Articles and letters on the CWB have focused on house rules, additions and amendments to the system, with a view toward greater historicity or better gaming tactics. Many points made have been well taken, but there are dangers: sinking the game into a morass of detail, inhibiting playability, losing the correct level of command, and interpreting the art of generalship as an exercise in mathematical probabilities. The temptation to tinker (with the best of intentions) seems irresistible but may be harmful if taken to extremes. Let reason be our guide.

With that caveat in mind, let me succumb immediately to the temptation and present a set of optional rules that increase realism and decrease playability. No, really... hear me out. My justification is that these rules help create some of the constraints and pressures that Civil War commanders felt, rather than simply adding extra chrome. (Well, there are some bits of chrome here, too.) It is a matter of shifting emphasis to a different set of questions such as "Are my trains adequately protected?" "Can III Corps do with a rest or should it stay in the front line?" or simply, "Where is the enemy?" instead of "How do I divide my artillery battalions?" "How should I split my infantry fire levels?" and "How must I expend fractional ammunition points?" In other words, these rules shift back to the perspective of the leaders on the ground.

Fog of Battle

Fog of Battle (FOB) is limited intelligence: the commander's inability to discern what is actually going on, especially concerning the enemy. The CWB already has FOB built into the command system in the form of the order acceptance procedure. Delays and distortions of the player's written orders represent limitations on the battlefield commander's understanding of the big picture. The counter for your Army Commander (and subordinate leaders too) functions within a FOB world, while you do not. The player obviously knows what the opponent is doing because he can see it happening, and he knows his own troop dispositions down to the last canteen cup.

Variable Reinforcements inject uncertainty into this neat arrangement, as they should. The Extended Movement rules do also. Outlined in the revised CWB 2nd Edition, extended movement introduces a welcome element of confusion, since we can never be sure enemy troops are as passive as they seem. Thus, measures exist to limit the players' omniscience. Nevertheless, there i s still too much certainty on the CWB battlefield. You still know which enemy units are present, where they are and are not, and in what strength (if your opponent is honest enough to own up when his hidden movement units are sighted). That is a lot more intelligence than almost any Civil War commander had. With detailed knowledge of enemy strength and position, a player can write out the appropriate moves and countermoves with less fear or guesswork, and may be able to factor in the likelihood of delay or distortion in order acceptance.

In my view, the order acceptance system best simulates Clausewitz's dictum that in war "even the simplest thing is difficult." Limited intelligence is certainly abstracted into this system to some extent, but the essential thing is the sheer difficulty of getting your subordinates moving and fighting as you desire. I see Acceptance as one lock in a dual-lock system restraining absolute control: it primarily affects implementation of a player's intent. The other lock affects that intent itself. The FOB rule outlined below deepens commanders confusion and has a great influence on the kinds of decisions that they make.

Concealment: Use Fire Level markers as concealment markers. You may place them on units to conceal their identity. (Note Fire levels in pencil, to the left of the brigade on the roster sheet, e.g., "B-A-B" is an AA brigade with two extended lines.) Each player has the use of a certain number of markers throughout the game. In Thunder, there are 150 markers; the Union has 80 (green side up) and the Confederates have 70 (yellow). This is roughly proportionate to the relative strengths-a good rule of thumb. Of course, players can agree to give one side more markers to simulate a command or intelligence advantage, or for a handicap.

The owning player has discretion on placement of markers; you may place markers on other markers to create dummy units. You must place concealment markers on or next to friendly units or friendly entrance hexes during the friendly player turn. Owning players may remove markers during the friendly player turn. You must remove markers and reveal the unit or remove the dummy if one or more of the following occurs:

• an enemy unit (not a dummy) moves adjacent (players must remove dummies the instant they are in contact with the enemy)
• they are within 4 mounted movement points of an enemy cavalry unit at the end of a friendly movement phase (the cavalry scouting function)

Once you remove the markers, set them aside and do not place them again until the next day begins (12:00 a.m. turn) when they are all available again. There are no other limits to the number of markers that you can place or remove at any time during the owning player's turn.

Observation: A player must reveal a concealed unit's type (Inf/Cav/Arty) and its fire level(s) if the enemy has LOS to the unit when it is in clear terrain (not forest or town), or if it is adjacent. This LOS must be 20 hexes or less in daylight, and no more than the maximum observation range in twilight. Any concealed friendly unit, including dummies, may observe enemy units without being observed if it is in closed terrain (unless adjacent to the enemy). You must immediately remove all dummy units observed by the enemythey cannot observe units at the instant of their demise.

