In 19th century warfare, combat was not inevitable when forces found each other across the field. In ACW, small forces may automatically avoid much larger ones. Larger forces may also attempt to avoid combat, and wait for the right moment to strike. These features realistically recreate some of the running out-flanking campaigns characteristic in the later years of the war. When combat does occur, the player’s job is over, and his generals take over. Combat resolution is very complex, and many factors like weather, organization, troop quality and range take effect. But the player can not do anything except analyze the result. The game offers a full and verbose combat resolution screen. Reading the tool tips over each icon on the screen gives almost a play-by-play account of the action. This feature does a great job in keeping the player involved.

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Players wanting to get their feet wet will happily find that naval combat is prominent in game play. The Union’s large blue water navy allows for surgical strikes along the South’s coasts, and blockading of their ports. The South can fight back with commerce raiders, blockade runners and ironclads. Brown water combat is also represented, and the map allows movement along every major and minor river. Ironclads, gunboats and forts are the player’s tools to take and hold these watery highways.

ACW also gives significant space to the grand strategic elements of the Civil War. Players can invest in infrastructure, borrow money and court the favor of foreign powers. If lucky, the South may even coax the reluctant British to join their cause. By carefully managing production of war supplies, conscripts and ammunition, players order replacements and reinforcements by unit type. Want the South to put more effort into their navy? Buy more ships. The interface for these features is intuitive and easy, certainly the mark of a great game.

In terms of game play, the AI is a decent sparing partner when compared to robo-generals in other games. Even hardcore gamers will find themselves enjoying the ride. The player can adjust the AI somewhat, increasing aggressiveness, giving it more time to think, or even by turning it off altogether. The robo-general occasionally does some things that are questionable, but not outrageous. In one game, a computer George McClellan marched straight to Richmond, past the entire Army of Northern Virginia, leaving the might of the South in his rear. The real McClellan would have never gotten to Richmond with a large enemy force on an open flank, but Grant might have, so the AI was not completely out of character.

While the AI is decent, it certainly is no substitute for a human opponent. The game supports PBEM, but the player won’t find this option on the menu. There is no, send file to your opponent button. PBEM is done through a clumsy procedure that feels more like a work-around than a function in a commercial game. Players uncomfortable with fiddling around behind the menus may abstain from this feature.

Except for some of the issues noted above, there is remarkably little that is wrong in ACW. But the one thing that will irritate players the most is that turns take close to seven minutes to process on a mid-range machine; that’s a lot of coffee breaks.

Still, in the final measure, AGEOD has given strategy gamers a great way to experience the grand sweep of the American Civil War. The game is deep and complex in a very good way. Casual players should stay away. But veteran strategy gamers and those with interest in the period are encouraged not to miss AGEOD’s American Civil War.

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