Stones River Modified Tessier System Game

    In 2002 the ACWGC saw a new type of multiplayer game. Using a system developed by Jean Tessier of the NWC Jess Norris started a multiplayer game of Gettysburg where he would do all the actual game mechanics based on orders issued to him via email by the various players representing division/corps/army commanders. The game started out using the Norris/Frost version of Battleground but was eventually converted to the Corinth engine. Unfortunately that game ended early on the first day when Jess had a computer crash and lost all his files.

    However by that time a second game was in the works. While adding some leaders pictures for Robert Frost's Stone's River Corinth conversion to the Corinth modified leaders file I was keeping I thought it would make a good game to do using the Tessier system. Using the BGC 02 "Cat and Mouse" scenario as a base I developed a modified scenario with all CSA units released on turn 2 and additional units possible for both sides making it a fairly even fight.

    After finding players for the 9 CSA and 12 USA officers needed to start the game we kicked it off in May 2003. The basic rules were made available to all players, along with the oob and map files as well as the first turn of the game. As in real life neither side had exact knowledge of the others oob. Although they could look at the oob file if they wished they did not have the scenario file and didn't know when or if their opponents units would arrive. Actually they weren't even sure of the arrival of their own units since all they could see was the arrival time with no indication of what percentage chance there was of the unit arriving. Then a two week command conference was held by email for both sides to make their plans and the game began.

    My thanks to Jean Tessier who apparently developed this idea and Jess Norris who gave me several suggestions for running the game.

     You'll find links to the left describing how to write orders, the tables used for order handling, the actual game mechanics used by the moderator and a page showing a narrative of the battle so far with screen shots of the action.

     We managed to play two full days of the battle 87 game turns in a little over 18 months and in my opinion both sides were pretty well worn out. The rebs had a major victory having trapped and destroyed one yankee division against the river on their right then nearly doing it to two more on the left. Although the yankees still have an edge in infantry, they have lost over 80 guns. With the rebs on the far side of Stone's River and the game only allowing you to attack across a bridge with one unit I find it highly unlikely they will be able to recover and called the game. I plan to tweak the system and hope to do another game sometime in 2005.