Blind Swords System Games
A comparison of the Blind Swords titles published to date
American Civil War games
Stonewall's Sword
- Cedar Mountain
- Small map. Elevations not marked, but not a difficult map.
- First game in series
- 7 event chits for each side each turn. This feels like a lot.
- An introductory scenario, and a full scenario.
- Optional rules for some "what-ifs"
Thunder in the Ozarks: Battle for Pea Ridge, March 1862
- Interesting 2 map arrangement makes a bit of an L-shape
- Tons of trees, a bit tricky to determine elevations
- Optional rules for Van Dorn's illness. He starts completely out of it, but makes a recovery during the game and takes over command
- More detailed cavalry rules
- Union has 4 divisions with 9 brigades, Rebels have 2 divisions with 8 brigades, so plenty of choices on chit pulls
Longstreet Attacks: The Second Day at Gettysburg
- Standard 22x34 map with all the familiar places. First map to have elevation levels marked on the map- great improvement
- Union has 10 divisions with 25 brigades; Confederates have 3 divisions with 12 brigades. This may be starting to strain the system?
- Rebel units are generally larger and have better cohesion
- Final game designed by Hermann Luttmann
- Five scenarios including a what-if regarding Dan Sickles
- A lot of scenario specific rules
- Double use of event chits for either their stated event or as command events that help bring reinforcements sooner
Kernstown
- 1st Kernstown 1862 and 2nd Kernstown 1864
- 1st Kernstown only has brigade activations, so it's missing the choice you usually get with activation chits
- 2nd Kernstown has regular divisions and brigades as usual
- Great map with plenty of elevation changes, but less woods than we've seen. A large ridge on the left and a smaller one in the middle
- Strangely, exact same event chits for both battles
- Five scenarios, including the two full battles
The Devil's to Pay! The First Day at Gettysburg
- Hermann Luttmann is back, but this is published by Tiny Battles
- I don't own this, so no info to report
The Day Was Ours
- First Bull Run 1861
- Map has many elevations, but they are clearly marked. 2/3 open, 1/3 woods
- Special Brigade Attack Coordination rules restricting how many units from a brigade can attack in an activation
- Only 3 or event chits per side each turn.
- Individual event chits for each side
- Early half of battle scenario, afternoon half of battle scenario, and a full combined scenario.
- A fair number of special rules for different units
- Six different option rules that change the historical scenario to a hypothetical situation
Thunder at Dawn
- Wilson's Creek 1861
- Map looks tricky, but mostly it's brush which doesn't imapct LOS or firing, only non-infantry movement
- Almost all brigades are independent, so there is generally no choice in units when a chit is pulled. Chits are mostly for independent brigades rather than Divisions (which allow you to choose which brigade to activate)
- Three scenarios, the historical and two hypothetical. No short scenarios.
- Individual event chits for each side
A Greater Victory: South Mountain, September 14, 1862
- Fantastic map. As the Union, you really feel like you're marching up a valley and trying to get through a couple gaps
- Introduction of BRIGADE ACTIVATION DISPLAY for each side. No longer do you have the Brigade activation markers on board, but on a side display. Much cleaner
- Three scenarios culminating with the full battle
- Iinteresting INDECISION event chit that decreases chance of activating units for the rest of the turn
- Each scenario has its own FOG OF WAR table, tailoring the events to the specific situation
- In addition to the two main gaps that are worth VPs, there are many spread out smaller VP locations. The Rebels have to make sure not to simply abondon them
- Both sides have a steady stream of reinforcements, the last of which will be lucky to get involved at all. Routes to the front lines are always jammed
Grand Havoc
- Perryville 1862
- open map, easy to understand LOS
- Special rules for Buell's awareness. He is unaware of the battle for the first few turns and his units remain on hold.
- Special Brigade Attack Coordination rules. Each brigade is rated for how many of its units may move next to the enemy at any time.
- Intro scenario, historical scenario, and 3 hypothetical scenarios
- Individual event chits for each side
- Fog of War chart is missing. Sadly, it's back to a generic chart for this title.
Sedgwick Attacks: Salem Church (May 3, 1863)
- Good looking map, plenty of woods with a main road running right down the center length-wise where most of the action will take place
- Small OOB, just a single counter sheet for this title
- Three scenarios. One historical, and then two hypothical to see what would have happened had Sedgwick done things differently
- Generic Fog of War table again
- Good variety in the event chits
Shiloh: The First Day
- Another large game, with 2 maps
- Also includes several smaller maps for the smaller scenarios (no need to use the big one for small scenarios)
- Special card listing all the scenario special rules. Nice touch
- Special rules for the Confederates catching the Union troopers at breakfast
Gettysburg: The First Day
- waiting on my copy
Other Conflicts
Position Magnifique: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour, 1870
- I don't own this one, just marking it here for completeness. Send details if you have it
At Any Cost: Metz 1870
- First big Blind Swords game
- Study in assymetry- Prussians have better led troops and artillery, French have better rifles and the first mass use of machine guns
- French ahve larger numbers, Prussians have better troops
All Are Brothers
- Solferino, 1859 (Second Italian War of Independence)
- System more similar to At Any Cost Metz than the American Civil War games
- Includes variants, optional rules, and a free-setup scenario
Blind Swords Adjacent
Hill of Death: Champion Hill
- Part of the Shattered Union system
- Based on the Blind Swords and Black Swan systems
Conquering the Valley: Cross Keys/Port Republic
- Part of the Shattered Union system
- Based on the Blind Swords and Black Swan systems
Bring Out Your Men, Gentlemen: The Battle of Brawner's Farm
- Part of the Shattered Union system
- Based on the Blind Swords and Black Swan systems
A Most Fearful Sacrifice
- First game in the Black Swan series
- Black Swan builds on Blinds Swords and is meant for larger engagments
Rock of Chickamauga
- Second game in the Black Swan series
- Black Swan builds on Blinds Swords and is meant for larger engagments
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