Civil War Stratego

They really missed the mark with the Civil War edition of Stratego. That's a pity because it looked like it had great potential, but it almost seems like they stopped putting much effort into it half-way through the design process.First of all the box shows an older, gray and bloated version of Ulysses S. Grant on the cover from a photograph taken when he was president. He was a trim young man in his forties with dark hair during the Civil War. Maybe that's a quibble, but it hints at the lackluster research that went into the game itself.As with the previous reviewer, I think the wooden playing pieces were a huge mistake. Unlike the plastic pieces of other Stratego games, these pieces have a tendency to fall over when even slightly bumped. I can understand their wanting to make them wooden to look more "rustic," but it has seriously hampered the playabilty of the game.I will give them credit for making the soldier images on the peices look different for both sides and making them of various different types of soldiers such as infantry, sharpshooters, zouaves, etc. And making the bomb in the orignal game into a siege mortar was a stroke of genius. That's an historical touch that was really nice. The images on all the pieces are so-so. Some of them were obviously made to resemble real people like Lee, Jackson, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, etc... even the spys look like they were based on a couple of the real women spies of the period. Again, a nice touch... but, unfortunately the nice little touches seem to stop there.The biggest dissapointment is the gameboard. It looks like what it is; an lackluster computer-generated overhead view of a weedy field with a stone bridge crossing a stream (a lame rendition of Burnside's Bridge at Antietam). The dark green battlefield of grass, trees and lakes that made the original Stratego gameboard look so lush and attractive is missing. Plus they added a cannon graphic on one side of the bridge... a cannon that the Union player will always have to view upside down.Although I love Civil War history, when it comes to Stratego I think I'll stick to the classic version.

A wonderful game. After the initial run through this game is fun and easy to play

I admit that I'm a diehard Civil War fan and collector. Adding Civil War Stratego to my collecion was a no-brainer. My wife saw the box and said "Let's open it up and play!" The look of shock on my face gave away the simple fact that this was purchased as a collector's item. Her response was, "Oh God, yet another piece for the collection!" Life is good.

Good take on a classic game. Nice pieces. Board could lay flatter but just be careful not to bump it.

The game is great but the game board and wooden pieces leave much to be desired. The pieces are very unstable and the board does not lie flat giving the players an up hill battle to keep their soldiers hidden.

I was happy with this order and received on time.

Kids love it and it helps teach them a little about strategic thinking as well as a little about history

How soon until Amazon removes this version, prominently displaying the Confederate battle flag, from sale?