Bullets and Dirt

ACW Scenario Booklet

by Paul Koch

BULLETS & DIRT is a 45 page full-sized (8 1/2 by 11") spiral bound booklet containing 14 historical scenarios for Civil War play.

They are drawn from early to late war, east and west, but are all of modest size. No Gettysburg or Champion Hill here, but rather the likes of Wilson's Creek and Salem Church.

There are good reasons for this selection. The book is designed for play with JOHNNY REB. JR is a very complex and redundant set of rules that, while it claims to be grand tactical is much better suited to the classic division level games that preceded it. These historic recreation, then, are well chosen. If you wish to be Lee or Sherman, look elsewhere.

Any attempt to reproduce historical numbers is fraught with controversy, however, a swift look at my standard references show the authors did a fine job in their research. More importantly, the scenarios work. I endured a JR game to test one or two and they stood up well, even to the casual eye of your servant, one who enjoys neither JR as a game nor historical scenarios in general.

If you have and play JR, then this is a must. If you like the modest size tactical play of battalion and squadron, then it is highly recommended. If however, you are looking for grand tactical feelings of the great battles or even the problems of the army corps level, then it has little to offer.

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