Strat & Tact Issue 297 1863 is a two player wargame of a pivotal year in the American Civil War 1863 saw the Union victories at Gettysburg in the east & Vicksburg in the west & the Chattanooga-Chickamauga campaigns when the Confederates had the opportunity to win a decisive battle & potentially gain foreign recognition Each player commands one of the two Theater of Operations East & West What makes this game unique is that one player commands the Union in the Eastern Theater & the Confederates in the Western Theater; the second commands the Union in the Western Theater & the Confederates in the Eastern Theater Both players are competing to gain the most Victory Points in each Theater while defeating their opponent on the other The objective of each player is to score the most Victory Points in terms of seizing critical cities & winning battles The idea is that you are positioning yourself for a major promotion for total command of all your side&s armies for the rest of the war Units represent corps divisions & individual leaders with their staffs Each turn is one month