counters around to get a feel for the game and the line-of-sight rules, rather than diving in like a damned fool). Circumstance and my own conflicts of interest had kept this from happening, but as it was, when GMT announced the inclusion of By Swords & Bayonets in its P500 roster, I decided to put those ambitions on the backburner and wait for this one to come out. Like a lot of other people, I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release since.

Normally I try to bring a little a clarity to the components in my unboxing narrations, but I don’t think I cold bring anything this that hasn’t already been covered in Gary Mengle’s unboxing video over on his YouTube channel, Ardwulf’s Lair (subscribe and thank me later), with the game’s designer, Allen Dickerson.* I recommend taking the time watch the video in its entirety (it comes in under three-quarters of an hour), especially if you’re unfamiliar with the system. Instead, I’ll mostly just offer quick run through of everything that comes in the box, with some comments on the physical qualities of the components, and a few historical notes.  

The cover illustration for a game will usually the tone for the game. The choice of a Currier and Ives lithograph depicting the Battle of Mill Springs,1862. I’ve written about another print company that made a specialty out of American Civil War prints, Kurtz and Allison, in a previous post. The notable difference here is that, while it could be argued that Kurtz and Allison’s output was technically of better quality and more fully realised (certainly richer in detail), Currier and Ives were producing their prints contemporaneously with the events depicted. A copy of the Mill Springs print was submitted to the Library of Congress in the same year the battle was fought.

The back of the box: so full of promise.

Overall, the box shell is of the solid quality that GMT has been housing everything lately.I've heard that the box is the single most expensive component to produce for a new game. For what it's worth, I'm happy to pay a  couple of bucks extra for a sturdy enclosure.

While some games in the GBACW series have presented multiple battles in a set, these have been interconnected, often parts of a greater campaign, or single day scenarios of a longer battle. By Swords and Bayonets goes the full SPI-style quad-game experience, with geographically and chronologically disparate battles, each using the GBACW series rules, with some situational tinkering for each battle. This is a first for this series, but Mr Dickerson has alluded to a second four-battle pack  already in the works (or at least in the research stage).

The box back offers a teaser of what’s to come. Four maps (in miniature, overlapping), some representative counters, shown at about actual size, and some brief paragraphs setting out the scope of the game. The inset details I’ve come to think of as the Scope Box (though I doubt that will catch on) declares that the game is intended for 1-2 players (though I doubt Mr Dickerson agrees), that each battle will likely take four or more hours to resolve (so probably not appropriate for a school night), and the game is intended for players fourteen and up.

The game’s complexity is rated at 7 out of 9. I think this is probably true of anyone’s first game using the GBACW rules; if you’re familiar with the system, I’d wager this would go down a notch or two, though there will be things to integrate with each new situation (but in that richness is much of the appeal), and Solitaire Suitability also comes in at a 7 out of 9. Regarding the game, the map scale is 140 yards per hex, with altitude graduation 20’each, each unit stands at roughly fifty men per Strength Point (or a single cannon), and each turn represents an hour of battle time.

GBACW series rulebook.

The GBACW Series Rulebook is the next evolution of the series rules from the 2022 edition featured in Into the Woods. All significant changes to the 2024 edition rules are indicated throughout by a Minie ball icon in the margin. The rulebook itself runs to 44 pages. Of these, the cover page offers a detailed Table of Contents, the back cover presents the credits for the broader GBACW system. A through Index takes up the next two pages inside the back cover. In all, the rules amass 38 pages, with another two devoted to an optional Fatigue rule that, according to many trusted commentators familiar with the system, shouldn’t be considered optional at all.

The rules are both well laid out and are augmented with edifying illustrations where appropriate. This is a series that has been in near constant development since maybe the early eighties, and it has been honed by many minds. Nothing made by the hands of man is ever perfect, but by now the GBACW system rules must be polished to a high sheen.

All three books share the qualities of being printed on a nice weight of matte-finish paper, in – if I’m not mistaken – a very readable Garamond-family type. The books are staple bound, which is perfectly fine for presentations of this length. I tend to mistreat my rulebooks, rolling the pages back over themselves when I’m learning a game, but comparable length booklets from GMT have stood up to this abuse admirably.

 

BS&B Battle Book. Let's get this party started.

The Battle book is adorned with another Currier and Ives lithograph, this one the Battle of Newbern [sic] N.C. March 26^th 1862. A better rendering of the print is available from the Huntington Digital Library and is worth a look. The slight differentiation in colouring between the Huntington print and the one used for the Battle Book is that each print, after being pressed on a limestone block for the black and white image, was hand-coloured by in-house artists, so some variation was inevitable.

The cover also features a Table of Contents, from which we can glean that three of the battles featured in BS&B are single-scenario ventures, while an alternative scenario is offered for the Battle of 2^nd Rappahannock Station. The next two and a half pages outline general principles for the playing of the four battles – each scenario will have its own particular rules as well. Special note should be taken of rule 17.0 Fatigue, which states “In all By Swords and Bayonets battles, Fatigue is not optional,” (emphasis in the original, but thankfully it isn’t presented in bold).

Each scenario is laid out in the manner as in previous entries into the GBACW line. One of the things that make BS&B such great value is that, while most of the scenarios are single situation games, the situations of the four games are quite radically different, each bringing its own qualities and flavour to the table.

The Battle Book also includes a two-page Designer’s Notes that should be required reading for anyone embarking on the game. It closes with a reproduction of the counter sheets (which we will get to shortly), and an exhaustive set of credits for the game on the back cover.

