[Editor’s Note: The original, “Third World” version of RY was reviewed by Dave Powell in BROG #7, Dave liked it.] You know programmed instruction is a bad idea when you realize that, a) it was developed by the government, and, b) it was created in the sixties. It seems like a natural for wargames: just present complex rules in digestible chunks, building a solid foundation for new concepts, and Joe Gamer will be playing Campaign for North Africa in no time. In reality, what you usually end up with is a jumble, where rules on a subject are scattered hither and yon, and where what you learn in section A is modified in section B, only to be dropped in section C. You learn, and relearn, the same basic concepts over and over again, until you have no idea which rules apply to what scenario. After a few hours of this, you begin to realize the truth of the Firesign Theater's motto, "everything you know is wrong". Looking up a rule is like working on a 3,000 piece puzzle of a zucchini, or listening to poetry at a trendy, 50’s-Beat coffeehouse. You know the pieces are all there, but you wonder if putting them together isn't more trouble than it's worth. A shame, really, because Paul Dengel's - not to be confused with Kolin designer, Paul Dangel - Rebel Yell system is just what a lot of hardened Civil War Buffs have been looking for. After carving out a niche with their small 'n simple offerings in GameFix, the folks at GPG have decided to play with the Big Boys in the boxed game market. Their first effort is an up-dated version of the previously-released but privately-marketed Rebel Yell. RY is an interesting, if somewhat exasperating, attempt to break new ground in the long quiescent area of tactical civil war games by concentrating on combat at a company level. Graphically, Rebel is GameFix writ large. Maps and counters are OK, if you favor neutral, pastel shades. I am not a big fan of Beth Queman's map work. She usually manages an adequate job, but here, not even that modest standard is attained. Colors used differentiate certain terrain levels are extremely hard to make out, icons are often too similar, and, as an added bonus, the terrain key was screwed up at the printers. (Cartographic whiz that I am, I suspected something was up when the key used yellow for levels 2, 3, and 5). The rules fail to clarify the status of hexes with partial terrain, leaving you to ponder whether a given hex is half full of woods, or half empty. To complete the Chinese Fire Drill aspect, the hexes aren’t numbered. All-in-all, the map is a good example of the “Bowhouse School” of design-form follows errata. The counters, utilizing little blue and gray guys, guns, and horses, are, if not exactly inspiring, at least workmanlike. And, with over a thousand of them, they are certainly numerous. Together with a lengthy rules book and several charts, the box packs an impressive heft. Then there are The Rules. The rules are edited by none other than the Franco of Font, the Klingon of Kerning, himself, the infamous Dave Wood. At first glance, things look pretty clean and clear. Then you look closer, at which point you must excuse us while we run into a corner and snicker loudly for about an hour. It turns out that Dave may have spent more time studying type size than typos, as several pages of errata (enclosed) address such niceties as the sequence of play and terrain cost for streams. Worse, someone at GPG decided to present the rules in a programmed instruction format. This may have been the biggest errata of them all. The basic system works rather well, and offers a clever and insightful slant on the mechanics of small unit combat. The Sequence of play is sort of Igo-Hugo with multiple personalities in the form of Action Segments, which are interspersed with Fire Segments, wherein units can engage in movement, fire, rally, volley, bayonet and cavalry charges, or reorganization. The focus of the game is, not surprisingly, on infantry, though the rules for artillery and cavalry are also quite substantial. Each counter of foot represents 1 company with 1 strength point. All companies of the same regiment share a morale rating (which, irritatingly, is not on the counter but on the scenario page, requiring constant look-up). Each company can be deployed in a number of formations and subformations, including the usual Line (good for shooting), Column (good for moving on roads and trails), and Routed (good for nothing). Subformations include Stand To Fire (REAL good for shooting, 1 hex movement), Stand to Maneuver (regular movement, still able to fire), Cover (reduced movement and fire capabilities, but harder to shoot at), and Skirmisher (occupy 2 hexes, move fast, shoot lousy, harder to hit, rout quickly). Most of the rules on movement and command are of the "seen it" variety: terrain effects, chain o' command for regimental leaders (called "flags"), brigade leaders, and division commanders, with various command radii. The radii seem a mite short (brigadiers have a standard radius of only about 300 yards). But the effects of being out from under Fearless Leader's thumb are not catastrophic, provided a unit just wants to screen or defend. Thus, players will often post a company or two out of command on the flank, or garrisoning a key terrain feature. What really sets the game apart is the intricate, and often illuminating, combat system. The primary thesis of Rebel Yell would have brought a smile to the dour countenance of General Longstreet, apostle of the dug-in defense: attacking is a risky and bloody business, best left to the other guy. In the game, a head-on attack against formed, good order troops is a singularly bad idea. While playing the Belmont scenario, I bulled forward against the initial Confederate line à la Grant, and was quickly sent packing à la Pickett. Dengel has spent a great deal of effort in demonstrating what he calls the "Problem of Approach". This is not push 'em and roll 'em territory; the game demands rigorous study and careful thought in formulating proper tactics. The best subformation for defense is Stand To Fire, or STF. STF units have a Minimum Fire Zone (MFZ; this is an acronym-happy game) of 3 hexes, while Stand To Maneuver (STM) units have a zone of only 2. Worst is Disorganized units, which are limited to 1 hex. A defending unit can shoot at each and every unit that comes closer in a MFZ hex. That means taking 3 shots from a STF unit - 9 from a line - before you can move adjacent. This is a tremendous amount of fire and is