(Crowdfund Quest) Lee's War: The War in Virginia 1861 - 1865

Worthington Publishing have firmly established themselves in the world of board wargames since they first started publishing back in 2004. With a back catalogue of some great titles, such as the Band of Brothers and Gettysburg series, they have over 100 titles past and present.

Their latest title, Lee’s War: The War in Virginia 1861-1865, which returns to the American Civil War with 16 scenarios covering campaigns from First Manassas through to Petersburg.

Lee’s War is a strategic-level game covering the American Civil War in Virginia from 1861 to 1865. Players command the Union and Confederate forces, maneuver armies across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; engage the enemy in battle, and fight for control of key cities and rail lines.

The two national capitals stood less than 100 miles apart, making Virginia the war’s most politically and strategically important battleground. Its varied geography created several distinct theaters of operation. Armies fought through the mountains and valleys of the Shenandoah, across the rolling and wooded terrain of Northern Virginia, and throughout the Tidewater region in the east.

As President Lincoln and President Davis discovered, having troops in the field was not enough. Victory depended on the commanders entrusted with leading them.

Leaders Shape the Campaign

Leadership is at the heart of Lee’s War. The game includes more than 25 Union leaders and more than 15 Confederate leaders, representing commanders at the division, corps, and army levels.  

Each leader is rated for initiative, command ability, and combat leadership. These ratings affect how effectively your forces maneuver and fight. Players must contend with the same differences in ability, temperament, influence, and ambition that challenged both governments during the war.

Can you succeed with the commanders available to you? Can you avoid their historical mistakes, exploit their strengths, and achieve a better result than Lincoln or Davis?

Fight for Military and Strategic Victory

The destruction of the opposing forces is the primary objective in Lee’s War. Control of important cities and rail lines also contributes to victory.

Although the game does not directly simulate national politics, the political consequences of the war are incorporated into its victory conditions. The longer the Confederacy prolongs the conflict, and the more casualties it inflicts on the Union, the greater the possibility that Lincoln will lose the 1864 presidential election. A peace candidate, most likely George B. McClellan, might then bring the war to an end and leave the Confederacy independent.

This gives the two sides different strategic pressures. The Union must defeat Confederate forces and secure key objectives before Northern support for the war collapses. The Confederacy must preserve its armies, inflict losses, defend vital territory, and keep the struggle alive.

The game shows the war at the big picture level, while battles are the ultimate door to victory - it is the maneuver that are the keys to the unlock the door.  Each strength point equals roughly a brigade of 2,500 infantry and artillery.  Each hex is 5 miles from side to side. Each turn equals roughly a week.

There are rules for army and cavalry reaction, rail movement, Union naval movement, the destruction of rail and supply depots, leader casualties, entrenchments, weather, and we've kept it to 12 pages. (So far!)

A Strategic Contest Across Virginia

The different theaters of the Civil War did not operate in isolation. Events in the East affected events in the West, just as developments elsewhere influenced the war in Virginia. Within Virginia itself, geography divided the fighting into several interconnected areas, often requiring each side to maintain multiple armies or smaller independent forces.

Players must decide where to concentrate their strength, which objectives they can afford to defend, and when to risk a major battle. Rail lines and key cities provide strategic objectives, while the presence and quality of available leaders shape the movement and combat effectiveness of each army.

Every campaign presents the central challenge faced by the historical commanders: how to use imperfect leaders and limited forces across a large and varied theater while keeping the enemy from doing the same.

Sixteen Scenarios

Lee’s War includes 16 scenarios covering campaigns from First Manassas through Petersburg. Short scenarios allow players to concentrate on a single campaign, while longer scenarios connect several campaigns and provide a more extended strategic experience.

• First Manassas: 4-turn historical scenario or optional 8-turn extended scenario (July 1 to August 31, 1861)

• The Peninsula Campaign: 10 turns (April 1 to June 15, 1862)

• The Peninsula Campaign Plus the Seven Days: 16 turns (April 1 to July 31, 1862)

• Second Manassas: 7 turns (July 14 to August 31, 1862)

• The Antietam Campaign: 4 turns (September 1 to September 30, 1862)

• Second Manassas Through Antietam: 11 turns (July 14 to September 30, 1862)

• The Fredericksburg Campaign: 6 turns (November 15 to December 31, 1862)

• The 1862 Campaigns: 30 turns (April 1 to December 31, 1862)

• The Chancellorsville Campaign: 5 turns (April 15 to June 1, 1863)

• The Gettysburg Campaign: 8 turns (June 1 to August 1, 1863)

• The Mine Run Campaign: 6 turns (November 15 to December 31, 1863)

• The 1863 Campaigns: 36 turns (April 15 to December 31, 1863)

• Wilderness to Cold Harbor: 8 turns (May 1 to July 1, 1864)

• The Petersburg Campaign: 18 turns (June 15 to November 30, 1864)

• The 1864 Campaigns: 28 turns (May 1 to November 30, 1864)

• The 1865 Campaign: 4 or 6 turns (March 15 or April 1 to May 1, 1865)

With scenarios ranging from 4 to 36 turns, players can choose a focused campaign or a longer contest covering most of a campaigning year.

Designed for Two or More Players - but you can play solitaire...

Lee’s War is designed for two or more players. In games with more than two participants, players can share responsibility for commanding the opposing sides.

The game is also highly suitable for solitaire play, with one player controlling both sides. The uncertainty created by the Dice Differential rules and combat die rolls produces unexpected situations and difficult decisions, even when a single player directs both armies.

Lee's War: The War in Virginia 1861 - 1865 is currently funding on Kickstarter and is running until Saturday 15th August 2026.