Examples of Play Book. Chock-full of demonstrative goodness.

Also included in this set is a third booklet given over to an extended example of play that the designer has put together using images from the VASSAL module created for playtesting the game. The booklet runs to 32 pages, with a one-page forward, and a very detailed thirty-page of detailed and thoroughly illustrated play-through of the Battle of Big Bethel. This book alone is worth the cost of the game for someone new to the system and keen to learn. The Example of Play is replete with fully annotated set-piece examples of how the rules of the game function in an actual game situation. This might be the resource that nobody realised the series was lacking.

Terrain Effects Charts for the battles of Big Bethel and Mill Springs.
Terrain (and elevation) play a big role in GBACW.

The game comes with a handful of various manners of cards, ten in all. All of the cards are printed on a familiar weight of cardstock, with a light sheen rather than a full gloss finish, making them much more readable under lights.

The 2nd Disorder Table. Clauses and consequences.

Of these, for are Terrain Effects Cards, one for each battle, and each with the common Second Disorder Chart on the verso. These are 8½” by 11” cards. If an already disordered unit receives a second Disorder result (as can happen in a multitude of circumstances) the owning player must refer to this chart and follow the instructions for the appropriate case. This chart is very well laid out and easy to follow.

Confederate and Union Organisational Cards for the Battle of Big Bethel. The others
share roughly the same configuration, but are tailored too each battle.

Four back-printed Organizational Cards – also 8½” by 11” – are also included, two for each side. Each card has two sets of tracking aids on either side, each face covering the for battles of the game. These are used by each layer to track turns and collected victory points, as well as various administrative functions in the game, such as routed/regrouping and eliminated units.

Player Aid Pard, external panels (back (left) and front).

And the same PAC inside the fold.

Finally, two bi-fold 11’ by 17” Player Aid Cards provide the tables and charts needed for the most common functions in the game. This is a well laid-out PAC, with each panel dealing with its own set of game circumstances. The front face offers tables for Rallying, Brigade Coordination and Order changes, and notes on the Loose Cannon result from an unfortunate Brigade Orders Change roll. The inside-fold deals with Fire combat, offering the Range effects and Fire results tables, as well as notes on Stacking limits and non-phasing fire eligibility. The back face covers Shock combat, with the Shock Resolution Table, and supporting guides and tables.

Battle of Big Bethel map.

Battle of Mill Springs map. The poor lighting really doesn't do justice
to these map sheets.

Battle of New Bern map. Tough fighting with all that forest.

Battle of Rappahannock Station map. Two scenarios, no waiting.

From a presentation point – in my view, at least – the maps are where BS&B really shines (though the work done on the unit counters has really paid off as well). These were prepared by GBACW stalwart Charles Kibler. The four maps are back-printed on two 17” by 22” sheets. These are also printed on a good weight paper-stock, the same quality as those included in Into the Woods and Death Valley. The maps hit that sweet spot between attractiveness and playability. I don’t think I have much more to offer regarding these, except that they are one more reason to get some B&SB to the table.

Counter sheet 1 - mostly fighting units and leaders.

The game comes with just two sheets of counters. The counters are all ½”, which can sometimes make for some difficulty for me personally, but I don’t think these should be troublesome at all. 

A sample of Confederate and Union leader and unit counters. Like I said, a lot
of information in a small space, but still eminently readable.

The unit counters carry a lot of information, but it is clearly organised and presented, with blue and butternut backgrounds for the opposing Union and Confederate forces, a colour-bar to mark each unit’s command affiliation, and numbers representing the unit’s Strength, Cohesion, and Movement allowance.

Counter sheet 2 - mostly admin markers, but also included are two errata counters
 for the Death Valley expansion, Battles of the Shenandoah (Bottom-right).

About half of the counter mix is made up of administrative markers, including numbered counters to keep track of casualties taken by units, mnemonic devices for unit orders and various states such as low ammunition and fatigue. Overall, the counter registration is very good across both sheets, and the die-cutting is so good that, I dare say, clipping may not be required.

An unexpected boon. A counter tray (stray tray?). Dice are also included
(though not pictured, but you've all seen ten-siders before).

As an unexpected bonus, a counter tray has been included in the package. I don’t know if that’s just for the first hundred lucky prize-winners, or if all copies will come with one. I think a single tray should accommodate the leaders and troops, though some of the shared administrative counters will probably need to reside in Ziploc baggies. Which may actually be more desirable in the long run. The game also comes with two appropriately coloured ten-sided dice, one blue, one grey. These feel like good rolling dice, but I’m already stealing myself to their sudden but inevitable betrayal.

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Realistically, I'm not sure when I'll be able to get By Swords and Bayonets to the table. It is on my Ten Game Challenge list (as a reserve title), so I have an excuse to pull it out, one game at least. If anyone else has played it, I'd appreciate any advice you can offer on which battle would be best to start with. Leave a comment if you have a firm view on this, and thanks for reading this far.

* Since posting this, GMT Games has posted a video of Allen Dickerson in conversation with Rachel and Luke Billingsley on the GMT Games YouTube Channel, discussing BS&B and the future of  GBACW generally. I've heard elsewhere there's a appetite  at GMT for another quad battle game on the back of BS&B's apparent success, but our intrepid designer isn't interested. In the interview, Mr Dickerson stated he's weighing up a big-box Death Valley-style campaign game covering the McClellan's Peninsula Campaign of 1862. We can only hope.