Sid Meier%27s Gettysburg Civil War Games Mac

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Sid Meier's Gettysburg is a real time tactics/strategy game from 1997 that was a pretty big hit. It aimed to tell the story of the most famous battle in USA history and do it with a bit of style as well as changing a few things up as well. For fans of strategy games, even though this may look like a game from 1997, this is well worth checking out.

Unofficial remake of a classic turn-based strategy from the era of 16-bit computers. The title was produced by Anuman Interactive's development studio. The player takes command of one side of the American Civil War and tries to tip the scales of victory to his advantage.

What Side Are You On?

  • Jan 26, 2013 - Explore Walter Johnson's board 'Antietam and harpers ferry' on Pinterest. See more ideas about american civil war, civil war, battle of antietam.
  • Sid Meier's Gettysburg is a groundbreaking historical strategy game, but not because of innovation, rather because of execution. It utilizes the concept of real-time strategy to emphasize the reality of Civil War combat - a chaotic mess, directed only by the sheer willpower of the leaders.
  • Feb 20, 1998 Sid Meier's Gettysburg is a real-time game simulating one of the most dramatic battles in the American Civil War, and possibly one of the most studied battles in wartime history.

The game is pretty straightforward in terms of what it is going to let you do. You can play the campaign which links various missions/scenarios together and gives you a more complete experience of the battle. It has many of the famous set pieces of the battle and they do try to be historically accurate when they can (this is a video game after all). Sid Meier's Gettysburg also changes things up by allowing you to play alternate history versions of missions which is really cool.

As well as playing the campaign where you do the missions in a more structured way. You can just jump in and play any section of the battle if you like. I thought this was a nice touch and ideal for those that just want to play a scenario or two.

Playing War!

You pick who you want to play as this will alter the difficulty of the game with H. Heath being the easiest and Robert E Lee being the hardest. After this, you can pick if you want the game to be historical or a mix of alternate and historical as well as picking the overall difficulty. Sid Meier's Gettysburg does have a tutorial mode which I would advise you jump into the first time you play the game. It is fun, but it also teaches you the basics of the game.

You have different units at your disposal and how you place them on the map or get them to do their stuff is up to you. As far as the tactics and strategy go, it is rather limited in terms of the units that you have at your disposal. There is more than enough in regards to this game, but those coming to this after playing more modern strategy games will probably be shocked at how basic things are.

The Great USA!

The presentation of Sid Meier's Gettysburg is probably what you would expect it to be. The whole game has a very basic look to it, but I like it. The map is pretty large and I like the way the bodies of the fallen soldiers stay on the map as this is a great way to know how the battle is going. The sound is decent enough, but it is not going to rock your socks off.

I think that Sid Meier's Gettysburg is a solid strategy game and one that is really aimed at those who have a deep love for the Civil War. If that is you then you will probably be more willing to overlook the fact that the game is pretty basic. While it is basic, I do feel this can lead to a more streamlined and fun overall experience.

Final Score

Pros:

  • It captures the time period very well
  • You can play as various Civil War icons
  • The game tries to be historically accurate when possible
  • It has various difficulty options
  • There is still a dedicated modding community for this game
Civil

Cons:

  • It is kind of basic in comparison to modern RTS games
  • The visuals are rather basic too
Overall rating: 8.5

Wargame developers love the American Civil War, with its romantic notions of ‘brother against brother’ and the development of warfare from line battles to quasi-trench warfare slug-fests. Alongside the two World Wars, Napoleon’s conquests and the grand imperial conflicts of antiquity, it ranks among the ‘most gamed’ wars in all of human history. It probably also helps that a lot of modern wargame designers are American.

Unsurprisingly, for a war largely fought over whether white people should be allowed to own black people, American Civil War games have at times been a magnet for controversy. Nevertheless, the conflict’s key advances in warfare technology and its epochal importance in US history have made it an endlessly compelling and popular setting for wargames of every format throughout the 20th century, spawning a whole genre of games, many of which are worth your time.

There have been plenty to choose from over the years, in different scales and contexts, focusing on various key battles and engagements – so, to make your choice easier, here’s our list of Wargamer’s favourite American Civil War digital strategy games.

What are the best American Civil War Games?

  • Grand Tactician (Early Access)
  • Victory and Glory: The American Civil War
  • Ultimate General: Civil War
  • Gettysburg: The Tide Turns
  • Civil War: 1863
  • Civil War II
  • Scourge of War: Chancellorsville
  • Brother against Brother
  • The Operational Art of War 4 (Specific Scenarios)
  • War of Rights (Early Access)

There’s a couple of more suggestions right at the bottom of the article as well.

Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865) (Early Access)

Publisher: Oliver Keppelmüller
Available from:Steam

We’re putting Grand Tactician front and centre because at the moment we feel it’s going to become one of the most important ACW releases in recent times, although other recent games like Victory and Glory below were also pretty solid. Grand Tactician is proving to be quite ambitious in what it wants to do, and of Mr. Keppelmuller manages to pull it off then this game will easily take the crown.

If its rough edges are dealt with, this game will easily take the top spot

Sid Meier%27s Gettysburg Civil War Games Mac

As things stand though, there’s some big caveats you should be aware of. It’s in Early Access, for starters, which essentially means this is a beta – warts and all. Our own Bill Gray was blown away by his time with the game and even Bill – who’s always tended to focus on positives over negatives – does mention problems, ranging from dodgy AI behaviour to off casualty figures.

Read around and you’ll see other people struggling with other rough edges this game still has. With any luck these will all be ironed out over time, but know that even though this game sits at the top of our ACW list, it’s not yet in the state it needs to be in to earn that spot.

Victory and Glory: The American Civil War

Publisher: Lock’n Load Publishing
Available from:Steam

One of Lock’n Load’s three digital releases in 2020, Victory & Glory’s American Civil War outing is an excellent board-game style experience featuring an area-control style strategy layer, card mechanics and a tactical battle interface. You can play out the entire conflict as either the Union or the Confederacy in a campaign that’s highly replayable.

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Naval warfare is highly abstracted, but the land war is well represented. Apart from some documentation issues around concepts like supply and some bugs, this is actually a pretty decent ACW strategy game and an excellent showing from Lock’n Load.

Ultimate General: Civil War

Developer: Game-Labs LLC
Available from:Steam

Ultimate General: Civil War is a wonderful follow-up to Game-Labs LLC’s already wonderful Ultimate General: Gettysburg. Civil War puts the player in command of either Confederate or Union armies throughout the entirety of the war, allowing the player to build their army composition, from unit size to weaponry of individual units. The title brings Total War-style tactics (the lead on this game did make several mods for Total War games) to the well-known battlefields of Antietam and Gettysburg, as well as battles with less coverage in games, such as Gaines’ Mill and Chickamauga.

The ability to follow individual brigades and their officers throughout the war is one I learned to miss after playing this game. Seeing a unit you created during the first year of the war get utterly dissolved by enemy canister rounds is heartbreaking, but following an officer’s career path from lowly Captain to Major General brings pride I rarely get from playing games. It’s easy to connect with your army on a personal level, as you can name each unit in addition to being able to manage their training and outfitting.

For more information, check out our Ultimate General: Civil War review.

Gettysburg: The Tide Turns

Developer: Shenandoah
Available from:Direct, Steam

Speaking of Gettysburg, it’s impossible to list off the best American Civil War games without mentioning a game about Gettysburg at least once. Gettysburg marked the high-water mark of the Confederacy during the war, and The Tide Turns is a beautiful display of… well, how the tide turned. The map is wonderful, drawing inspiration from old Engineer Corps maps, with unit markers distinctly popping out against the backdrop.

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What makes The Tide Turns such an interesting game is the turn system. Units have their turn order decided by the random drawing of “lots” from the total amount of units on the field. This leads to an uncertainty of combat that is not present in IGOUGO or WEGO type games, but is certainly more representative of the chaos of Gettysburg.

Civil War: 1863

Gettysburg Civil War Pictures

Developer: HexWar
Available from: Fanatical

HexWar’s charming Civil War: 186x series made the jump to PC from Android and iOS, bringing what our reviewer Jeff Renaud called a “quick hit” wargame. It’s easy to jump into a scenario pulled from the many different battles of 1863 (or any of the other years of the war, there are companion games featuring all of them!), with combat frequently beginning on the first turn.

A single scenario can take less than an hour, but the brevity of the games can’t be mistaken for easiness. The AI can be downright painful to play against on the higher difficulties, which is a refreshing change of pace from other “quick hit” wargames.

Civil War II

Developer: AGEOD
Available from:Fanatical

Sid Meier's Gettysburg Patch

Ageod’s Civil War II (note: not about an upcoming second civil war) pulls back from the close, action-oriented look of many other American Civil War titles. The player is instead put into the boots of president / commander-in-chief of the operational aspects of the war. The WEGO style of play makes running into the enemy challenging and frequently surprising, forcing you to plan well in advance for future offensives.

