@thrasher1 said in Can an Axis and Allies -style US Civil War game actually work?:
First of course: if this post should be in another subforum them please move.
Then secondly:
May this has already been discussed till death. But when I found out about Axis and Allies (early/mid 1990s) I really hoped for an Axis and Allies -like US Civil War game. To be honest I expected MB to release this if they would come up with more GameMaster Series games (OK, so this was a VERY big if).
But so…
Can it work?
Or is the Axis and Allies system just not ‘good’ enough for a game covering the American Civil War.
There were infantry units. Cavalry and Artillery. Some navy and some river boats.
Put ‘elite forces’ or ‘veterans’ and generals into the mix and I would say ‘A&A Civil War’ could be a good game.
Any reasons this just did not happen?
While an Axis and Allies-style game set during the American Civil War could potentially work, it would likely require significant modifications to the existing Axis and Allies system to properly capture the unique aspects of the conflict. The A&A system is designed to simulate World War II-era combat, which involved a different array of units and tactics than the Civil War.
That being said, there have been several board games released over the years that do simulate the Civil War, including “Gettysburg,” “Battle Cry,” and “Civil War.” These games often have their own unique systems for simulating the conflict, such as incorporating elements of card games or using a modular board to represent different battlefields.
As for why an Axis and Allies-style Civil War game was never developed, it could simply be a matter of market demand. The A&A series has primarily focused on World War II, which is a conflict that has remained popular among gamers and history enthusiasts for decades. The Civil War, while an important event in American history, may not have had the same broad appeal for a board game franchise. Additionally, developing a new game system is a significant investment, and it’s possible that the cost of creating a Civil War version of A&A was seen as too high for the potential return on investment.