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Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864
1997
Rules assistance for Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 180 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.9/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 is a board game released in 1997 for 2 players, 180 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Tom Dalgliesh and Gary Selkirk and its main mechanics are Secret Unit Deployment.
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About the game
Sam Grant covers the western theater of the American Civil War around the Mississippi area from 1862-1864. It comes with a beautiful card-stock map from Vicksburg to Cincinnati and heaps of wooden blocks for the North and South. The game utilizes both a strategic layer of the conflict but also provides a slightly more tactical layer of combat with additional battle maps that allow for center, and flank positions of specific units. The game can be combined with Bobby Lee so that both theaters of the Civil War can be played out at the same time. This title uses Columbia Games Block system. While there are variations in the rule sets for each of their games none the less all of their games are based on block system. Basically this means that rather than the traditional use of counters to represent units on the map the game instead uses wooden blocks that stand upright and with unit details only shown on one side of the blocks. This does two things: First it provides an easy way of producing a "fog of war" because your opponent can not tell, save through good memory, what type of unit a specific piece is and it’s current strength. Second, by having the blocks stand on end it provides a way to keep track of a units strength by rotating the block so the current strength is the top number. Most war games have some type of mechanism that lets units take steps in their overall strength. Counters normally have at most two steps because of they only have two sides, however blocks have four and so now you can easily keep track of twice the amount of detail that many other war games provide. With the use of blocks Columbia has provided a way of adding a good deal of depth to their war games without adding further complex layers of bookkeeping and thus allow for interesting and relatively short sessions of play. All artwork and graphics in the game Sam Grant was created by RPG/Historical artist, Eric Hotz.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Columbia Games
Questions and answers
Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 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 Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 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.
The catalogue lists Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 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.
Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 belongs to these categories: Wargame and American Civil War. Its main mechanics are Secret Unit Deployment. 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 Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 are: Tom Dalgliesh and Gary Selkirk. 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 Sam Grant: The Civil War in the West 1862-1864 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.