As the remnants of General George Pickett's division staggered away from the battlefield of Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee tried to apologize to each individual soldier who passed by. But his words meant nothing to Pickett himself. "Sir, what shall I do?" asked Pickett, his voice breaking. "Reform your division, sir," Lee replied. "Sir, I have no division," Pickett answered, and rode away, never to speak to Lee again. As both Picket and Lee no doubt understood, the war had taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Yankee troops would soon move again against their beloved Virginia, this time under the command of a hard-drinking failed shopkeeper named Sam Grant. The slaughter at Gettysburg would be repeated again and again at places like Cold Harbor and the Wilderness, until the Confederacy fell and the War of Northern Aggression came to a close. Rob Markham's new game, Grant Invades the South, simulates the repeated Union invasions of Virginia, as Irwin McDowell, George B. McClellan, John Pope, Ambrose Burnside, and Joe Hooker try their luck at crushing the Confederacy before Grant arrives on the scene. Scenarios are included for each of these campaigns, as well as campaign scenarios linking this game with Lee Invades the North (from CounterAttack #2, still available at better game stores or by direct mail order) and several three-map scenarios combining both magazine games with our new just Plain Wargame, Jackson in the Valley. Players can re- create Early's advance on Washington, or see what might have happened had Stonewall Jackson decided to turn in for the night at Chancellorsville instead of inspecting the front lines. Each game focuses strongly on leadership-commanders and their subordinates are represented by counters on the map, with each rated for command, initiative and combat abilities. Players of Lee Invades the North will find that the game system has been re-developed to make it even easier to play, but the game's philosophy remains unchanged. Reaction movement forms an important part of the game, with each side attempting to concentrate a large portion of their forces against a smaller wing of the enemy. With better Southern leadership balanced against greater Northern numbers, each player faces enormous challenges. Once battle has been joined, players must choose one of three combat options for their forces, and then determine how many of their troops will actually be committed to battle-better generals will get more of their men involved in the fighting. Like all Pacific Rim products, Grant Invades the South features a maximum of player decision-making and interest. While the rules are clear and simple to understand, winning strategies are much harder to come by and our Player's Notes feature will provide a few hints in that direction. As always, the game is but the centerpiece of the issue. There's more! CounterAttack #5 will also feature Dr. Tom Izbicki's in-depth article on the campaigns in Virginia, and for those who can't get enough of combat in the 1860s, we'll cross the Atlantic for a comprehensive account of the 1866 Seven Weeks' War, drawing on the archival sources of Germany and Austria. The clash on land and sea between Prussia and Italy on one hand and Austria and its German allies on the other set in motion a chain of events still being felt today. More history articles and our regular features round out one of 1993's premier gaming events. Don't miss it. Back to Table of Contents: CounterAttack # 4 To CounterAttack List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by Pacific Rim Publishing Company. 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