Board Games "1863" - Parker Brothers Civil War Game, 1961

I just gave away one of these. I never played it so it was in fairly good condition. I had it for years
You had the Avalon Hill "Gettysburg" game? That was my favorite when I a teenager. There was
one version with the little square unit markers, and one version with the more elongated unit markers.
Brings back memories! Thanks for posting!
 
You had the Avalon Hill "Gettysburg" game? That was my favorite when I a teenager. There was
one version with the little square unit markers, and one version with the more elongated unit markers.
Brings back memories! Thanks for posting!

I bought a copy for about $20 about 7-8 years ago for my daughter and me. It was as much fun to play quickly then as it was when I was a kid in the '80s.

Ryan
 
I was just thinking about the SPI monster project of the 70s: "Terrible Sift Sword: The 3 Days at Gettysburg." Ambitious attempt to allow the gamer to recreate the entire battle at the regimental scale. The map detail was incredible. We never played the entire battle, but it provided hours, no, days, of gaming. (And if you got lost on the battlefield, you could use the boards to find your way home!)

My dad bought a copy a couple of years ago when he retired in order to play it since he finally had time on his hands. He got it out once and when he started putting it together, he put it away and hasn't gone back, so far as I know. I pick on him about how much he spent on it while I spent $40 and bought the virtual version.

Ryan
 
My dad bought a copy a couple of years ago when he retired in order to play it since he finally had time on his hands. He got it out once and when he started putting it together, he put it away and hasn't gone back, so far as I know. I pick on him about how much he spent on it while I spent $40 and bought the virtual version.

Ryan
I had both SPI "Blue & Gray Quad" games, too. I played those games more because setup was quicker. I have always preferred miniature games to simulations or video games, but AH and SPI simulations were a lot easier to pack, set up and store when I was in college.
 
I had both SPI "Blue & Gray Quad" games, too. I played those games more because setup was quicker. I have always preferred miniature games to simulations or video games, but AH and SPI simulations were a lot easier to pack, set up and store when I was in college.

I think I still have those packed away in the basement but it's been years since I've gotten them out.

Ryan
 
I had this game as a kid. Thanks for bringing back some pleasant memories. While I cannot argue that it was basically a strategic game with a Civil War theme, I thought that the rapid movement by rail, blocking a rail line and the idea mountains stopping movement to be the sort of logistic concerns that existed during the Civil War. The rule that artillery cannot fight alone also taught me that in the actual war, an artillery battery would not be left without a supporting unit. I did like the game, but found that getting enough pieces together to execute any substantial combat was challenging, and of course largely depending on the roll of the dice. I also had a game called Dogfight with a WW I arial combat theme, but my favorite was Broadside, which was based on navel warfare during the War of 1812. What I liked about Broadside, was that the British had to attack and the Americans had to defend, so each had a somewhat different objective. In addition, I liked that it was not dependent on the roll of some dice. In hindsight, given the chance nature of weather on the movement of sailing ships, perhaps dice would have been more appropriate.
 
For Christmas 1961, I received this game and the Marx Toys Civil War soldier set...it was a very good year for this 10 year old. :bounce:
Hey redbob- Santa brought me the exact same gifts that year. I was just a few months short of my 10th birthday. That year my cub scout den required us to do a history scrap book. Well, I used the Life magazine series. The game, the Marx set and the scrap book started a love affair with Civil War History. There was also a Civil War Card series put out by Topps. Five cents. Came with five cards and a stick of gum. The complete set is now listed on ebay for $1200.
 
Hey redbob- Santa brought me the exact same gifts that year. I was just a few months short of my 10th birthday. That year my cub scout den required us to do a history scrap book. Well, I used the Life magazine series. The game, the Marx set and the scrap book started a love affair with Civil War History. There was also a Civil War Card series put out by Topps. Five cents. Came with five cards and a stick of gum. The complete set is now listed on ebay for $1200.
I must've eaten my weight in that stale bubble gun and was never able to get that one card that would have completed the set.
 
Hey redbob- Santa brought me the exact same gifts that year. I was just a few months short of my 10th birthday. That year my cub scout den required us to do a history scrap book. Well, I used the Life magazine series. The game, the Marx set and the scrap book started a love affair with Civil War History. There was also a Civil War Card series put out by Topps. Five cents. Came with five cards and a stick of gum. The complete set is now listed on ebay for $1200.
I must've eaten my weight in that stale bubble gun and was never able to get that one card that would have completed the set.
Enjoy:

 
On the subject of childhood gifts that opened the door to the Civil War, my first book on the subject was the "How and Why Wonder Book of the Civil War". There were a series of books on a wide variety of subjects like dinosaurs, electricity, the Civil War and I cannot remember what all else. The one I still have is the Civil War.

How & Why Wonder Book.jpeg
 
On the subject of childhood gifts that opened the door to the Civil War, my first book on the subject was the "How and Why Wonder Book of the Civil War". There were a series of books on a wide variety of subjects like dinosaurs, electricity, the Civil War and I cannot remember what all else. The one I still have is the Civil War.

View attachment 381706
Yup. I had that one and the one on the American Revolution. Lost to time now... but I still have a copy of "The Golden Book of the Civil War" (the "junior" American Heritage version).
 
I had the"Golden Book" and the AH grown up version. Never owned the How and Why book as a child but always had the library copy checked out! Corrected that for my kids though!
 
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