by Michael Eckenfels, 28 October 2024
For The People is a strategic board game that immerses players in the complexities of the American Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865. Designed by Mark Herman and published by GMT Games, the original version of this game was initially published way back in 1998, but has since undergone updates and revisions, with the latest version incorporating significant enhancements that refine and elevate the gameplay experience. This review focuses on the updated version, highlighting its reported improvements and also focuses upon the integration of the CDG Solo System, which has given the game more focus for solo players.
Game Overview
For The People is part of the card-driven game (CDG) system that lovers of GMT games will know oh so well, which utilizes a deck of Strategy Cards to drive the action. Each card can be used for multiple purposes, including moving armies, initiating battles, and triggering historical events. This mechanic adds a layer of strategic depth, as players must carefully decide how to use their limited resources.
The game board represents the United States during the Civil War, divided into regions and key cities/locations. Players maneuver their armies across the map, attempting to control critical locations outmaneuver their opponent, and win battles.
Components and Production Quality
This updated version of For The People features high-quality components, including a game board with an upgraded design that looks fantastic (as well as the original map on its flip side), sturdy playing cards, and detailed counters. The rulebook, I read, has been revised for clarity from the previous version, and while I’ve not played the original, anything like this should make it easier for a new player to learn the game. Additionally, the updated version includes several new scenarios and optional rules, providing even more replayability.
At the heart of this newly-produced version lies the full-color mounted map that measures 22 x 34 inches; indeed, this hefty thing is most of the box’s weight. This map is divided into regions, states, and key locations, putting you squarely into the perspective of leadership of both sides during the American Civil War. As mentioned, it has two sides – one has the original artwork from the original 1998 version, while the other sports the newer design. As I step up to this game at this point and have not played the original, I find both of them appealing, though I like the newer design better. It’s easy for me to recognize immediately which is the old design though, just from 40-some years of wargaming under my belt, and if you’re the same it’ll be easily recognizable as well. Not that this is a bad thing and it certainly will be great for any nostalgia lover.
click images to enlarge
The map is divided into distinct regions and key cities, each clearly marked and color-coded. This helps players quickly identify important locations, though it might take some getting used to for new players as there are a lot of locations. I doubt this will matter to most wargamers, but locating certain cities or towns might prove challenging to an extent. Setting up for me took a bit longer the first time, though the game does helpfully point out which state the location is in; as long as you know where states are, you shouldn’t have much of an issue there. The attention to detail on the map with regards to other features such as terrain, helps enhance the thematic immersion, making one feel like they are commanding real historical campaigns. Said terrain, such as rivers and mountains, do impact movement and combat as well.
This updated version features 420 full-color, die-cut counters. These counters represent various military units, leaders, and other game elements to track information. These newer counters are made from thicker and more durable cardboard and have improved artwork and iconography both. Colors look richer, too; overall, I believe they’re a good enhancement to the original game system. This also helps with organizing your counters to more quickly locate what you need.
I have clipped my counters, as you will see in these images, so if that is blasphemy to you, I beg your forgiveness.
There are also 130 game cards included, called Strategy Cards. These cards sport both an Ops (or, Operations) value of 1, 2, or 3, and a historical Event. Usually, if a card is played as an Event, it is discarded for the rest of the game, whereas if it is played for its Ops points, it can be later reshuffled back in. The Ops points are like currency in that they are ‘spent’ on prosecuting battles and campaigns or other in-game effects; usually, the higher value Ops cards can be used to do greater things, such as move larger formations. And furthermore, regarding Event cards, playing certain Events can potentially trigger other Events later in the game, which is a nice mechanic that makes the system feel like it is living its own life, of sorts.
And, the rule book. As per usual GMT standards, it’s a great, yet thick, thing to get through. At 48 pages, it’s quite hefty, but six of those pages are a very helpful Index, Designer’s Notes, Scenario set-ups, and the like, and also include Optional Rules.
Gameplay Mechanics
As you can probably guess, For The People pits two players against each other – one playing the Union, or the North, looking to defeat the Confederacy, or the South, and bring them back into the Union. The Confederacy, of course, is slightly opposed to that as it wants to win its independence from said Union. Victory for either is brought about by reducing the Strategic Will of their opponent to a point where the Scenario specifies victory is achieved; this number value for Strategic Will can change depending on that Scenario. Strategic Will is impacted by winning large battles, taking over States, playing certain Event cards, and destroying Resource Centers. The Strategic Will of both sides will fluctuate a good deal during any game.