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The chain-of-command in armies can be customized by the player, allowing obsessive micromanagers to truly fine-tune their army. Decisions don’t stop with merely military matters; determining how much money should be printed or placing embargos also fall into the rhythm of gameplay. Wargamers with a taste for grand strategy could comfortably find themselves at home with Civil War II.

Scourge of War: Chancellorsville

Developer: NorbSoftDev
Available from:Direct

The Scourge of War series feature some of the most realistic depictions of generalship of the 19th century, and Chancellorsville is no exception. The player can take command of different units within either the Union or Confederate forces; from commanding a lone Brigade to commanding the entire army.

Orders given and received are a nice touch, as virtual couriers will arrive with and send out letters you can pen yourself. Units can be directed to form into specific formations and have several different movement options, including instructions to travel via road and to form into a certain formation type upon arrival. These options are necessary to success, as the AI may have read ahead in the history book, and will prove to be a fierce opponent.

Sid Meier's Gettysburg Civil War Games Mac Free

The battle of Chancellorsville was an important prelude to Gettysburg, but is not as frequently covered as the latter. However, if you are looking to get your fix of Chamberlains and Picketts, you may also be interested in Scourge of War: Gettysburg.

Brother against Brother

Developer: Western Civilization Software
Available from:Direct

Brother against Brother has a great nostalgic feel to it. The sprites and the maps are reminiscent of wargames a generation or two ago, but the game packs several unique features that make it worth mentioning. The first is the inclusion of Wilson’s Creek, a battle in the Western Theatre of the war. Any battle not on the east coast is normally glossed over, so kudos to Western Civilization Software for broadening our collective horizons.

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The title also packs an “active ability” feature that generals can use on their units to encourage them to fight harder, à la the more recent Total War offerings. This coupled with a novel movement system, where units can sometimes refuse to move in a representation of orders being jumbled and lost, brings a refreshing yet familiar take on some less covered battles of the war.

The Operational Art of War 4

Developer: Talonsoft
Available from:Steam, Direct

Before you all storm to the comments to yell at us for TOAW4 not being an American Civil War game, we know the whole game is not about the American Civil War. However, there are several great scenarios to choose from that take place during the war, using TOAW4’s excellent systems to simulate battles such as Antietam, as well as whole campaigning seasons, particularly highlighting the Chancellorsville/ Gettysburg campaign.

Should you not be in the mood for the several scenarios TOAW4 has to offer, there are community scenarios available for download, as well as a scenario editor, so you can finally simulate a brawl at Appomattox Court House. Read our review of TOAW4 for an idea of how the game as whole plays.

Reinforcements! Promising Games in Development

War of Rights

Sid Meier's Civil War Patch

Developer: Campfire Games
Available from:Steam

War of Rights is an Early Access FPS that looks quite impressive so far. 150 players can duke it out on the battlefield, which so far includes Antietam and Harper’s Ferry. The gameplay looks and feels solid, like a cross of Mount & Blade and Holdfast’s combat style, while bringing a more realistic visual fidelity to the fight.

Sid Meier 27s Gettysburg Civil War Games Mac Download

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A chain-of-command system is currently under development, so far with higher ranking officers passing down orders to their subordinates, who can in turn order their men to follow their lead. The game is primarily multiplayer, so the experience does depend on other players, but players do tend to actually work together. War of Rights has a development roadmap laid out, and it looks to have a promising future ahead.

More American Civil War Game Recommendations

John Tiller Software did a series called Civil War Battles, which cover specific battles and campaigns during the American Civil War. They’re old-school hex-and-counter affairs, but they’re currently being remastered by Wargame Design Studio with new graphics and engines updates. We’re looking into these now and as we evaluate them, we’ll add them to the main list. We’ve put this here though so that you’re aware they also exist, and are considered pretty good ACW war games for what they are.

As was pointed out in the comments, we’d also be remiss not to mention Sid Meier’s Gettysburg! & Antietam! games from the late 90’s. Gettysburg! especially was considered one of the best strategy/war games of the time, and is a bench mark for many ACW and Gettysburg-themed games that have come out in the decades since.

We haven’t listed it below, mainly because they are fairly old now and there’s no official support for them although you can find a digital copy via Abandonware websites. If you’re interested in exploring one of the gold standards of digital ACW wargames, you’ll want to check it out.