likely to shatter even the most aggressive of Hood wannabes. Two things do help to mitigate this curtain of lead. First, a defending unit may only fire at the closest unit in it's MFZ. A key tactic for the attacker is to somehow get a unit adjacent to the defender, which has the effect of "screening" subsequent attacking units. Secondly, after his first shot, the defender gets an Advanced Fire marker. This represents the smoke and confusion of sustained firing, and results in a -2 modifier for further shots, as well as disallowing fire in the next friendly Action or Fire phase. This mitigates the defender's advantage somewhat, but you would still rather be behind the stone wall than in front of it. The actual CRT is pretty gory, although results are fairly familiar to tactical adherents: morale rolls leading to disruptions and routs, and steps of hits (usually 3). One of the more interesting combat results is Going to Cover. Going to Cover represents the infantryman's highly rational decision to get behind a rock or tree, instead of standing in the open attracting Minie balls. Even veteran troops considered it no disgrace to seek cover in the face of a hopeless assault. You would expect a worm's eye perspective in a company level game, to help distinguish it from it's regimental level brethren. Here, Rebel Yell does not disappoint. Both the attacker and defender have a number of tricks up their sleeve. The attacker, if adjacent to the defender at the start of his action phase, can declare an Assault, a toe-to-toe slugfest that produces a staggering upsurge in casualties almost guaranteed to rout one or both sides. Even if victorious, the attacker is Disrupted, a fact that points to the need for local reserves (Rebel is a real "2 up, 1 back" kind of game. Putting everyone up front is a sure ticket to a staff appointment with John Pope in Minnesota). A variant on Assault is the bayonet charge. Bayonet charges have a similar feel to the cavalry charge mechanics frequently encountered in Napoleonic simulations. Units stacked with a leader advance on a predesignated target hex, and engage in an immediate Assault (no waiting for the next Action segment; this is serious business). Boys with bayonets are very gung-ho, and may freely convert Disruption results into Organizational hits. Problem is, this sort of wild charge makes for a very juicy target. Against steady troops, the severe fire modifiers are likely to reduce the grand charge to grand carnage. But against a shaky line, prepped by artillery fire, and peppered by other rifle companies, a bayonet charge can blow a line wide open, allowing other units to stream through before the action segment ends. The Designer's Notes state that the Bayonet Charge was added to balance out the game, as the defender seemed to have too many advantages. Good thing, because in Rebel, the Dee-Fense rules. If the going gets too tough, even the defending infantry can get going, by executing a "skeedadle", a three hex retreat. Nothing more frustrating than throwing a haymaker punch, only to see your opponent dance nimbly out of harm’s way. An attacker's lot is not a happy one. Rebel Yell achieves its design goals, but at a price. Despite the minimal playing space, this is a big, involved game. Learning (and remembering) the rules is a daunting task, not made any easier by the abysmal rulebook with the accompanying three pages of errata. And, yes, the game can cover any action from Fort Sumter to Jefferson Davis' getaway coach, but only if you, the gamer, are willing to do the necessary research, design, playtesting and development. The game's 8 scenarios offer a nice enough mix: Brawner's Farm, White Oak Swamp, Gordon's Assault (Wilderness), Shiloh Church, Cemetery Hill, Brice's Crossroads, and Newtonia. But the first 2 or 3 are strictly for learning, so we're really only talking about 5 scenarios. Finally, Rebel Yell suffers from a certain blandness, a genericism that afflicts games which try to be all things for all battles. The game offers an interesting system, but lacks pizzazz. Why couldn't we have more than 3 types of artillery: Rifled, Napoleon, and Howitzer? Why have fewer weapons types than a regimental level game? I play these things not just to utilize a good system, but for the color and excitement and glory, even if that color and excitement and glory is more perceived than historical. The Newtonia scenario is the most interesting, as it depicts an actual battle, with actual terrain, using "real" leaders, and companies with historical designations. It draws you in because the leaders are SOMEBODY, and the units are from SOMEWHERE. Rebel Yell is more like a scholarly proposition, than a blood curdling scream heard amid the din of battle. Despite a solid, thoughtful system, it's just awfully hard to get fired up by the nameless leaders, faceless units, and anonymous terrain. Rebel Yell has some intriguing new ideas, and the design is obviously a labor of love. The main disappointments are the rulebook, a frightful mish-mash liable to have players yelling louder than any Rebel on the field, and the fact that the game has lots of body but little soul. CAPSULE COMMENTS Graphic Presentation: Maps problematic; the rest is OK. Playability: The actual system is not that difficult, but getting through the rulebook is like trying to navigate The Wilderness. Replayability: Endless, provided you do the gruntwork. I'll take a pass. Creativity: Decidedly NOT a rehash of previous efforts. Comparisons: Better than the pointless old Yaquinto Battles and Leaders (complete with Dustin Hoffman on the cover?). OSG's (later AH's) Devil's Den had more period flavor, but system-wise was no revelation. Provided you can get through the rules with your sanity intact, this is the best of the company-level lot. Wristage: Lots, but most players seem to relish wrist action when the result is murder and mayhem. Historicity: The system is an insightful model of small unit combat, but the game tends to be colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Overall: Recommended for serious students of the American Civil War, and those who care more about the steak than the sizzle. However, not for casual gamers and dilettantes. 5 11”x17” geomorphic maps; 1xxx counters, Rules Book, Charts. Boxed. Back to Berg's Review of Games Vol. II # 18 Table of Contents Back to Berg's Review of Games List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Richard Berg This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com