Yes, I know I'm about twelve months late, but imagine if this had been written when Avalon Hill were being absorbed into the fatty tissue of Lord Hasbro. I could have regaled you with an opening paragraph like "And even in their death throes, Avalon Hill maintain their outstanding legacy of supreme strategic wargames never bettered in four decades......".

The good news from Tubby Hasbro is that there will be a trickle of AH titles, that the company will remain autonomous and that the all-powerful Hasbro board have relinquished Advanced Squad Leader to our baseball buddy Curt Schilling who will publish the scenarios independently. If Hasbro pick their spots, then the powerful retail division might well place these ?????? titles in the big stores, and then, who knows?

Irrespective of the future, For The People (American Civil War, full campaign and scenarios) certainly confirmed AH's reputation in the marketplace they dominated for about forty years. And I am delighted that this game does not represent an RIP post.

For The People is the third game in the AH trio of card-generated tactical wargames, following We The People and Hannibal, although the latter's designer Richard Berg pronounced within these pages that had not been his original intention.

Like its predecessors, FTP is driven by a deck of Strategy cards which have a dual purpose. They can be used as either Event Cards or as an Operational device. In both cases, the choices are clearly illustrated, with text and graphics for the various incidents and occurrences and a card value (OC) which allows movement, the placement of forts, the restitution of Generals, the addition of army markers and, what is at the game's core, the placement of Political Control Markers.

All of the above will be familiar to veterans of the series, as will the gameboard, in which key spaces (NOT hexes) are connected by road and rail. I was reminded of GDW's brilliant A House Divided when we laid out the mounted map. It is both colourful and intelligible, and is ambiguity-free. Movement across the board is activated by the Strategy Cards (using their OC value), and in this case Generals and supporting casts can traverse between 6 (Army) and 10 (Cavalry) spaces.

Rapid movement is a pre-requisite. You cannot pussyfoot in this game, and a nervous Union player anxious to hold Washington will be spat on from all corners. Similarly, the Confederate player must strike hard and beware a frisky Union opponent looking to strike using the hugely effective river movement.

The play of cards continues until both players have exhausted their hands. At this point, all gains are marked with Political Control markers and the assessment of States begins. Each player starts with 100 Strategic Will points, and this total is adjusted to account for territorial gains or losses. In all scenarios bar the introductory 1861 game, a variable advantage of SW points determines the winner. The 1861 engagement requires specific state control. So, be extremely wary of surreptitious PC placement, and note that these markers can be placed wherever friendly armies (Strength Points) are in place.

Combat, and there will soon be plenty of it, is determined by comparing the aforementioned Strength Points. Elite Units and Generals provide the nucleus on any Die Roll Modifiers. Initially, this provides a battle size, either large, medium or small. Losses are then established on the Combat Results Table, remembering to verify numbers in the appropriate column. Most losses, and you're a goner and must retreat. Because of the expanse of FTP, recovering ground is very difficult, as you are likely to be fervently engaged elsewhere on the map to worry about reinforcements.

The final act of the sequence of play is Attrition, and a horrible penalty is paid for the encampment of excessive SPs in a space, 3-6 meaning a one step loss, with more than 6 incurring a double penalty. Even worse befalls weary units if they cannot trace Lines Of Communication and are out of supply.

I hesitate to describe FTP as "fast-paced", because players will need to assess their cards, deciding which of the options is more favourable, although if you have events specific to the opposite camp, these can be set aside for the Operations phase. The events are loquacious, as you would expect from veteran designer Mark Herman, and he has encapsulated this well-trodden war in a refined and unpretentious manner.

Blues Guitarist BB King was once asked (not by me) the secret of his style. "It's the notes I leave out", he replied. I sense similar editorial skills within Mr. Herman.

I really like the point-to-point, movement-card-driven play system (We The People, Hannibal, Paths of Glory, etc.) that is used in For the People. It makes for a fast moving, fun, and *very* suspenseful game.

FtP is one of the best games built on this system (Paths of Glory being the other). It *doesn't* use the stupid rock-paper-scissors (WtP and Hannibal) combat cards but has a CRT instead--this is a vast improvement.

The component quality is fantastic--just like all the GMT games I've ever seen.

If you like strategic-level games, this one is definitely for you. It is relatively easy to learn with only a few subtle/confusing rules, and you can find lots of opponents on the net.

You should definitely add this game to your collection.

I've played For the People seven times now, and each game has been a thrill a minute. I know of no other title that so manageably captures the sweeping scope of the entire American Civil War like this design.

As the Union player, you will defend Washington, launch a campaign to capture the Mississippi, carefully select naval landings, increase the blockade, struggle for the control of border states, and ultimately cut a swath through through the Deep South late in the conflict thus reducing the Rebel Will to continue the war.

Playing the Confederate side, you will want to raid Northern lands, put legendary commanders (Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, etc.) to best use, judiciously allocate limited manpower, build strategically placed forts, and harm the Federal Will to wage war so that Lincoln is defeated in the election of 1864.

Once the rules are grasped, the card deck drives the game in a smooth and effortless fashion. Players can concentrate on strategy and fun, two commodities that are abundant in this title.

Amongst the hundreds of games that I own, For the People is definitely one of my all-time favorites. It's a brilliant design (by Mark Herman), and despite being labeled as a wargame, all types of players who don't mind a long afternoon of gaming can enjoy this one.

A richly rewarding and very satisying experience.

The 2nd edition is a little more complex and has a few more pices of chrome (and little rules to remember) but its still not complex by wargame standards. I find it a big improvement over the 1st edition.

I still despise the idiotic and fallacious leader loss rules, but the game now plays more like the ACW.

I will list several of the important changes.

1. Units may not cross a river to enter a space with a fort. This makes it easier for the south to hold the west. But Manasas can no longer attack Washington, instead the South must take Frederick to attack Washington. In practice this makes it almost impossible for the south to take DC other than by oversight.
2. Generals have offensive and defensive ratings. This gives McCellan a +2 DRM and means a fortified Army of the Potomac defends with a +4 or greater DRM. On the large table the south can lose 6 SP by attacking such a force, and that could be enough to lose Virginia.
3. The South gets 6 forts instead of 5.
4. There are new cards--concentration cards (Shiloh) that allow the South a surprise attack by calling in scattered forces.
5. Prior to 1863 a force can not place PC markers unless in supply. This prevents a northern corps with 6 SP from penetrating the interior and dropping 1 SP in 6 spaces, burning many resource centers and causing huge damage.
6. Unlimited playing of campaign cards, not just 1 per turn.
7. the Shenandoa valley my supply a southern force, and counts as 6 spaces in VA insted of 3.
8. Southern supply is more difficult, a supply center must trace to another. This means an isolated Richmond will fall.
9. McClellan has some special abilities, as do some of the cavalry leaders.