American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

I have only been a member since 2009. Has anybody tried to incorporate Vassal games (board games played on line) into the Civil War club.

The site is here if you not familiar with it.

http://www.vassalengine.org/


You can play folio games to monsters like Terrible Swift Sword, and classics like AH Gettysburg and Chancellorsville.

Wondering if it would open up a new avenue for 2013. Happy New Year to my fellow Civil War grognards.

MG Elkin
XVIth Corp Commander
AotT

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I have come to you from the West, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies. . . . Let us look before us, and not behind

That is a quote from John Pope, who kept his headquarters where his hindquarters ought to be ; - )

could you elaborate on what vassal is?

how does it work?

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Lt. Gen. C. N. Matthews
Pickett's Infantry Division, I Corps,
Army of Northern Virginia, CSA

The sound of MG Elkins opening a can of worms ... tiptoes quietly away. . .

-Vassal is a PBEM platform (it might also involve the ability to play live) boardgames- (well board wargames for sure, not sure if others have been adapted for it -but I imagine pretty much anything might work there). It is (I think) open source software- or at any rate, it is a free download - however what can limit game title's availability is copyright/ publisher propriety things ( for instance the boardgame company that I work with hasn't gone to Vassal yet ... but other companies, like GMT Games have and their Vassal mods are freely available on the gmtgames.com site.

Before anyone asks (and I have been asked before), I don't do Vassal myself- have not had the time to learn the interface - I did mess around with Cyberboard back in the day- but never had the time for that either ... unfortunate I guess since I was planning on playing GMT's Eastern Front series on that platform ( maybe some day. ).

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~Retired~

Steve is correct; It is open source software. The Theory is that you only play the games you own. I am playing 2 games right, The Russian Campaign and For the People. I own both of them.

Is their piracy? You bet, but there is piracy in the digital world as well. I have found it an excellent way to game with people I know personally via PBEM. You can also play live via chat, Skype or cell phone. It brings back the ability to use boardgames you own.

It does require having the rules, and following them as Vassal is an engine that allows you play, it is NOT a computer wargame.

For those who do own boardgames, it is an excellent tool. I own the following Civil War games

1. For The People
2. Terrible Swift Sword
3. The Civil War (Victory Games)
4. Lee vs. Grant
5. Autumn of Glory
6. Chancellorsville by AH
7. Gettysburg AH 1964
8. Gettysburg AH 1977
9. Fury in The West
10. A House Divided.

There are also companies doing reprints of many great old titles from the 60's to the 90's. If you like boardgames, it is worth a look.

(Attempting to put the worms back in the can)

MG Elkin

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I have come to you from the West, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies. . . . Let us look before us, and not behind

Worms are funny things ... I remember when I was naive enough to join an mmpog that claimed it was the ultimate wargame (spoiler- it wasn't...) - I was responsible for interviewing candidates applying for my group- and one of the questions I had was if so and so had experience with wargames - I got a lot of answers that I was not really ready for... chess, Axis and Allies, Stratego.... I was expecting things like Squad Leader, ASL, the titles David mentioned (or the WWII equivalents)... and after having been a member at BGG for some time well, it has only really underlined that situation.

And in an OT aside- turns out the boardgame company I am associated with is actually officially developing Vassal modules- which is good as this Australian might get to play an opponent at these some day. Kind of ironic considering my post and my email inbox this AM.

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~Retired~