About

After his success throwing back a Union army at Chancellorsville, Virginia, in late June of 1863, General Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia through the Shenandoah Valley to begin his second invasion of the North. With his army in high spirits, Lee intended to shift the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged Virginia to Pennsylvania. He hoped to influence Northern politicians to give up the war by spending the summer gathering the rich harvests of the area and perhaps threatening Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and even Baltimore.  

Frustrated by his lack of action as Lee was reported moving north, President Lincoln replaced Joe Hooker, who had lost at Chancellorsville only a month before, with George G. Meade. Meade did not want command, and was astonished when told he had been appointed as the new commander of the Army of the Potomac. But he acted that very day and got his Army moving to intercept Lee. The two armies, not aware of each other’s location, stumbled into each other a few days later at a small crossroads town called Gettysburg.  

Game Background

The game puts players in command of either the Army of Northern Virginia or the Army of the Potomac starting that first morning hour at Gettysburg, carrying through for the full three days. To win, the Confederate side must occupy victory point locations that mean the Union player has been driven back, or destroy a certain number of Union corps. The Union side wins by preventing either of these events from occurring or by destroying a certain number of Confederate divisions. 

Getting Civil War generals to act when ordered was often a difficult process. The game represents this with an innovative system of unit activations utilizing card-driven initiative. Cards dictate which units arrive on the first two days, when they arrive, which road they come down, and which units you can order forward into the fight once they are present. Tactics cards can also influence combat and determine which actions units can take. Much like the real generals, neither side can be sure which of its units will arrive on the battlefield at any particular time.

The fierce three-day Battle of Gettysburg was arguably the most pivotal turning point in history, claiming more American casualties than any other battle ever fought by American troops in any war. The stakes could not have been higher. If Confederate General Robert E. Lee had won, the South likely would have secured independence, dissolving the United States as we know it. Conversely, a victory for Union General George G. Meade kept the hope of national reunification alive and preserved President Lincoln's political mandate to pursue the war. 

Available on PC in January 2027. Available on Apple iOS and Android in June 2027. Ages 14+.

What will you do? Will you attack across the field where Virginia’s George Pickett charged or make a stand where Maine’s Joshua Chamberlain held on Little Round Top? The decision is yours…

The board game Gettysburg: A Time for Heroes is currently sold out at Worthington Publishing. New and used copies can be purchased at BoardGameGeek.