Battle Hymn Vol. 1: Gettysburg and Pea Ridge Reprint

Battle Hymn Vol. 1: Gettysburg and Pea Ridge brings together two American Civil War games in one Compass Games box: Gettysburg: The Tide Turns and Pea Ridge: The Struggle for Missouri. Designed by Eric Lee Smith, this brigade-level system focuses on movement, battlefield friction and hard fighting without burying the player under excessive logistics or command rules.

The Battle Hymn system uses variable activation by command, giving the game a strong sense of uncertainty and battlefield chaos. Units move through a straightforward activation system, but combat has more detail, with strength steps, formed and demoralized states, retreats, advances and attritional losses that can gradually break a brigade apart. The result is a system that plays quickly while still giving the battles a convincing Civil War feel.

Gettysburg: The Tide Turns includes scenarios ranging from Pickett’s Charge and Devil’s Den to full-day actions and the complete three-day campaign. Pea Ridge: The Struggle for Missouri covers the decisive battle that helped keep Missouri in the Union, with shorter scenarios and a full campaign game. Scenario lengths range from under an hour to full campaign games of five to eight hours.

With its variable activation system, Battle Hymn Vol. 1 is also well suited to solitaire play. It is a strong choice for players interested in brigade-level Civil War battles, accessible but serious tactical play, and scenarios that can fit different table times.

Contents include: two 22″ x 34″ period-style maps, two 5/8″ counter sheets with 176 counters each, a 32-page rulebook, two double-sided chart cards, four 10-sided dice of one colour, one 10-sided die of another colour, and a game box.