Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Chancellorsville 1863 is a card-driven game on the American Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville. Playable by 1 to 2 players in 1 hour, the game comes with a card-driven solitaire engine.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Betting and Bluffing
Risk resources on uncertain outcomes while disguising intentions or information.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Action/Event
Cards can provide player actions, trigger events, or force a choice between them.
Card Play Conflict Resolution
Resolve confrontations by choosing and comparing cards rather than only statistics.
Command Cards
Use cards to issue orders and determine which units or actions can activate.
Read the full game description
Chancellorsville 1863 is a card-driven game on the American Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville. Playable by 1 to 2 players in 1 hour, the game comes with a card-driven solitaire engine. Designed by Maurice Suckling (designer of Freeman's Farm 1777), the game uses many of the concepts from that game. However, added hidden movement, much more maneuver, and other design tweaks make this a truly unique game. Each turn players will play 1 of their 3 in-hand formation cards to maneuver or attack enemy forces, gaining momentum cubes based on the formation activated. Each formation is a Confederate division or Union corps. Each formation card will allow a major and possibly an additional minor activation, major allowing two moves for a formation while the minor allows one move. After each formation moves combat can occur if a move ends in a location with an enemy formation. Tactic cards may be played during the formation's activation giving it movement or combat bonuses. At the end of the formation card activation players may spend their momentum cubes to buy tactics cards which may give them benefits in combat or movement in future turns. Players then draw a new formation card refilling their hands to 3. Hooker, Lee, and Jackson have bonuses that can be played once a game, adding to movement and combat. Victory is determined by destroying enemy formations through morale/strength loss, or the Union occupying the three victory locations which represent cutting off the Confederate army from Richmond. Additional rules allow for fixed defensive positions, Jackson's Flank March -- and even his death. —description from the publisher