I admit, I was anxiously awaiting publication of this title. As an ardent fan and supporter of Mark’s Herman designs – and his openness and directness when explaining the design choices – Rebel Fury was a must for me. Finally, it landed in my hands!

But what is it? What hides behind that fantastic wargame title (love it, by the way)? This is a low-to-moderate complexity wargame focusing on the campaigns of the American Civil War. This is Volume 1 in the series and focuses on four 1863 campaigns (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga) and the opening of Grant’s 1864 drive toward Richmond (The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse).

There is a lot of interesting, new mechanics here. First and foremost, each scenario has separate set of counters, and each map accommodates two battles. It is very quick to set-up, quick to play and deeply interactive. The density of counters in each scenario is low (another thumbs up!), allowing you to see and experience the big picture of the battle. Units are portrayed at the Infantry/Cavalry division level.

The Civil War Heritage Series game system features also a new Zone of Influence/Zone of Control mechanic that controls unit formation (March/Battle) based on their proximity to your opponent. As your units close with the enemy, your forces naturally break into battle formation, where they then maneuver the last distance to engage. Unlike most hex and counter wargames, this system allows you total freedom to move units in any order multiple times, unleashing the full range of historical tactics in a simple and clean format.

Today I prepared detailed explanation of game components and what is in the box, with some hints to mechanics. More content to come!