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Not War But Murder
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Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days
2011
Rules assistance for Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 180 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days is a board game released in 2011 for 2 players and 180 minutes per game. It was designed by Michael Rinella and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simulation, and Area-Impulse.
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About the game
Simulation of the Seven Days' Battles which started Robert E. Lee on the road to glory. The setting is the Union’s Peninsula Campaign in the spring of 1862. McClellan has formed and trained a large army, transported it by sea in an outflanking maneuver, marched it to the gates of the Confederate capital, and is poised to capture the city and probably bring an end to the rebellion. On the Confederate side Lee has taken over the Army after Johnston was wounded. Unlike Johnston, who was content to fight a largely defensive campaign, Lee gathered every unit he could get his hands on and launched his own offensive. The Union had placed its army in an awkward position, with one corps north of Chickahominy River and the rest south of it. Lee’s plan, and the position of the units when the game starts, was to crush the Union Corps and then drive the rest of McClellan’s army from the capital, destroying as much of it as he possible could. With that accomplished he would have a free hand to turn north. The system is a simplified version of two games, the last area-impulse Avalon Hill published, Breakout: Normandy, and MMP's Monty's Gamble: Market Garden. The game features leaders who are rated for initiative and combat effectiveness. Another mechanism in the game is the “advantage” marker which can be traded to the opponent to do things like rally, conduct a combined assault, declare a heroic defense that turns a success into a stalemate, or receive additional replacements. The victory conditions are based on territorial control. For the Union that was Richmond. For the Confederacy that was the Union supply heads – White House Landing and Harrison’s Landing – and Malvern Hill. A key decision for the Union player is when to shift his supply train from White House Landing to the more secure location at Harrison’s Landing. The unit scale is divisional including artillery and cavalry. There is the campaign game, and a few optional rules. Playing time should be under three hours between experienced players.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- LPS, Inc.
- Against the Odds
Questions and answers
Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days is 180 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days has a complexity rating of 2.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days belongs to these categories: Wargame, Post-Napoleonic, and American Civil War. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simulation, and Area-Impulse. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days are: Michael Rinella. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.