Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 and 1864 is the second volume in Mark Herman’s Civil War Heritage series, published by GMT Games. It follows the acclaimed Rebel Fury, which won the Charles S. Roberts Award for Best American Civil Wargame of 2024 and earned its designer the James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability and Design. Army of the Potomac uses the same core rules, so anyone who already knows Rebel Fury can jump straight into the action. You take the role of the Army Commander – Grant, McClellan, Lee, or Johnston – as the Union leads the Army of the Potomac against Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
The game covers Spotsylvania II, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and the entire Seven Days battle, including the prelude at Seven Pines. What I find most attractive here is the low complexity paired with real depth: each battle is quick to set up, quick to play, and deeply interactive, with a low counter density that lets you actually see and experience the big picture of the fight. Divisions move freely until they make contact, with marching formation giving way to combat formation naturally and automatically. A set of campaign rules covering operations from Spotsylvania to Cold Harbor adds logistics and attrition, and two bonus scenarios are included for owners of Rebel Fury. This is a wargame that respects both history and your time 🙂
Below I am presenting the game components, giving also a quick overview of the rules and key design features:
Enjoy!