The latest addition to the TSRISPI's Terrible Swift Sword tactical Civil War game system is A Gleam of Bayonets. The graphics, counters, and colorful map board show that TSR, Inc. put a lot of effort in the production of this simulation. it is unfortunate, then, that it is not a playable and balanced game.
The Battle of Antietam was, as the game rules say, "a battle that should never have been fought." Confederate General Lee was outnumbered more than two to one by the Union forces of General George McClellan. Lee accepted battle for one reason only; he knew McClellan to be a timid, overcautious prima donna and could predict his actions at almost every turn. This, combined with Lee's confidence in his men, gave him the edge that outweighed his numerical inferiority. Even with this advantage, the historical battle was a nearrun affair that could have caused the end of the rebellion had any other Union General been in command.
Fortunately, most gamers are not as incompetent as McClellan in conflict simulations. This leaves the Confederate player of A Gleam of Bayonets in somewhat of a dilemma. onesided games of this nature are usually balanced by either victory conditions, or what are commonly called "stupidity rules;' such as certain units can't move until activated, etc. A Gleam of Bayonets attempts to provide play balance by both these methods. Unfortunately, neither attempt can be considered a complete success.
The McClellan stupidity rules are centered around Section 29.0, "Union Corps Commitment." In a rather ponderous and wordy way, it is explained that each of the six Union Corps plus their cavalry Division should each have a coffee cup with ten chit counters in them. Depending on the assigned ability and initiative rating of these units' commanders these troops must wait a certain number of "blank" picks before their commitment chit will be picked and they can be used in the game. This is simplifying what the rules take almost 3,000 words to say, but the intent is about the same.
Sadly, these stupidity rules are rather stupid. They are bulky and needlessly complicated. Who really wants seven coffee cups filled with chit counters surrounding their game table? And if the Union player, by a stroke of luck, gets some lucky picks, the Confederate player is doomed. There is no way that the rebel army can hope to combat a major portion of the bluecoats at the same time in this situation.
The rule modifications for Union Corps commitment suggested in this article are simple, straightforward, and perform exactly the same function as do the original rules. They also confront the problem of play balance in that now the Union player will not be able to attempt massed three corps attacks due to lucky die-rolls. No player will make the mistakes McClellan made. These new commitment rules tend to better balance what is quite an unbalanced game situation.
The second suggested rule change concerns the Campaign game victory conditions. The rule book says victory is determined by the capture of Union Morale Point hexes, which include most of the hilltop, woods, and town hexes around the Confederate positions. Unfortunately fully 20 of these hexes are IN FRONT of the Confederate initial starting positions and only 15 of these are needed to achieve an automatic Union victory initially Granted the union forces cannot get to all of these hexes the first turn, but this rule forces the rebels to immediately attack a superior
Rule Modifications For A GLEAM OF BAYONETS - ANTIETAM
29.0 Union Corps Commitment
General Rule: At the beginning of Turn One the Union 1st Corps is committed. At the beginning of Turn Three another Corps of the Union player's choosing may be committed. No more than two Union Corps may be committed at any one time. Commitment is defined as Corps with units that can be in contact with the enemy. Any other Union units can move AS LONG AS they stay at least six hexes from any Confederate troops.
Exceptions: 29.1 V Corp Reserve Artillery will be committed by die-roll. On Turn One and all following turns a roll of 1, 2, or 3 on a six-sided die will commit these batteries for the remainder of the game.
29.2 Pleasanton's Cavalry Division will be committed by die-roll. On Turn Four and all following turns a roll of 2 on two six-sided dice will commit these units for the remainder of the game.
Optional Rule (29.3) if agreeable to both players, variable entry of A.P. Hill's Division (Due to enter map on Turn 27) may be accelerated by die-roll identical to that of Section 29.2.
29.49 The IX Corps Burnside/Cox command delay is still in effect.
29.5 Committed Corps may return to uncommitted status (to allow for a fresh Corp to take its place) at any time all units of that Corp are 5 or more hexes away from any Confederate unit. Changes in Corp commitment take place in the initial command phase of the Union player's turn.
33.0 Campaign Game Victory
Commentary: There are no Union Morale Point hexes which must be defended by the Confederates. The Union can now attack anywhere along the line with no risk to their Victory points, while the Confederates can defend and counterattack for reasonable goals rather than various hexes in front of their initial starting points.
33.1 The game ends when any of the following occur. 1. The Union captures Blackford's Ford (Hex A0302) with a committed unit. 2. If Robert E. Lee becomes a casualty (Automatic Union Victory). 3. At the completion of the 39th turn. 4. Upon agreement by the players.
33.2 Victory Points: The victor of the game is decided by the accumulation of Victory Points as stated in Rule 31.4 of the Exclusive Rule book. That is only by the Elimination, or Capture of enemy infantry, cavalry, artillery, supply wagons, or leaders.
Suggested Reading on the Battle of Antietam
Frassanito, William A., A Pictorial History of Antietam, 303 pp., 1978, Charles Scribners & Sons.
Murin, James V, A Gleam of Bayonets, 451 pp., 1965, Yoselof Publishers.
Sears, Stephen W., A Landscape Turned Red, 431 pp., 1983, Ticknor & Fields Publishers.
Dale L. Kemper has been an avid gamer for over fifteen years. He is the author of a number of gaming articles and role-playing adventures, including Termination: 1456, for Star Trek: The Role Playing Game by FASA Corporation. He is the Gaming Editor for STARDATE magazine.
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© Copyright 1986 by Dana Lombardy.
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