Pointing the Way

ACW Boardgame Reviews
Shiloh

by Jack Greene

The first simulation I will examine is the second edition simulation Shiloh by Third Millennia, Inc. It is available from 465 Woodland Hills, Philadelphia, Mississippi 39350. Write first and obtain a catalog. Priced at $5.00,

Shiloh is a regiment/battery level simulation of the Battle of Shiloh. It includes both days with hourly moves.

You receive a one-piece unmounted two-color hexagon board. Terrain features include hill slopes, streams, wooded land, swamps, primary and secondary roads, plus the usual clear hexes. Printed on the map is the Time Chart, CRT, and Terrain Features. You also receive a 12-page rule book and mounted diecut unit counters. There is both a regular and an advanced game.

The hexagon board is nice looking. Terrain features stand out. The actual field of battle covers about 3/5ths of the 22" by 28" map board. Some errors did creep into the board through poor proof reading. "Prentiss" appears where Stuart's brigade of Prentiss' division should be and there is a minor misprint on the CRT. I was not positive, but it appeared to me that the Sunken Road, a key position, might have not been placed in quite the correct spot.

The simulation was designed by Vernon Jay Stribling, one time editor of Battleflag It was first published in a limited run of about 75 copies in December, 1971. Therefore we may assume that the playtesting on it was done in a fairly comprehensive fa~ion. The rules are well done.

The units of play are somewhat inaccurate, as some artillery units appear to be missing, and certainly the cavalry is not included. Cavalry was ineffective at Shiloh, but was present. All in all it probably balances out, unless you are a historical fanatic. However, the absence should have been noted for the player by the designer. The role of the Union gunboats present at Shiloh can be disputed also. In the simulation they are not represented. Yet Generals Grant and Buell, as well as several Confederate officers, agree that the gunboats' fire aided the Union forces greatly. It must not be forgotten that the gunboats at the Battle of Belmont, a few months earlier, had proven decisive, and that many of the men present on either side had fought there too. So you have a psychological and material factor thrown out for the sake of playability. The biggest problem with the units lies with the dark blue coloring used for the Union. It makes them just about impossible to read. I placed their divisional numbers on the back of all my counters to help placement.

Overall, the physical quality is good; definitely not an amateur production. Coordination between printer and designer could be improved upon, both for color selection (e.g., black on dark blue for the Union counters) and proofreading.

Basically Shiloh is a fun simulation. The simulation is geared to the offense, the Confederacy having the initiative the first day while the Union gets enough reinforcements on the second day to counter-attack. Both sides feel pressed from the start. Psychologically you are fighting desperately from the first turn on. This feeling could have been increased if fewer units had been used with losses kept proportional. Let me digress: In Shiloh you may stack three regiments and 2 batteries into one hex, so you have a lot of high stacks; then you also have an extremely small set-up area for the Confederacy which presents problems that are increased by the need to maintain divisional integrity (see below). I would argue that when one has many units and/or tasks to perform the pressure and psychological feel is less real. A good wargame should be intense and be an outlet for one's energies; not cluttered with activities that take this feeling away.

Shiloh is virtually impossible to win for either side. Two evenly matched players will find time and again that the historical result of a draw is the only logical result. This aspect of the simulation is very well reproduced.

There are some rules of interest in Shiloh that should be mentioned. Terrain affects the movement of different arms in different ways. There are firing ranges for units. Infantry fires two clear hexes while artillery may fire any range. However, since there are but a handful of clear hexes on the entire board, this factor does not overwhelm the simulation in any way. The Combat Results Table uses a slight modification of the odds table. A 2.5 to 1 becomes a 3 to 1, etc.

One excellent point is the divisional integrity rule. Each unit is reduced in strength if mixed with other divisions in an attack. Not only is this realistic but it adds flavor to the simulation. For me, it is a psychological advantage to know I'm throwing in Hardee's division against Sherman and not just a bunch of 5-4's. To some this rule will simply be one more to remember.

There is a random factor for both reinforcement arrival times and for alerting the units to the surprise attack of the Confederates. This last rule can be upsetting and somewhat unrealistic (as in the Scatter Rule in Bull Run) as some divisions furthest from the frontline will be alerted sooner than those nearer the action. There is an optional surprise/movement rule for the Confederacy which works well. Throw in Straggling, Desertion, Fatigue, and Regimental Re fitting rules and you have a fairly well thought-out simulation.

That Shiloh does have historical and playability problems should not scare off a potential buyer. It has some points of interest, is reasonably priced, and is fun to play. If Shiloh is fairly representative of the Third Millennia line, then we may expect simulations of a "typical" nature with some innovations. Though it falls down on some historical details, the "feel" of the action is captured. One is left with a feeling of a "gamer" oriented philosophy strong on playability and the older Avalon Hill approach to gaming. Shiloh will not be considered a sophisticate's wargame. Instead it should be placed next to Battle of the Bulge or Waterloo.

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