After 25 years of miniature and board gaming, I thought 1 would try one of the new computer games, "Gettysburg: The Turning Point" on my son's Commodore 64. 1 was quite pleased with the result. The game maintained my avid interest over a two week period while playing one to two hours (i.e. one or two turns) a day. Finally, came 7:00 p.m. July 2, 1863, when those magic words flashed on my screen "The computer wishes to withdraw, do you wish to continue?" My wife told me to save the diskette: "It'll be the only time you ever beat a computer. Of course, I did give the computer the Rebels to command, and it is my humble opinion that given an historical perspective (read "Armchair General" who has studied the battle in some detail), the computer would have to cheat to beat the North. The game provides representations of most of the units involved -- either "squares or icons". I preferred the icons (i.e. little infantrymen, cavalry, and artillery). It made it more "game like", probably due to my miniature figure/gaming backround. It was enjoyable to see the little man shoulder his rifle and walk to the rear when he was routed' The units come on the map at the correct historical time' and in the correct place. This can be altered to make the game harder or easier. Moving is tedious because it is done by punching numbers (1-8) indicating a compass direction. Each unit is moved individually, which makes for long turns, but the computer will automatically retrace a "do over" and go back to the unit's originating point to get the next one. NOTE: Inclusion of the ability to use a joystick would be a BIG HELP! Combat results are determined by the computer (fairly, I hope...at least I did not catch him/her/it cheating). There is also an option to watch the computer make its moves, which I found enjoyable. Sound effects are good. The artillery "whine" had my wife and kids ducking. The small arms fire ("rat-tat-tat") is also pleasing to the ear, adding to the effect of "being there". I would have liked some sort of marching sound when moving ("tramp-tramp-tramp" anyone?) maybe "Dixie" and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" now and then. Seriously, some more sound effects would liven up the 30-45 minute moves. A few other suggestions might help speed the game and/or expand it: (1) Use of brigade level counters/icons would speed movement and reduce the time needed to play...one night with a few friends over? (2) Corps I.D. would aid in relating the game situation to the historical record. (3) Ability to pick Corps and random terrain would allow an unending number of battles. (4) Better explanation of the "time loop 1-9"....don't ask me what it means. I only know that at "#9" it allowed me to save the game before the end of the day (i.e. after 12 full turns). I was up until 2:00 a.m. one night/morning struggling to save the moves I had made! All told, I found it to be a fine game and very well thought out. As far as I know, "Antietam by the same company is the only other Civil War computer game out. As a final note, it's great when you surround a group of Rebs and rout one. The little fellow bounces around like a ball in a pinball machine as he ricochets off your other units...finally, he goes "poof". My next goal is to take the Rebs and win! Back to The Zouave Vol I No. 3 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1987 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com