Quick answer
Choose Bougainville – The Forgotten Campaign for tactical Pacific jungle fighting, or Lee At Gettysburg for a command-level Civil War clash. Your preferred theater and scale decide.
Theater and historical context
Bougainville – The Forgotten Campaign drops you into the Pacific theater, where the US aimed to cut off Rabaul by building an airfield on an island the Japanese garrison refused to abandon. Lee At Gettysburg recreates the First Day at Gettysburg, a meeting engagement no one planned, where two armies collided at a crossroads.
If you’re drawn to dense jungle and amphibious operations, Bougainville offers a less familiar campaign. If the American Civil War and the battle that defined it interest you, Lee At Gettysburg provides a focused command experience.
Scale and unit types
Bougainville operates at platoon and company level, with infantry, machine gun teams, mortars, artillery, and armored vehicles. Lee At Gettysburg puts you in command of Confederate columns approaching from the north and west, with a thinner unit representation suited to the larger operational picture.
The Bougainville game emphasizes combined-arms tactics in close terrain, while Lee At Gettysburg focuses on maneuver and positioning of larger formations. Your preference for granular tactics versus operational command will guide your choice.
Trade-offs at a glance
- Theater preference: Pacific jungle vs American Civil War. Bougainville offers a lesser-known campaign; Lee At Gettysburg covers a pivotal, famous battle.
- Command scale: Bougainville uses platoon/company level with diverse unit types. Lee At Gettysburg gives a higher-level command of converging columns. If you enjoy detailed tactical decisions, Bougainville fits. If you prefer operational movement, lean toward Lee At Gettysburg.
- Scenario structure: Bougainville has a clear objective: hold or push back the beachhead. Lee At Gettysburg is a meeting engagement with no fixed plan. Choose Bougainville for a defined goal, or Lee At Gettysburg for a more open-ended historical situation.
Product facts
-
Bougainville - The Forgotten Campaign: Bougainville was never meant to be conquered. It was meant to be a place to put an airfield so that Rabaul could be cut off and left to rot. Nobody told the Japanese garrison that. The scenario forces you to hold a beachhead or push the enemy back into the sea, creating tense, close-quarters Pacific fighting.
Bougainville - The Forgotten Campaign
-
Lee At Gettysburg: Nobody planned to fight at Gettysburg. Two armies felt their way across southern Pennsylvania and slammed into each other at a crossroads town. You start the battle before the famous landmarks become iconic, giving you a fluid, unscripted command challenge on July 1, 1863.
Lee At Gettysburg
Which one fits you?
Best for
- Players who want a detailed Pacific theater tactical game with combined arms
- Wargamers interested in the First Day at Gettysburg as a command-level challenge
Not for
- Players seeking a grand strategic overview of the entire Gettysburg campaign
- Those who prefer a single decisive battle rather than a campaign-style beachhead fight
