War for America: The American Revolution, 1775-1782

The time is April 1775. The colony of Massachusetts is in open rebellion to the parliament of Great Britain. As the British player, you must try and crush the rebellion before it expands to the other colonies. If it does, and the Colonists get recognition from a foreign power such as France or Spain, the war will expand and be much more difficult to win.

The Colonial player must build a ‘Continental Army’ to battle with the British in order to prevent any sister colony from being overrun. This is going to take time and he must ‘hold on’ and try to defeat a major British force, to impress the old enemies of Great Britain.

The game is played at the Grand Strategic level and each strength point equals 1,000 men or less. Players will assemble forces to seize control of colonies and regions. When French recognition is achieved, during 1778, an entire new dimension is added to the conflict. France, Spain and the Netherlands will bring fleets into the waters of North America and the Caribbean, challenging Britain’s mastery of the seas.

The game utilizes the popular ‘point to point’ movement system but more carefully modelling the geography of North America. This is done by enhancing the movement of armies along the important water shed basins. Armies are not destroyed in single combat as many past games have shown, but will demonstrate realistic casualty figures with prevalent retreat and disruption results.

War for America attempts to show the conflict from the British perspective and how a ‘rebellion’ turned into a World War. Great Britain is alone, without allies, but the Colonies don’t have it easy either. Despite their inexperience and individual identities, they must come together to create and maintain a Continental army. This is a ‘large game’ but also contains a shorter scenario starting in 1778, taking about half the time to play.

Game Credits:

• Designer: Gilbert Collins
• Graphic Artist: Knut Grünitz
• Project Director: John Kranz