Making a simple, yet accurate, game is too often a contradiction in terms to the public. People will always find some little historical guide which was left out of the game. This will be especially true for this game, because the topic is one of the most widely read in America. Everybody will approach the game with some preconceptions about the battle.
Because of this, the designer had to do very careful research in order to be able to defend himself against anyone (including staff members) with a differing view. This resulted in his going over the strengths of the units at least three times and seven versions of the map. Besides the hard data which was relatively easy to acquire, the designer also had to search for the reasons both sides fought and why one was victorious over the other. The most obvious result of all this research can be found on the map. There is a noticeable lack of ridge in the middle of Cemetery Ridge. The fact is that the slope is so gradual there that no benefit can be derived for the defender and it offers no more of an obstacle to movement than any other piece of clear terrain. Less obvious are the manipulations of the time scale and the combat strength. The time scale exists as it is because of the lack of serious action during the battle. This was due to the nature of Civil War battles in general and this one in particular. These battles were fought by professionals who were taught Napoleonic tactics. They understood the need for speed and quick reaction on the defense, but tended to be very slow in initiating major attacks. There it took a great deal of time to plan an attack, brief all the commanders, place the brigades at the start line, etc. In addition, this battle was slower than usual for several reasons. Both sides had been marching for days in intense summer heat. The Union corps commanders tended to bicker over protocol. The Confederates were afflicted with particularly inept brigade commanders at critical positions in the battle. And, finally, Lee and his corps commanders all seemed to be having an off day. This is not to say that the fighting was not intense, but, rather, there was a lack of major offensive attacks.
In manipulating the combat strengths of the units, the designer was able to build in the distinct qualitive advantage the Union had in artillery. It was not that they had better guns, but that their crew's were better trained and the artillery was under centralized control.
It is hoped that all the time and effort put into the game was worthwhile. The final judge of this will be the Players. The degree to which they enjoy the game and find it mentally stimulating will be the degree to which it was a successful design.
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