In the niche within a niche that is operational games on the American Civil War the Great Campaigns of the American Civil War (GCACW) series looms above all others. Despite arguably draining much of the oxygen from the field it does not hold a monopoly on the topic. John Prados, the designer of Rise and Decline of the Third Reich among other legendary titles, threw his hat into the ring before GCACW had even fully materialized. The Campaigns of Robert E. Lee was published in 1988 by Clash of Arms games, the same year as Joe Balkoski’s Lee vs Grant – generally considered the predecessor to GCACW – was published by Victory Games. While Stonewalll Jackson’s Way, also by Balkoski, was published in 1992 by Avalon Hill, ushering in the GCACW, it would not be until 1996 that Prados provided his own sequel: Army of the Heartland, also published by Clash of Arms. Comparing Prados’ games to GCACW is instinctive: both are operational games on the ACW by legendary designers with established pedigrees that were released at approximately the same time. They also share certain design ideas, most notably random movement and the unpredictability of whether an attack will even happen let alone go well, but at their core they are very different designs. Rather than a cousin for GCACW, I see similarities between Prados’ series and another legendary series that first appeared in 1992: Dean Essig’s Operational Combat Series (OCS).
