This game has a major problem which none of the other reviews are addressing and I feel it is of the upmost importance that you are aware of this before you purchase any Ironclad title:
This is NOT a conventional video game, it's closer to a digital table top game. I would argue it is a digital Board game. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
From the bare bones combat controles to the lack of user interface, the games reliance on RN-Jesus and the lack of general audio visual feedback Ironclad Civil war can be a daunting challenge and I almost refunded the title.
However there is easily available PDF instructional manual you can download. I not only did this but I have the damn thing printed and sat on my desk at the time of writing this. Once you read the manual the game is not only playable but there is a surprising amount of depth to be found. Just be aware that there are no in game tutorials to help you.
As for the gameplay, its split into two components:
A very basic turned based economic and strategic system where you can move Naval and Ground assets between ports via shipping lanes providing that the pre-determined shipping lanes have not been blockaded by your opponent. This aspect of the experience is based around the correct use of blockades, economic management (You gain a set amount of resources per term depending on how many ports you own and your ability to intercept, capture or evade blockade runners.) and time management.
Each turn is a month of in game time and the construction of new ships or the training of soldiers is realistic. You want a new Ironclad? Wait 8-12 Months, also note that if your port is captured the construction project goes poof. All the money you sank into the endeavour is forfeit and you can very easily destroy your entire in game economy and make the game unwinnable in a single turn.
The second half is the real time naval combat. This takes on average an hour of real time to complete (seriously) and will often end in stalemates unless you have numerical superiority or you micro manage your flotilla.
The combat is in real time but everything is controlled via the mouse- you click on onscreen buttons which can control either your entire flotilla or individual ship. You can have up to 8 ships per flotilla with no limitations of fleet composition. I ran a 3 Ironclad strong Confederate flotilla against a Union blockade of 4 Steamers and 2 Monitor Ironclads and I came out victorious, sinking two ships and crippling an opposing ironclad- Then the game crashed but more on that later.
Due to the fact you control the game with the mouse attempting to play the combat in real time (Or god help you, on a faster speed) is impossible. You will need to slow the game down, you will need to pause, set commands per ship and then hit play. The combat may be real time but due to the lack of intuitive controls you need to play this as a turned based system.
That being said, if you are willing to micro a single ship then I cannot even begin to describe how satisfying it is to spend 5 minutes carefully orchestrating course corrections to successfully conduct a ram. Or how insane it can be to successfully ram an opponent’s ship from both the Port and Starboard at the same time.
Ships health pools are broken down into sections. Port, Starboard, Bow and aft. The more one side if damaged the more of your overall health is lost so manoeuvring to ensure your strongest armour is always facing the enemy is important. Guns can be controlled by manual fire, automatic fire (which can be pre-set to volley fire, broadside, individual opportunistic fire etc) or you can control each cannon individually. I don’t know how the latter is possible with the limited control scheme but the depths is there.
You also can auto-resolve the battles but the games hard-line approach to realism will ultimately decide on who the winner will be. Armour thickness, speed, rate of fire. The Random Number gods will play a part but if on paper your flotilla seems unable to defeat your opponent odds are you will either take considerable causalities or even lose your entire force.
The auto-resolve battles do not take into considerations advance tactics. It’s a rock paper scissors game.
If you have the time you should always take manual control of a battle. Just remember that it takes about an hour to complete the combat and there is a reason why my personal playtime is so low. I burnt out after my second battle which hit the hour 20 mark due to my abuse of the pause button, referring to the manual and time dilation.
Historical accuracy is the name of the game:
At its height the Confederate Navy only operated with 7 thousand active sailors, the game reflect this. You will be trapped in a defensive war with an overwhelming superior opponent. Your victory conditions is that you merely hold onto your ports. You can be aggressive and challenge the Union but the game does will not provide you with an easy route to this path. Welcome to hell.
The Union held control of all of America’s Naval forces after the Souths succession and once war was declared they used their Naval superiority to blockade supply lines and eventually bombard costal targets and invade ports. You will start out with 3x the ships as the Confederacy, you will construct ships faster and your objective of taking the CSA’s ports is easily accomplishable even in the early game. The Union is Easy mode.
Final notes:
The game is bugged to ♥♥♥♥.
I don’t even think it runs on an engine, rather it’s a executable file infused with Russian Black magic and Vodka.
If you tab out of the game. It will crash, If you click outside of the game (Dual monitors) it will crash. If you minimise the game during the combat portion there is a very high chance it will crash.
The turn based management and the real time combat are two different instances. The game has to close one to open the other and even after I had successfully completed a daring assault on the Union Blocade and freed a shipping lane for my Blocade runners… The game closed down the Real time instant and failed to re-open the turned based. Because I minimised the game, meaning I could not save. Nor would the autosave initiate as it is bound to the turned based instance only.
This game will crash if you do ANYTHING to anger it. But at the same time it’s completely stable if you just play it and attempt nothing else. She’s a cruel mistress.
Would I recommend the game?
I’m a civil war buff with a particular fascination with the Naval conflicts. I’m planning to visit both the USS Cairo & the replica CSS Neuse II one day despite being a Europoor.
This game can be a fascinating eye opener to the struggles faced by both sides, the South’s underdog, relentless resistance to the North aggression and the North’s unexpected struggles against the numerically inferior yet unpredictably resilient foe.
Just note that I used the term ‘can be’
If I didn’t hold such an interest there would be no chance in hell could I recommend this title. The lack of user interface, competent controls, the crashing and lack of tutorials make this a very hard sell.
But if you take the time to read the manual there is a very good game hidden beneath the surface. The combat is challenging and yet you can overcome overwhelming odds through strategy if you take the time to learn just how to control the units.
It’s a very good digital boardgame and due to its unique setting I can’t help but endorse it.
This is the only Historically accurate Naval focused American Civil War game out there, and that makes it the best one by default. Just be aware of what you are buying and adjust your expectations accordingly.