The Sequence of Play is pretty straightforward – you add any reinforcements, then play cards in Strategy Rounds. After, you calculate Political Control, process Attrition, and end the Turn. The real heart of the game is in the Strategy Rounds, where each side must balance military and political efforts, as both are crucial to achieving victory.
These Rounds are driven by card play; the Strategy Cards are dealt to each side each Turn, and the number depends on the game turn. These Cards give each side their political and operational flexibility and are rated, as mentioned above, with both an Event and an Operations numeric value from 1 to 3. These are referred to as Event Cards, if played as an Event, or an Operations Card, if played for its Operations value. An obvious, yet important, distinction to make. Events can be tied to one side or another, or be for both.
A side cannot play an Event card that is tied to the other side, so for example, a Union player cannot play a Strategy Card for its Event if the Event is Confederate. And, vice-versa, of course. Such cards can only be played for its Operational value.
However, some Cards have Events that can be played by either side, and ones specifically for their own side, as well. The card-driven mechanic is very flexible and should be familiar to any fan of GMT’s CDG (Card Driven Games) productions. To me, this kind of system is great and ensures that no two games are alike, as the order in which cards are drawn and played can significantly impact the flow of the game. Yet, they still reflect the historic events that occurred, and said events can occur much differently than in history.
Another important thing to mention about some Strategy Cards, is that they can be played to interrupt another player’s card play. This can help nip an important Event in the bud, or otherwise hamstring the other player, and can be quite brutal if timed correctly.
Card play is governed in the Strategy Rounds I mentioned earlier. The Confederate side can go first if they have a Major or Minor Campaign Strategy Card that they wish to play, but must use that card as an Event. Otherwise, the Confederate side can just tell the Union player to go first. Each side then plays a Card for its Event, or ‘spends’ the Operational Value to perform Actions on the board. The Events are pretty self-explanatory; the Cards themselves give a good amount of detail. And, some Events are one-time deals; if they are played for said Event, the Card is usually discarded out of the game. For example, you can only have one Emancipation Proclamation (for the Union), or one Foreign Intervention (for the Confederacy), per game.
If a card is played for Operations, the player has a variety of options.
The main one may be seen as moving military units on the map and conducting battles, or moving Strength Points (representing troops, of course) across the map to concentrate them in certain locales. Actual movement of units requires Activation, which is a cost that is paid by the Operations value of a card.
There are several types of movement one has to wrap their head around – Army, Corps, Division, and Cavalry Brigades, each with their own rules, movement rates, and costs to activate. Some of these (such as the Army) cannot be Activated unless the General in command is Activated first, and the cost of that depends on the General’s rating. So, to move something as large as an Army, the player will need a higher-value Operations Card – either a 2 or 3 value – to do so.
Learning the differences between each of these formations and remembering how they are Activated and move is, honestly, one of the major challenges of learning this game. And when you play it solo, like I did, it’s more so of a challenge as you don’t have someone there to tell you that you did something wrong. I made more than my share of mistakes and constantly referred to the rules until it clicked with me; honestly, this only took a few rounds, but it does require some effort and is worth it once it’s absorbed.
When two sides’ forces meet in one location, a Battle occurs.
The outcome is calculated by each side’s Strength Points (or, SPs) that are brought to battle. First, the total number of SPs determines if it is a Small (less than 5 SPs), Medium (6 to 19 SPs), or Large (20 or more SPs) Battle. The distinction of a Large Battle impacts Strategic Will, in that the winner gets a bit of additional points (they gain 3 Strategic Will), while the loser is penalized more severely (they lose 5 Strategic Will). There’s also a chance a General can become a casualty, if the result is bad enough.
The winner of a Battle is determined by which side has fewer casualties on the CRT result – yes, the SPs are calculated, one d6 is rolled and modifiers determined, then the result is cross-referenced with the Battle’s size, to determine the losses suffered. The loser must also retreat from the space, giving the winner uncontested control.
There are also rules to govern amphibious and fort assaults, as well as blockades and blockade running. All of this adds quite a bit to the game, making it feel like a true, full strategic simulation of the American Civil War.
The Battles themselves are quite fast and sometimes feel anticlimactic; playing an Operations Card for its Ops points to move an Army, which determines its Movement, then challenging an enemy-occupied location and…well. It feels like there’s a lot of build-up to maneuvering around and then committing to battle. That’s not a complaint but rather, an observation.
