Gaines Mill is the 11th Game in The Gamers (now MMP’s) Civil War Brigade Series of games. The game covers the initial battles of the Seven Day’s campaign outside Richmond, specifically Mechanicsburg and Gaines Mill. It’s the “beginning� game of a trilogy of 3 games covering the battles outside Richmond in June, 1862.

This review will cover just the Gaines Mill game. My Malvern Hill review (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/128344) reviews the entire 3 games together.

The game comes with three unmounted mapsheets covering the north playing area, from outside the Richmond defenses over to Cold Harbor. The maps are attractive and clean, though the terrain (or lack thereof) on the northern parts of the map can make them look Spartan. (That’s history for you.) The counters are bright and good looking, with Confederate divisions and corps being differentiated by color.

The Confederate army is at the peak of its powers. With most of its units with a “B� morale or better, many generals with “3� rank or above, its combat power is awesome. The Confederates, outside of Jackson’s “Valley Army,� start without any corps/wing organization. A “Left Wing� can be created if necessary.

The Union army is a solid organization. Porter’s Fifth corps, the organization that will do the most fighting in the game, is well commanded in general, and the Second and Sixth corps (bits and pieces of which fought historically) will give the Confederates a good fight.

However, McClellan is another matter. In the normal game he's off the board entirely, sending "AW" orders from his HQ. Even so, his special rules make taking the offensive very difficult: -2 to corps stoppage checks on the attack and anti-initiative of -2 for any initiative-based offensive orders. In short, doing much with the Union army outside of maneuvering to counter Confederates attacks will be difficult using the existing rules.

The scenarios deal with the two battles in detail and also provide two “campaign scenarios� that all the players to refight the two days of battle together. The Confederate player must manage his unwieldy command structure and get all his units on the offensive at the same time. The Union player has excellent ground, but is slightly outnumbered (if all the Confederates attack at once) and has no good higher command to rely upon.

Some variants allow for more of the Union army to get involved, unlike it was historically. Once these numbers are added, things look a good deal more even and the Union player can breathe a little easier.

This adds up to an excellent historical recreation but a slightly boring situation. The Confederates have a lot to work with: maneuver space, good generals and excellent troops. The Union have good ground around Gaines Mill (the “fort,� if you were) and good troops as well, but don’t really have the option thanks to “Little Mac� of any kind of real offensive. Using the historical troop dispositions and strengths, the Union player is in for a hectic defensive fight.

For someone who enjoys playing “what if,� the extra forces available to the Union player can help to even the odds a bit, but the player is still stuck with McClellan and his restrictions, which make an offensive even more difficult than usual with a 0 ranked leader in the CWBS.

If you’re looking to play all 3 7 Day’s games together or are very interested in Gaines Mill in particular, this is a good game for you. Players looking for a stand alone game may want to look at Seven Pines/Savage’s Station for a better game in the trilogy.