The Boardgamer’s Unofficial Guide To:

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The Boardgamer’s Unofficial Guide To 1776 2

This is the second of what is intended to be a series of Unofficial Gamer’s Guides to various games. I think a word of introduction is in order from Jim Lawler, the driving force behind this project. When I was approached by Bruce Monnin to help coordinate a special issue of 1776 similar to the superb one Bruce did on War At Sea, I was very interested. I figured having all the new information, rules and scenarios in one place with the older articles would be great and not too hard to do as I had virtually all the articles, I just had to find and organize them. I figured it would help the players who still loved the game and may be a valuable instrument to bring back old fans of the game or new players. What I was unprepared for is how widespread the players were who still loved the game. I talked to players from seven countries on five continents. I also ran into players who were willing to contribute new material to the magazine. Many people contributed house rules that I included in my Rules, Errata and Addendum article. You can never play all of them at one time, as some are contradictory, but all were well thought out and used to bring something new in the way of information or playing realism to this old but very flexible gaming system. I believe that the main reason this game remains a vibrant, interesting and reasonably frequently played game after all these years is that the original game was excellent and the system allows for upgrades. You will find six scenarios and a superior Southern campaign game that were not in the original game. Rules for the addition of Leaders, Partisans, Elite Units, New Naval Rules and other refinements. Players have the option for using any or all of these ideas. You

will find that there are many hours of enjoyment added to this game. As further proof that the game remains alive and well, Lou Manios is working on a Version 3.0 of the rules, a difficult and very large project that will benefit us all. Lou is combining the original rules with the official errata, and the unofficial rulings of Hank Burkhalter’s and Richard Wein’s websites as well as my Leader and Partisan rules. You can contact Lou at: MANIOS@mindspring.com. Gilbert Collins is working on an expansion map and the first 1812 scenario using the 1776 system. Fred Sassin is willing to try and make a 1758 scenario for the French and Indian War if someone can make the map sections that are needed. I am working on a 1776 scenario on Howe’s invasion of New York. The scenarios will probably be seen in the BOARDGAMER when they are ready. My special thanks goes out to Rod Coffey and Gil Collins for submitting new articles and allowing me to bounce ideas off them, to Fred Sassin and Bob Furney for redoing their two scenarios and to Bruce Monnin for coming up with the idea and publishing the issue. Some Internet sites I suggest you visit are John Kranz’s Consimworld at: www.consimworld.com; Hank Burkhalter’s Above The Fields, at: www.abovethefields.com and Richard Wein’s: http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~tich/ A list of other games you may be interested in is supplied by Gil Collins. Bruce is supplying the current AREA ratings from Glenn Petroski. It is a good idea for more players to play a few AREA rated games.

Introduction To The Unofficial Guide To

The BOARDGAMER’s Unofficial Guide To

1776

The BOARDGAMER’s series of unofficial guides is published by Bruce Monnin, publisher of The BOARDGAMER. The Unofficial Guide to 1776 is intended to be a compilation of quality articles on the strategy, tactics, and variants for the game.

1776 is a trademark name of The Avalon Hill Game Company (now owned by Hasbro), as is the GENERAL and Avaloncon. All pictures within are copyrighted material used with the permission of the Avalon Hill Game Company (now owned by Hasbro).

EDITOR: Bruce A. Monnin ADDRESS: 177 South Lincoln Street Minster, OH 45865-1240 E-MAIL: MONNINB@BRIGHT.NET PHONE: (419) 628-3332

Copyright 2000

While working on this project I have run across two people working on something I have wanted to do for years but lack the computer skills. Both Gil Collins and Lou Manios are working on a map expansion to the original 1776 board. We are also offering four updated scenarios that were originally printed in the GENERAL. Bob Furney has completely redone the Tory and Indian War scenario. It is definitely more balanced and enjoyable than the original. I have also redone Lincoln’s Southern, taking advantage of this opportunity to correct a large set up mistake and to adjust it to give more options to the players. Fred Sassin has brought his excellent Montcalm and Wolfe up to date. Gil Collins has also redone the original Invasion of Canada to make it more historical. The Leader article also had to be redone, but the benefit is all the leader rules are finally in one place.

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The Boardgamer’s Unofficial Guide To 1776 3

Inside The BOARDGAMER’s Unofficial Guide To 1776

The American Revolution 4 And The Boardgaming Hobby by Rod Coffey

Command Pressures Revisited 12 Leader For 1776 by Jim Lawler

Partisan Leaders 17 For 1776 by Jim Lawler

1776 Elite Units, Artillery and Naval Rules 18 and General Rule Observations by Jim Lawler

Wilmington 24 The Forgotten City In 1776 by Jim Lawler

1776 Clarifications 25 and PBeM Play Conventions by Hank Burkhalter (modified by Richard Wein)

Trouble Areas 31 Realistic Supply Movement In 1776 by Gilbert Collins

The 1776 Thesis 34 Strategy In 1776 by Jonathan Lockwood

A New 1776 Thesis 42 The 1776 Thesis Analyzed by Michael Anchors

Contrasting Games On The Revolution 45 American Revolution, 13: The Colonies In Revolt, and 1776 by Gilbert Collins

The Invasion Of Canada Scenario Revisited 48 Modifying 1776’s Scenario #1 by Gilbert Collins

The British Southern Campaign 50 A 1776 Short Campaign Game by Bruno Sinigaglio

Lincoln’s Southern Campaign – 1779 64 Revised by Jim Lawler

The British Dilemma – 1778 66 A 1776 Scenario by Jim Lawler

Montcalm And Wolfe 69 A 1776 Variant For The French & Indian War – 1759 by Fred Sassin

The Tory and Indian War – 1778 74 Revised by Robert Furney

1776 Revisited 76 A 1776 Scenario At Avaloncon by Steve Packwood

The British Receding 77 A New 1776 Scenario In The South – 1781 by Jim Lawler

The Carolinas – 1776 80 A New Short Scenario by Michael Anchors

The British Receding 82 A 1776 Series Replay by Jim Lawler and Rod Coffey

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