You invest a lot of time in thinking and second-guessing yourself before committing to a battle, and once you do, the Dice Gods can say ‘womp womp’ and ruin all of that planning in one fell swoop of a die roll. Which, honestly, is called ‘par for the course’ in this hobby. On the flip side, this makes winning a battle ever more satisfying.
CDG Solo System Integration
Since I mentioned I played this exclusively solo, let me discuss how I did that. Usually, those of us that play solo or just want to get some learning time in before playing it against an actual opponent, will just do so multi-handed. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that; I actually played it that way and with the CDG Solo System, created by Stuka Joe and adopted officially by GMT. One can download Stuka Joe’s files to use, or if you prefer not to go the Print-n-Play route, you can purchase one of the two systems that are out there (as of this writing, anyway) for a reasonable price. The first one to come out actually lets you do this Solo System play with several GMT titles, not just For The People, giving it more value if you are a GMT fan.
At first, I thought the CDG Solo System automated an opponent for you, sort of like an AI for the game, letting you focus on your side. However, that is absolutely not the case. This system allows solo players to enjoy the game by streamlining the play experience, reducing decisions, overhead, and maintenance typically associated with two-handed solitaire gameplay. In other words, instead of playing two-handed and making the best choices you can for each side, the CDG Solo System limits the number of cards you can choose from during play, narrowing your focus and doing some of the heavy lifting to avoid analysis paralysis.
The heart of the CDG Solo System is two Card Displays, each with a card space labeled A through E, inclusive. Cards are essentially placed in these spots, though the cards that are actually playable at a point during a Turn are determined by rolling a six-sided Fate Die. This die has letter results printed on it, so the letters that come up on that die are the slots from which cards may be played.
The number of cards each side possesses using this system is marked with a Max Hand Size marker. There is also a Cards Remaining marker, which indicates (as the name implies) the number of cards remaining to be played for a side. As cards are played during a Turn, this marker is moved down the track; at the start of the next Turn, this marker is reset to where the Max Hand Size marker is located.
As I explained, this system narrows your choices for each side and impacts them separately; you do not get to choose one side to exclusively play. You’ll be using this system for both sides. So, you will still need to make the big decisions for each side – playing a card as an Event or Operations Point source, and where to move your military units and such – but the cards you have to choose from, which is the engine of the game and the heart of the CDG Solo System, is focused for you. Otherwise, your choices are only limited by the game’s rules, of course.
I did enjoy utilizing the CDG Solo System, once I really understood what it can and cannot do for the game. I want to use it for other GMT games before I can really say if it is preferred over multi-handed play. I did find multi-handed play to be an easier way to actually learn the game, so if you dive into these products, I’d recommend just playing For The People yourself multi-handed, before you try implementing the CDG Solo System. It does add new dimensions to the game itself and will give you a different way to play.
Historical Immersion
The game does an excellent job of capturing the complexities and nuances of the American Civil War. The inclusion of historical events, leaders, and battles adds depth and authenticity to the gameplay. For example, assigning Generals is something of a political maneuver as it was historically, and getting rid of incompetent yet politically connected Generals can be a pain – just like it was for the leaders historically.
I actually chose to ignore this part of the rules as I was learning as I didn’t want to mess with those nuances; they can be incredibly frustrating (if you remember an old SSI computer game called No Greater Glory, you’ll know the pain I speak of when it comes to dealing with that nonsense). Once you get used to the game, though, adding this rule (which is a rule, not an optional rule, just so I’m clear) does add depth to the decision-making process. And makes you want to hold your head in your hands in frustration like Picard does in some of those memes.
The game is a balancing act. You must balance your force concentrations, your goals, and your enemy’s successes and failures, with your strategic planning. ‘Planning’ is more vague when you’re soloing things but, those of you that have multi-handed wargames, you know what I’m referring to. It’s easy to have a split personality in that regard and put yourself in the role of each leader, like shifting gears. And solo play means you might not see mistakes you’ve made as one side, from the other side’s perspective; the CDG Solo System helps to focus this a bit and make your overall choices easier, given the situation.
Conclusion
For The People is a well-designed and enjoyable game that offers a deep and engaging simulation of the American Civil War. The updated version improves upon the original in several key areas, including component quality, rule clarity, and replayability. The integration of the CDG Solo System can be a literal game-changer for solo players, providing a different yet still challenging and immersive experience.
Whether you’re a history buff, a wargame enthusiast, or simply looking for a strategic challenge, For The People is a game that deserves a place in your collection. Its combination of historical accuracy, strategic depth, and high-quality production make it a standout title in the world of strategy gaming.
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