American Civil War – Easy Play

Scales
15mm, 20mm/25mm.
All dice are the standard six-sided type.

Game Turn Sequence

1. Initiative dice roll. The highest wins and chooses which player will move first.
2. Both players move their forces. Charging units are moved into contact.
3. Those units being charged fire once before they receive a charge(s).
4. Casualties against chargers are removed. Units suffering casualties take morale.
5. All other firing takes place. The unit NOT moving fires first.
6. All casualties are removed.
7. The remaining morale tests are made, where required.

Movement rates
Line Infantry = 6” ) All units, except artillery, may “flee to cover”
Skirmish Infantry =12” ) at double their movement rate. If they use this
Line Artillery = 6” ) move option they are assumed to have become
Horse Artillery = 12” ) “shaken and will be required to remain halted
Cavalry = 24” ) for one move and pass a morale test before they
) may continue. They may not fire!

Command Radius
Sub-units may not be separated more than 2 inches from another sub-unit of the same
command. If they do so, they must immediately rejoin their unit’s command radius in the next
movement phase, or remain halted and only fire against an enemy unit which fires at them
first. Cavalry, artillery and light troops do not have a command radius.

Maneuver.
A change of facing or turning about to face the enemy incurs no fining penalty, but no other
movement is allowed for that base.
Units turning or pivoting up to 90 degrees do so on the center of the unit. This reduces their
movement by half. Units pivoting or forming into column, have their fire factor reduced by 2
dice for the whole unit – not each base.
Units that move, fire last. Their casualties are removed BEFORE they may fire.
Light troops in skirmish formation or in a skirmish screen for a larger formation, may move
and fire without restriction. However, light companies deployed to screen their Battalion may
not move further than the command radius from the parent unit.
Units forming into column form up behind the grenadiers, without movement penalty.
Skirmishing troops may move through all other troops without penalty and vice versa. In all
other cases, units may not interpenetrate each other, but flow round the flanks or halt until
they have a clear line of advance (or retreat!)

Terrain
Players should limit “bad going” to no more than ¼ of the total playing area. Rivers and
streams should always have multiple crossing points, especially fords. We consider “bad
going” to be the obvious obstacles such as woods, marsh, streams and hills. In rare instances
players may wish to place an uncrossable obstacle to anchor a flank or protect a rear area. It
might be a good idea to limit the number of terrain pieces to the number rolled on a single
dice throw. Terrain pieces should be no larger than 6” square.
When troops encounter bad going they are reduced to half their movement rate negotiating it.

Firing Ranges
Muskets = 6” Rifled muskets = 9”
Rifles or Carbines = 9”
Cannon 4-6pdr firing shot = 24” or canister = 12”
Cannon 12 pdr firing shot = 36” or canister = 12”
Rifled artillery = 40” firing shell.

© David St.Clair 9:00 A12/P1215-12-13 1

 American Civil War – Easy Play

NO FIRING THROUGH YOUR OWN TROOPS or INTO A MELEE!

This means that line infantry may not fire through their own skirmishers operating as a screen
to their front. Artillery may not fire over intervening troops.

Firing
Rifled muskets – Line Infantry = 2dice per stand
Rifled muskets – light infantry deployed in skirmish order = 1 dice per stand.
Breach loading carbines-rifles = 3 dice per stand – very limited issue to Union cavalry -1864-5
ONLY!
Cannon 4-6 pdr shot = 2 dice, canister = 3 dice
Cannon 12 pdr shot = 3 dice, canister = 4 dice
Breach loading artillery = 5 dice (shot only) – limited issue to both sides.
Siege artillery = 7 dice. No canister, shot only.

All firing must be at targets that the firing unit has a clear line of sight to. Units may split their
fire in any way they desire, except that each base may engage only one target per game turn.

Firing troops must engage skirmish troops protecting the front of line infantry BEFORE they
fire on the line itself. Independent skirmish units allocated such a task, take casualties and
test morale as normal. Troops detached from a line unit must immediately withdraw to the line
once they have received a casualty. They may not fire in the game turn they have withdrawn.

Field defenses and fortifications reduce the firer’s dice roll by 1 dice per firing base. Skirmish
troops do not have their fire rate reduced when attacking fortifications and field defenses.

Heavy fortifications and trench systems, such as those at Vicksburg and Richmond Va.,
reduce firer’s dice roll by 2 dice per firing base.