Reinforcements: A player need not place any entering units on the map unless or until the enemy has LOS to those units. Plot location and-movement of entering units according to the Extended Movement rules.

Fatiguing the Troops

Tracking Rest You must track infantry and cavalry for rest time. Do this by division. If all units of the division (except artillery) have neither moved nor engaged in any form of combat (offensive or defensive) during a game turn and were in a line formation throughout the turn, the division has rested that turn. Mark the division's roster sheet right of the wrecked brigade boxes during the End Phase. Place a vertical or horizontal marker for each 30 minute turn; combine the two into a cross for an hour-long game turn. The number of crosses will show the total number of rest hours in the current day.

Rest Requirement and Penalties: During the End Phase of the 11:00 p.m. turn, make a fatigue check for all your units. Immediately mark any division with less than eight rest crosses for that day (i.e., less than 8 hours of rest) with an "F" for fatigued. All units in a fatigued division lose one morale level and one movement point. This penalty lasts until eight crosses appear on the division's roster. At that time, remove the "F" and return the units to normal. After completing the fatigue check for all divisions, erase all rest marks and begin the new day.

Note also that it is possible to have cumulative fatigue, if a fatigued division cannot garner the requisite 8 hours of rest in a day. When this occurs, place a second "F" (and so on, day by day), subtracting another morale level and movement point.

Assume that newly entering reinforcements have rested until dawn unless otherwise indicated.

Stacking & Movement

Strictly follow the Road Column optional rule 12.2 that allows no more than a "B" fire level in column on a road. I count each gun point as a "C" fire level and calculate accordingly. I also recommend the following.

Allow no more than one C level of cavalry in road colum,n hexes (horses take up a lot more space).

Corps supply wagons equal one A level for all purposes.

Army supply trains equal AAA level for all purposes. They may leave roads for clear hexes only, paying wagon costs, when a train is stationary off orad, consider it to occupy all six surrounding hexes, each a B level. An artillery supply line may go through a clear hex.

Cavalry may extend line up to 4 (not 2) hexes. They could extend thehir brigade in open order to cover flanks.

Thunder at the Crossroads - optional rule: It costs 2 MP to enter gettysburg town hexes in line formation. Infantry that enter town hexes in line are automatically DG.

Morale

Stacking with routed units: If a unit chooses to stack with a routed unit, I look at the differential in morale states. If the unrouted unit's morale is less than or equal to the routed unit's morale, the unrouted unit is routed; if it is one level higher, the unrouted unit is DG; if it is two or more levels higher, it is SH. There are many historical examples of this.

Straggler Recovery: I think exceptional leaders should have a chance to influence recovery. After all, chances are you will not desert the colors when you can see Lee or Hancock (and their staffs) setting things right. Apply +1 to the recovery roll for every 3 command points stacked with the recovering brigade.

Combat

Target Density: A massed target is a gunner's dreamshift right one column on the Fire Combat Table for each "A" fire level in the target hex that is in excess of one. Example: "AB" = no shift, "AAB" = one shift Right.

Artillery in closed terrain: Artillery cannot fire from closed terrain (town and woods) into adjacent closed terrain, except along a road; only one gun point may fire along that road.

Dismounted (line) cavalry: Shift 1L on the Fire Combat Table if you are firing on dismounted cavalry not in a breastwork or trench/sunken road. These troopers did not need to expose themselves to fire their weapons like the infantry. [Ed. note: Perhaps you should apply this bonus only to units armed with plus weapons, that is, breach-loaders.]

Splitting fire: You should fire on all enemy units if they are in small-arms range; you must engage closest units first; you may concentrate all fire on adjacent enemy units.

Victory Point Awards

Artillery: One VP for every 3 enemy artillery points destroyed.

Leaders: (VPs to enemy) Killed = star rank x command rating (best rating). Wounded = 1/2 star rank x command rating. Replacements for leader casualties appear only on an even-numbered die roll; begin rolling the game turn after casualty.

Supply units: VPs to enemy for capture/destruction (TATC only): CSA corps wagon = 3 VPs; CSA trains = 12 VPs: USA corps wagon = 2 VPs; USA trains = 16 VPs

Comment: The VP awards reflect the commanders' concerns for saving the guns and securing communications, not to mention the relatively high worth of artillery and supply. The high VP values for the trains reflect that they were the medical, provisioning, engineering, etc. centers for the armies and were always well guarded.

Leader awards will usually balance out; the intent is to punish players for taking a historical risks with higher commanders' lives. Lee to the rear acquires a whole new meaning when you consider he is worth 16 VPs and an automatic win for the opponent (probably an understatement).