Academy Games 1775 - Rebellion

Another great wargame from Academy Games. It has a light-weight rule set, yet it is a surprisingly rich and fun gaming experience. You can teach someone how to play this game in just 10 minutes, yet it will provide hours of entertainment - and you'll learn about the birth of the American Revolution.

At first glance, 1775 Rebellion doesn’t look like a war game. The Academy Games release comes with a bright map, suspiciously Eurogame looking cubes, and a fairly simple rule set. But make no mistake, behind the candy-colored facade lies a war game with solid decision making and deep play. Opening the box reveals a bright, clear map of the 13 American Colonies and Eastern Canada. The game map is slanted, reminiscent of Avalon Hill’s 1776. Colonies are colored to show which regions lie within each colony. Armies are represented by colored cubes. Each of the four main factions (British, American, and their respective militias) come with a deck of cards that determine their actions each round. Each group, along with possible allies (Natives, French, and Hessian) come with custom dice to represent the outcomes of battles. This is a nice touch since the British and French are deadlier and more steadfast, than their battlefield counterparts. Overall, the components are top-notch, some of the best I’ve seen in a wargame. Rounds follow a simple order of reinforce, play card, move, fight, and draw. Order for each round is random and is done by blind draw by pulling colored cubes. From there, your cards give you options to move a certain number of armies a certain number of regions, or armies could move by boat. Event cards add flavor by allowing Benedict Arnold to have an American army defect to the British side or the Declaration of Independence to inspire the Americans to stand their ground. The goal of the game is to control a colony by having only your allies in the colony (not necessarily in every region). One of the unique aspects of the game is the dice system. As I mentioned, British and French troops are deadly accurate and strong willed. Meanwhile, militia troops are more likely to run off to live to fight another day. This perceived disadvantage can actually be beneficial when you realize your 6 American militia that ran off last turn suddenly show back up along with your usual pool of reinforcements. It’s a simple way to showcase the warfare of the conflict. The game can be decided anywhere from the end of round 3 on by the play of truce cards. When one side plays all their truce cards, the war ends and the victory is the one that controls the most provinces. At first glance, the strategy appears simple. The Americans are strong in Massachusetts and the South. The British control the North. Solidifying forces and pushing from the South (American) or North (British) seems obvious, but cards can change all that. In the review game, the Americans nearly turned the tide of the war by drawing a sea invasion card that allowed them to land in Maine and Nova Scotia. The British got their last colonial point by pushing into Maryland. The cards and dice ensure the different games will allow different strategies to appear. The quick game play also allows it to get to the table more often. I’ve played this game against people and solo. In none of my games have I had the winning side ahead by more than 2 colonies. In the solo game I played to do this review, the game came down to the final turn of the final round. The British start off with more colonies, but the Americans have formidable forces in particular areas. The game is very well-balanced. This may not give you the hardcore mental exercise of a GMT or Multiman wargame, but this is a fun game to play in one sitting. It’s well-balanced, very strategic, and great to look at on the table. If you have any interesting in the American Revolution or simply want a lighter war game that packs a punch in a smaller time frame, you’ll be well served to pick this game up. I've used this in my classroom with 5th grade students to great success. It's an excellent teaching tool as well.

I bought this after trying a friends Viking variant from the same firm. Firstly, there is a whole heap of components in the box, but what ever you do, don't be put off by them all. What you have here is a very easy to learn and extremely fun game that really makes you think before you make a move on your turn. A great combination of simple rules, but fairly deep game play that forces you to make hard decisions. You will never be able to do every thing you want and will have to make ruthless choices along the way to beating your opponent. The South for example looks easy to take and at certain times in the game and under certain circumstances it might be. But you run the risk of not putting as much troops into key area's around New York and Boston which are a vital and prove to be a meat grinder as a result. Due to the card system, there is a certain fog or war element to this that works beautifully and you will learn to use the cards in combinations to their best effect. The battle dice are genius and make battles instantly accessible. There is no need to be constantly be looking through charts to see what the results are and different factions have their own dice which are better or worse making the various factions important in their own right. Talking of the factions. I did think that I would favour the British loyalists over the Continental army being British myself. However, this game really draws you in regardless of who you use. Any thoughts on that front went straight out of the window. Having played this numerous times, I would say I enjoy using either the British or Continental forces equally. Also there is a large number of Native American tribes both sides can try to enrol into the fight for them. Ignore them at your peril. How they function again is genius. They won't fight each other and very sensibly will go back to their own business if not currently recruited by some warmongering White skins. Throw in the French who have turned up to spoil a British victory by sending professional troops to assist the Continental army, and German Hessians keen to earn their money aiding the British, then you have not only got some really characterful factions, but a game that is very true to history. Due to the card system, no two games are the same and this means you could play this numerous times before it might get a bit repetitive. Then there are also the scenario variants for different years you can get your teeth into which means you will be using different cards you don't put into the decks in the main game. (Don't worry you get these other cards in with the main game and the rules are all in there also.) My wife loves this which surprised me as she avoids war games in general. I can not recommend this game enough.

The best on the market

When it comes to historical wargames, and historical games in general, there are only a few which capture the feeling of the events of what the game is about. 1775: Rebellion is one of those games which truly encapsulates the theme and tension of a conflict such as the American Revolution. This game is the second in the Birth of Freedom line which is published by Academy Games, a company known for their attention to detail and attention to historicity while at the same time continuing to make the game fun and engaging. So what makes this game so much fun and historical? There are multiple mechanics which aid in the theming of the game. The first is the map itself. The map showcases what many of the maps during the American Revolution looked like laying on the table in a war room or a map hanging in some of the halls I have seen in Williamsburg and Valley Forge. Not only was the game board surrounding the colonies but even stretched into Canada, which did have some combat during the Revolution. The second is the four player aspect of the game. Many other games on the American Revolution usually deal with just a British player and an American player. But here, in 1775, we see a player for the Continental Army, the Militia, British Redcoats and the Loyalists. The turn order is different for every round by pulling blank dice with the color of your troops from a bag. This gives the feel of randomness to the turn order which keeps the tension high. This mechanic also gives the players a chance to strategize in the moment instead of planning as other wargames usually do. For example, the loyalists could be the last player to go, but the first player to go in the next turn. The components of the game are different but are completely thematic to the time of the war. There are five colors of cubes used for troops: red for the redcoats, yellow for the loyalists, white for the militia, blue for the Continental Army and green for the Native Americans. In order to use the natives, you have to be in control of the territory and the colony but they are useful in every way. There are also two other colors which can be brought into play with cards but once eliminated are gone and cannot be brought back in for reinforcements. They are purple for the French and orange for the Hessians. These reinforcements for the colonists and the British give the game more theme added to a game with a heavy theme already. One of the things which I really enjoyed with this game was the simplicity of combat. There are certain wargames which use charts upon charts to figure out if there is even a line of sight for combat. But here in this game, it is a simple roll of the dice. That does give the game a feeling of chance, but there are also strategic maneuvers which have to be performed in order to gain the territories of the map. Troops move around the board through a card system which is also a way in which the game can end. Each deck has a Treaty card in it and the game can end when all four players play their treaty card. The game can also end on round 8 and the winner is decided by how many colonies and areas of Canada are controlled by what player. I have introduced this game to many gamers and historians who could not stop praising this game. I believe this game should be used in the classroom when teaching the American Revolution not only in the public school level but the university level as well. Once again, Academy Games has proven that they can produce a game which is both enjoyable and educational. Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle