“Now YOU fight the Civil War Battle in this REALISTIC GAME” No. 501, 1958, $4.95
Designed by Charles S. Roberts
Players 2 or more
Playing Time Basic Game 60-90 minutes Tournament Game 4-6 hours
Period American Civil War
Turn 1 hour
Map 1/4 mile
Unit division

An operational game covering the course of the battle from 10 p.m. on June 30 through 8 a.m. on July 5, 1863. Tactics, Tactics II and Gettysburg ’58 represent the genesis of the board wargame industry. Even so, a look through Gettysburg’s 43 year old rule book reveals now-familiar phrases like combat results table and zone of control.

The Gettysburg rules also explored some concepts that wouldn’t be in vogue for some time to come. There were optional observation rules which permitted the use of hidden units. In addition, the Tournament rules adapted miniatures concepts to the game board. Movement was regulated in inches and combat range was determined with a range card ruler.

However, these meritorious concepts were crippled by a fatal error on the part of the designer: the first edition of Gettysburg was released without any playtesting. The many modifications which followed didn’t do much to help, at least not so far as Charles S. Roberts was concerned. In a 1983 interview, he stated: “it’s still a big turkey”.

Gettysburg’s square grid map was switched to hexes in 1961 and then back to squares in 1964. Reportedly there was a prototype using 1” hexes which never got past the testing stage. The Classic version of Gettysburg was arguably long overdue for retirement when it was superseded by Mick Uhl’s new design, Gettysburg ’77. In 1988, S. Craig Taylor’s Smithsonian series Gettysburg was released, marking the third and final AH game to bear the name.

The following component manifest is for the first edition, fifth printing from 1959. Note that the first edition box cover has Gettysburg printed in white letters on a gray background. On later editions the title is in blue letters.

Components

Map Two 22x14" mounted map boards attached at adjoining longer edges by two strips of tape (blue outside of fold, black on inside), south mapsheet marked copyright 1958
Rules 5 1/2 ”x8 1/2 ” Battle Manual (32 pages) marked “Fifth Printing -August, 1959"
Counters 93 in four sizes: 1/2 ”x 1/2 ” (19 blue, 9 gray); 1”x 1/2 ” (8 blue, 7 gray); 3/4”x 1/2 ” (5 blue, 6 gray); 1/2 ” (23 blue, 14 gray, 2 gray blanks.) All have green backs.

Charts
The information contained on Pads, and items 1 through 4 is also Play-Aids printed in the Battle Manual of this edition.
1 Two orange 6-3/8”x7” Combat Results Table cards
2 Two 5 1/4”x7” Order of Appearance cards (Union: blue with white border; Confederate: gray with white border)
3 5-3/8”x5” pad of Time Record Sheets (Note: These pads came in single sided and double sided formats, but I have been unable to determine which type is original to the first edition.)
4 Two yellow 5”x7” Combat Factor cards (one showing the effect of position on combat and the other showing the effect of terrain)
5 3”x2”: Range Card (to be cut into two 3”x1” cards)

Inserts
1 Gray 11”x14” sheet with blue text describing the game
2 6”x3” four-panel AH catalog pamphlet with blue text (lists six games, states “* T.M. Reg. App. For” for all but Verdict)
3 5 1/2 ”x3 1/4” “To Help us... improve Gettysburg” postpaid postcard addressed to “7 S. Gay St.”

In Memoriam: Revisiting the Avalon Hill Classics, Part II Old Games Never Die, Their Counters Just Fade Away

Introduction
Gettysburg '58
Gettysburg Battlefield Edition
Tactics II
U-Boat
Chancellorsville
D-Day
Civil War
Waterloo
Bismarck
Stalingrad
Jutland
Conclusion