INTO THE WOODS - GBACW - Shiloh, April 6 -7 1862 - Episode 1 - Introduction to the Game

Been sitting on the shelf of shame since it came out. Thought it about time to play the game and then thought as I was going through the battle book, why not bring my struggles to the channel. Hope you come along for the ride.
"Into the Woods: the Battle of Shiloh" is the eighth instalment of the Great Battles of the American Civil War (GBACW) series, published by GMT Games.
The Great Battles of the American Civil War Series:
This series is one of the hobby’s longest-lived design concepts, springing from the legendary regimental level Gettysburg game - Terrible Swift Sword (SPI) - designed by Richard Berg in 1976. Under GMT, the rules system has remained stable, but has shown remarkable flexibility to allow each game to smoothly incorporate additional rules to reflect the historical battles. The series relies on interactive chit-pull mechanics to simulate the often chaotic nature of the 19th Century battlefield at the regimental level.
Into the Woods: the Battle of Shiloh includes ten scenarios. They range from division level contests on half sized maps to two-map battles depicting both the first and second day of the struggle. Experienced players will be able to play many of the scenarios in one sitting. The game reflects the Confederate surprise, the "greenness" of many units on both sides, as well as the unique role Albert Sidney Johnston played in the Confederate attack.
Game Scale:
Game Turn: 1 hour
Hex: 110 yards / 100 meters
Units: Battalion to Brigade (mostly Regiments)

[@perryspiropoulos938]

Looking forward to watching you play this through. Thanks, Aaron.

[@aaronsibley39]

My pleasure!

[@josephgroene5666]

Books about the Battle of Shiloh: the classic study is probably Shiloh: Bloody April by Wiley Sword. Struggle for the Heartland:
The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth by Stephen D. Engle puts the Shiloh battle in context of the greater campaign in the West.
The strangest book I've read about Shiloh is the alternated history novel Rommel & The Rebel by Lawrence Wells. The premise of the
book is that a group of German Generals (including Rommel) travel to the United States in 1937 to visit Civil War battlefields. Rommel
applies what he learned from his visit to the North African Campaign.

[@aaronsibley39]

Thank you for the book info. Think I will the Rommel one a miss 🤣

[@billdurrant9085]

Not played this system but looks interesting - following.

[@aaronsibley39]

Thanks Bill. Its a very deep system, or in other words ASL in the ACW.

[@usapatriot4163]

Look forward to watching you play this game! I really like the older GBACW rules, but never cared much for the newer system much. Still, it's a unique game system and fun to play!

[@aaronsibley39]

Hello, why did you not care too much for the GMT iteration?

[@clarkcommando1983]

Hey buddy glad to see your still going strong. I’ve been hoping I get back to my channel soon. Love ya

[@aaronsibley39]

Looking forward to when you do. Thanks for the support!

[@josephgroene5666]

Thanks for the video. I've never played a GBACW game before, so I'll be sure to follow your game. I've actually visited the Shiloh battlefield.
Compared to other Civil War battlefields, Shiloh hasn't changed much since the battle. Lots of magnificent oak trees, plus the Tennessee River.

[@aaronsibley39]

Thanks for watching. Have you ever played any ACW tactical game?

[@josephgroene5666]

@@aaronsibley39 The only Shiloh games I've played are brigade level games like Blue & Gray and Across 5 Aprils. I do own Bloody
April, which is the monster proto-GBACW grand tactical game about Shiloh that Richard Berg designed for SPI. Very intimidating to
learn to play, but two beautiful maps. The rule book has a bibliography, so here is a book recommendation from Richard Berg, himself:
Shiloh - In Hell Before Night by James Lee McDonough.

[@aaronsibley39]

I used to have the Gamers Brigade Series game on Shiloh (cannot remember the name) but never got on with that scale or system. Maybe that's because I like getting into the nitty gritty stuff. I will see how much the book you mention costs. Thanks for the comment and recommendation and I hope you will continue to go through the battle with me. Its going to be a long journey.

[@marchanna]

thanks for the vid. I haven't really taken a look at this series. This game looks brigade level to me, noting your comments about the unit sizes relative to Gettysburg version. I find the VC a bit odd and indirect. I can't imagine AS Johnston ordering his troops to "go and capture those fields on time!". The mission was to destroy the Union army, cut off the landing supplies and water the horses on the Tennessee :)

[@aaronsibley39]

@@marchanna Agreed on the VC but it encourages the confederates to push and push hard early. Each unit is a regiment. Units are activated by Brigade with a Divisional Activation chit. This will be explained in next video.

[@dickwhitaker1509]

Thanks for the comment on victory conditions; you are quite right. However, for game purposes, we needed something other than just capturing Pittsburg Landing, as it is as hard in the game as it was in the historical battle. So the Field control VC is just there for your measurement against your opponent. I always played for a strategic win-the capture of the landing. One game out of six played allowed me to do that.

[@aaronsibley39]

Thank you so much for the comment and explanation. I hope my videos will do the game justice.