[REVIEW] Rebel Fury

Rebel Fury 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.

So would you stand-up to the task and manage to crush your opponents, gaining the eternal fame and place in history?

The box says 2-players, and this is definitely the most desired mode of play for this title. However, at least one scenario accommodates 3-players and works very well in such set-up. On top of this, as there is limited amount of hidden information, I found this perfect for solitaire play. So a full plethora of possibilities as you can see!

Depends a bit on scenario of course – and there is a lot of them. I believe the shortest one (Fredericksburg) will take no more then 45 minutes, and if you play it another time, it will be reduced to 30 minutes. Some of the larger engagement though will span to two full hours (without set-up).

This is definitely not overly complex system but there are nuances you need to be aware of. I learned about it the hard way when preparing my playthroughs 🙂 Also, it takes a moment to adjust to the new, innovative approach to attacks and movement – nothing too complex, just a novelty to be learned.

• I appreciate very much the new and innovative mechanics! That especially goes for the movement / attack part of the game – you are really not limited here and can perform those actions virtually as many times as you would like – barring few conditions – with each of the units.
• The simple and intuitive Zone of Influence / Zone of Control system really nicely reflects the battlefields dynamics. It is based on proximity to the enemy, and allows for much bigger movement / maneuver rate when far away from the front-line, while much reduced when close to opponent. Very intuitive and nicely mechanically implemented, with minimal clutter on the map and low density of counters.
• We are used to GMT providing a very high quality of the components – this is true also here. The maps are wonderful, beautifully painted with many details. The counters are much simpler, straightforward. The rulebook is economical and mat (not glossy!) which eases the strain on eyes when reading. All in all, great impression. 
• One needs to note and appreciate how much content we are getting her. Six battles, three maps, set of counters for each engagement separately. Really, rarely in one box you can find such a variety of materials.

• End of the world – you know this syndrome, when at the end of the game the players start to do crazy things because there will be no negative consequences to their actions? Well, we have a bit of this here – normally, up to two routed units will come back reorganized in two turns – so you are free to spend them on even most crazy attacks. But near the end of scenario, if the this “+2 turns” fall outside the number of total turns in the game, the unit gets eliminated. That completely changes the behavior of players in last two turns of every battle.

• Artillery Support – this is a very important – both for attack and defense – part of each engagement. In my around ~10 plays however, I almost never lacked it (not sure, maybe we did not play aggressively enough). And that would make for some hard choices on both sides, as advantage it gives might change the situation on battlefield. For me, it was too easily available, maybe a smaller number would make it a much scarce – and valued – resource.

First and foremost for al the fans of Mark Herman creations 🙂 (include me here please!). Everybody who is interested in ACW (American Civil War) games should also try this position. Lastly, if you are looking or a new, innovative tactical system, with low complexity, moderately difficult rules and beautiful components, you should try Rebel Fury.

• Strategy & Training Materials

• VIDEOS: Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Wilderness

• Chancellorsville 1863 – strategic considerations by Mark Herman