Bobby Lee (game)
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 Cover art by Eric Hotz | |
| Designers | Tom Dalgliesh |
|---|---|
| Illustrators | Eric Hotz |
| Publishers | Columbia Games |
| Publication | 1993 |
| Genres | American Civil War |
Bobby Lee, subtitled "The Civil War in Virginia 1861-1865", is a block wargame published by Columbia Games in 1993 that simulates the campaigns of the Army of Virginia under Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War.
Components
Bobby Lee is a wargame for 2 players in which one player controls Confederate forces while the other player controls Union forces.
The main map is a 22" x 25" cardboard hex grid mapsheet used for operational movement that covers the territory from Harrisburg in the north to Norfolk, Virginia in the south, and from the Shenandoah Valley in the west to the Atlantic Ocean. A smaller 6"x10" "battleboard" is used for face-to-face battles. Rather than using the cardboard counters normally associated with board wargames, Bobby Lee uses 84 wooden blocks to which stickers have been affixed that indicate each military unit and its strength. The blocks stand on their side with the unit information facing away from the opposing player. Thus the opponent does not know what the unit or its strength is until it is engaged in combat.[1]
Scenarios
There are four shorter scenarios that each correspond to a year of the war from 1861 to 1864. There is also a longer campaign game that combines all of the shorter scenarios.[1] In all scenarios, each turn represents one month of the war.[1]
Movement
Any unit within range of its Headquarters (HQ) block can move, but each unit that does this reduces the HQ's value by 1. When the HQ becomes ineffective, the player has to rebuild it to restore its function.[1]
Movement is classified as either
- Movement without fighting: Each unit can cross the map to the limits of its movement allowance.[1]
- Moving into a fight: The number of units that can move into the battle hex is limited by the type of terrain.[1]
Combat
Both players move the blocks that are involved in the battle to the battlemap. It is here that the blocks are laid down, and each player an see what they are actually fighting.[1]
Victory conditions
Each player has a Victory Point (VP) Track, and uses a marker to track their VPs. Each side gains VPs for occupying key cities. For every two months of the dry season, the Confederate player gains a VP. The Union player gains three VPs for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, but cannot do so until the Union army has won a major victory.[1]
A player wins the game if the marker on their VP track reaches "Decisive Victory" at the end of any month.[1]