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Unconditional Surrender
1984
Rules assistance for Unconditional Surrender
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 90 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.5/5
Rules assistant for Unconditional Surrender
For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Unconditional Surrender is a board game released in 1984 for 2 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Jon Southard and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, and Hexagon Grid.
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About the game
"Unconditional Surrender" was the wargame in issue #36 of The Wargamer Magazine dated December 1984. The game simulates the Confederate counterattack on Fort Donelson after the Fort had been invested by U.S. Grant and the Union army in February 1862. The Confederate garrison actually outnumbered the Union troops 18,000 to 15,000, but Grant's judgement of his opponent's psychology served him well. The unconditional surrender of the fort on Febuary 16th, 1862, shattered the Confederate defenses in western and middle Tennessee.The equivalent of an entire corps was taken prisoner, and the Cumberland River was opened to the Union Navy. Within weeks Nashville would fall and the remaining Confederate forces would retreat into Mississippi. The victory made a national hero of it's previously unknown author, who here began his rise to command of all the Union armies - U.S. Grant. Yet the battle could have turned out much differently, and the controversy in later years over what really happened and why, would be among the most intense surrounding any action of the war.
Designers
Publishers
- 3W (World Wide Wargames)
Questions and answers
Unconditional Surrender 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 Unconditional Surrender is 90 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 Unconditional Surrender 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.
Unconditional Surrender has a complexity rating of 2.5 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.
Unconditional Surrender belongs to these categories: Wargame, Civil War, and Post-Napoleonic. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, and Hexagon Grid. 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 Unconditional Surrender are: Jon Southard. 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 Unconditional Surrender 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.