A roll of “6” causes a casualty which removes the target base immediately. The only
exception is troops acting as a skirmish screen after detachment from a line unit. If they
receive casualties, they immediately withdraw and rejoin their unit. They are not removed
from play.

Staff Officers and their staffs cannot attack nor can they be attacked. When removing
casualties the Officer and colour party are always the last bases to be removed.

Melee
Troops move into melee at the normal movement rate, making an adjustment for maneuver or
any obstacle or bad going traversed while moving into contact. The entire unit must charge.
Before contact is made between the attacker and defender, the defender may fire once. All
casualties are removed and the attacker’s morale tested if required. The attacker may not
charge and fire in the same game turn. If the attacker passes any morale throw required, the
charge is successful and the attacker moves into melee with the defender. Once any sub-unit
(base) has made contact with any other enemy sub-unit (base) both units are considered to
have joined in a melee. No further movement by either is possible once contact has been
made. No unit outside the melee may fire into the melee. Both players roll the appropriate
number of dice, the side causing the highest number of casualties wins. If there are no
casualties, the melee continues until there is, before the rest of the game turn continues.

The winner takes or remains in possession of the position being fought for, while the loser
retreats one full move, becoming “shaken”.

However, any unit that is being charged may attempt to avoid the enemy charge by “fleeing”.
This is instigated by the defender declaring their intention to flee as soon as the attacking
player moves their troops into contact. Troops “fleeing” move directly away from the charging
unit, one full move and halt in a shaken state. Shaken troops must pass a morale test before
either firing or moving.

© David St.Clair 9:00 A12/P1215-12-13 2

 American Civil War – Easy Play

Troops in skirmish formation, may never melee. If they are from a line battalion, they
immediately rejoin the line if charged. If not, they are destroyed when contacted by enemy
cavalry or line infantry.

Melee Values – per base

Infantry in line = 1 dice ) All troops have their melee values drop
Infantry in column = 2 dice ) to 1 dice per base after the first round of
Union Cavalry = 1 dice ) combat.
Confederate Cavalry = 2 dice – for the first round of combat only

Morale
Units are rated as:
Elite or Veteran = 10 Tested or Average = 8 Conscript or New recruits = 6

In order for a unit to retain its morale, it must throw 2 dice and score UNDER its morale rating.

Adjustments
+1 dice for each base removed from the unit, after the first, as a casualty during the game.
-1 dice for the unit occupying field defenses or fortifications.
-1 dice if the C in C is in base contact with the testing unit.

Morale Results
Units failing their test become “shaken” – The unit retires one full move directly away from the
attacker that caused the failure of morale. If this is not possible, because of terrain or the
presence of another enemy unit, the unit will retire through the nearest gap available to it. If
no gap (1 base width minimum) exists, it will surrender and be removed from play.

Once clear of all enemy contact, the unit will halt for one move and reform. In order for it to
successfully “reform” it will be required to pass its morale dice test while halted.

If it is attacked and brought into a melee by an enemy unit while still shaken, it immediately
routs and is removed from play.

Unit Organisations.
These rules were primarily designed for 20mm (Italeri and Revel) plastic figures – being the
most commonly available and cheapest option by far!

Infantry base sizes should be 40mm square with three figures arranged in a triangular
formation for line infantry and two figures for skirmishing troops. This gives line troops a
reasonable appearance of depth, while spreading the skirmish troops out nicely.
Cavalry bases should be 40mm deep and 50mm wide, with two figures per base.
Artillery should be based according to the size of the guns and limber.

Battalion sized units consist of four bases of troops, with 1 colour party base, containing an
Officer, Standard bearer and drummer. Some units carried two colours per unit … feel free to
add the extra figure to the base! A cavalry base represents one squadron or troop with three
bases to the unit. Artillery bases represent one battery of guns.

A final note to players!

These rules have been designed to give a fast and easily played ACW game. Many gamers,
myself among them, no longer have the time to play with complex rule sets. Family, wives,
(Guinness in some cases!) and children all come first. These rules were designed to get
those dusty troops off the shelf and back onto the playing table once again. They will work
just as well on the kitchen table as they will on a large playing surface. But above all… have
fun and enjoy them.If you have any comments please email me at : saint@clear.net.nz

© David St.Clair 9:00 A12/P1215-12-13 3