This is one of SPI's so-called "monster" games - not because of anything to do with ogres or trolls, but because of its size. It comes in two of SPI's standard, 11 3/4" x 14 1/2" x 1", plastic game boxes, held together by a plastic strap, with their built-in counter-sorting bins. It consists of three 22" x 34 1/2" mapsheet sections which fit together to form (with considerable overlapping) one 38 1/2" x 55" map (less a 3 3/4" x 20 3/4" cutout in the southeast corner); three 11" x 14" sheets of die-cut, non-glossy, backprinted, 1/2"-square unit counters (Confederate leaders black and white on red, combat units red on grey, departments red in light pink, and others black on medium pink, Union leaders black and white on medium blue, combat units white on dark blue, departments blue on very light blue, and others black on light blue and supply counters black on white); an 8 1/2" x 11", 20-page rules booklet; two identical 11" x 17" sheets of charts and tables; one Union and one Confederate 17 1/4" x 21 3/4" Production Spiral sheets; one Union and one Confederate 17 1/2" x 23" Track Sheet/Deployment Chart; and one itty-bitty 3/8"-cube die.

SPI calls this an operational level simulation, because "the role of a player encompasses elements of both strategy and tactics. In some cases he plans the overall conduct of the war (strategy) while at other times he must make decisions affecting the outcome of individual battles (tactics)." These are not my definitions of strategy and tactics, and I would say that primarily this is a grand strategy (overall conduct of the war) level game, with, of course, some elements of grand tactics (conduct of individual battles) involved. The players are placed in the roles of Lincoln and Jeff Davis, raising armies (and navies), trying out new generals and trying to figure out how to conquer or defend an area the size of all Western Europe. If that's operational level, the Battle of the Wilderness was a Tiddlywinks match!

Units are mostly (anonymous) divisions of infantry and cavalry, with units of unspecified size of militia, garrison troops, partisans and seige trains, also river flotillas, naval flotillas, river transport flotillas, naval transport flotillas, and ironclads. When an infantry division (from 3 to 10 combat factors) loses strength it is flipped over or replaced by a smaller counter bearing the reduced strength. When it gets down to a 2 or 1 it becomes a brigade. Cavalry divisions range from 3 to 5 combat factors and follow the same procedure. Militia counters range from 4 down to 1. Units can never combine to form larger units. Divisions may break up into 2 or more brigades.

The map covers all the 13 states claimed by the Confederacy except most of Texas (west of Galveston) and most of Florida (south of Jacksonville), plus the southern halves of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey, all of Maryland, D.C. and Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania, up to and including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The map scale appears to be something like 10 to 12 miles per hex (9hexes from Washington to Richmond).

Each Game Cycle consists of a Strategic Turn (during which the players take care of sieges, mobilizing new combat units for future deployment, deploying combat units on the map that were mobilized on prior strategic turns, creating and deploying supply points, initiating and completing the construction of forts and fortresses, supplying ground units, and transferring supplies to depots, supply trains and army headquarters) and four Game Turns (during which the players move and fight with their combat units). Which side goes first in a Game Turn is determined by who draws (blindly) the chit with the larger number. In the Strategic Turn the Union always goes first. Each Game Turn represents one week. Thirteen Game Cycles make one Game Year.

The movement system is unique (or at least new to me), and a very noteworthy innovation. The number on the initiative chit drawn indicates the number of Movement Commands a player may issue to his forces. Issuing a Movement Command requires the player to state, "I order General So-and-So (and the forces under his command) to move," and proceed to execute this movement as he sees fit. After a player has used all the Movement Commands he's allowed he may attempt to get other forces to move. Each leader counter has an Initiative Limit Value (ILV) printer on it. If the roll of one die is equal to or less than the ILV of that leader all the forces under his command may move without a Movement Command. The highest ILV is 4 (Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Lyon, Lee, Hood, Cleburne, Jackson and Forrest) and the lowest is 0 (Butler).

Divisions and brigades are often not placed directly on the map. Instead they are put in a section of the Headquarters Display representing the corps or army headquarters counter, and the leader counter representing its commander, appear on the map. Up to 200 combat factors can be stacked in a single hex. Ground units may be forced marched for extra movement points (1 or 2) as in AH's 1776, but may lose strength, depending on a die roll. Also as in 1776 naval and river units move along hex sides along rivers.

While units must stop when entering an enemy zone of control, combat is optional and conditional - that is, no units may attack unless it is under the command of a leader who has received an Attack Command. To receive an Attack Command a die roll must be equal to or less than the leader's ILV. Bother players then select a Battle Intensity Chit, the number of which may not exceed the ILV of the leader commanding the force involved. The total of the two chits determines which of four CRTs is used in resolving this particular battle. The higher the chit total the bloodier the battle. Columns on each CRT do not represent the usual odds ratios. Instead, they indicate the attackers' strength as a percentage of the defenders' strength. So the columns are: 0-10%, 11-40%, 41-70%, 71-90%, 91-110%, 111-130%, 131-160%, 161-200%, 201-250% 251-400%, 401-900%, 901+%. Effects usually indicate the percentage of its strength one or both sides must lose, plus the possibility of one side being required to retreat. Naval combat takes place between units in the same hex (sea) or hex-side (river). There is a separate, conventional, CRT for naval combat.

Before resolving ground combat on the CRT each player consults the Combat Supply Table, rolling the die to determine if his units require supply. If they do he must expend the required amount from supply points available in the same or adjacent hex. Failure to receive supply means the units fight at half strength, any losses they incur are doubled and they may not advance after combat. Supply points are created during the Strategic Turn at any Military Department headquarters. From which they are sent to stock fixed depots (up to 99 supply points), supply trains (up to 10 points) or Army headquarters (up to 2 points) or to any units required to consume supply by the Supply Maintenance Routine. In this each hex occupied by ground combat units is rolled for on the Supply Consumption Table to determine its supply requirements, depending on how many combat factors it contains.

In addition to the Campaign Game, beginning with the outbreak of war in 1861 and using the entire map, there are also six smaller scenarios: West 1862, East 1862, West 1863, East 1863, West 1864 and East 1864. The West scenarios use map sections A and B (West 1862 could use just A and West 1864 just B) and the East scenarios only use map section C. In the scenarios victory is determined by points earned for eliminating enemy units and occupying geographical objectives. In the Campaign Game there are two types of victory. If, at any time, the Union Player occupies all five major confederate cities simultaneously prior to the conclusion of the 200th Game turn he wins a Historical Victory. A Player Victory is won by a player successfully appealing to the Political Events Matrix, where a die roll is cross-indexed with the remainder of the current Union political points less the current Confederate political points. Political points are awarded for destroying or capturing enemy forts, and for occupying geographical objectives. Points are lost for making unsuccessful appeals to the Political Events Matrix and for successive calls for volunteers or drafts. In the Campaign Game each player has a Personnel Point Display composed of several tracks, representing calls and drafts, each consisting of a series of boxes, each box containing a Cycle date and the number of personnel points available that cycle. During a Strategic Turn personnel points are used in the production, augmentation and conversion of units.

This game seems to have a great deal of potential. Only considerable playing experience will tell if it lives up to that potential. I especially like the Movement Command and Initiative Limit Value ideas. WBS was designed and developed by Irad B. Hardy. It sells for $20 and is available from Lowry Enterprises, P.O. Box 896, Fallbrook, CA 92028.

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