Rebel Tide: The American Civil War (English)

Rebel Tide: The U.S. Civil War, 1861-65 is a two-player strategy game that places you in command of either the United States (Union) or the CSA (Confederacy) during the American Civil War.  Each round lasts a year, during which several card games take place.  These provide players with movement, combat, entrenchment, and other actions.  At the end of each year, players must make crucial decisions about which cards to redeem in an attempt to win the war outright or by putting the other side at a disadvantage between now and 1865.  Rebel Tide is based on Gregory M. Smith's popular and dynamic Imperial Tide/Pacific Tide system, with numerous combat and strategic decisions to challenge players in a single evening.

The heart of the game is the unique card buyback system, in which players take their annual production (adjusted for blockades and blockade runners) and decide which cards they need for the coming year.  Cards not only provide reinforcements, but also allow movement, combat and rooting.  Which cards to repurchase is undoubtedly one of the key decisions the player must make to prepare for the following year's operations.

The game features infantry units for all major participants, as well as cavalry and artillery units. Naval operations are mostly abstract, although the Confederate player must fear that Farragut will invade a port from the sea.

Besides the focus on card play, the game offers a small surface area (one standard card) and is also designed to be played in a single evening - estimated at 3 hours so experienced players can fight the entire war.

A new mechanic in Rebel Tide is the Political Path, which is an abstract measure of England and/or France's support for the Confederacy. If this track maxes out early in the war, it can trigger an early victory for the CSA.

Another key new mechanic to the game system is the addition of Historical Leaders, whose abilities range from excellent (5) to weak (2). Bad leaders can be "dismissed" and removed from play and replaced randomly by spending a move action. Leaders are essential to progress after combat and can also strengthen the total power of an attack.

A recurring mechanic that has been very successful in Imperial Tide is the use of Resource Points. Each nationality has a fixed amount, and it is possible to purchase an additional point each year. Although they are primarily intended to replace the infantry force, they are extremely flexible as they can be used in limited quantities for movement and combat operations. They can be considered as a sort of “operational reserve” and must be used wisely by players.

This game is very accessible to those who are familiar with Imperial Tide or Pacific Tide, both designed by Gregory M. Smith. The game system lends itself very well to capturing the bloody and numerous battles of the American Civil War.  Although Rebel Tide is designed as a two-player gaming experience, an additional option for solitaire play is provided with the inclusion of a Solitaire Bot. This “bot” creates action priorities for the non-human player, and has the advantage of being quite simple to implement without spending excessive time as a non-player.

Product information:

• Complexity: 4 out of 10
• Playing time: 3 to 4 hours
• Adaptability to Solitaire: 8 out of 10 (Solitaire Bot system)
• Players: Two (with solitaire option)
• Map Scale: Strategic; Summary
• Time scale: 1 year per round; each round is made up of several decks of cards
• Unit Scale: Strategic (infantry points, cavalry points, artillery points and leaders)
• Game Design: Gregory M. Smith
• Game artist: Bruce Yearian

Game components:

• Mounted Game Card, 22" x 34"
• A worktop plate, 9/16" worktops
• Two player aid cards
• 48 game cards (24 per side)
• 5 year cards (double sided)
• Rulebook
• Two six-sided dice
• Box and case