Features:

  • Experience the intensity of the first battle of the American Civil War
  • Deploy troops at Bull Run with 14 different battle scenarios
  • 3 modes of game play include open play, bull run, and custom battles
  • Control generals, infantry, cavalry, supply wagons, and weapons
  • 4 accurately depicted battlefield maps
Fantastic Civil War Combat Simulator

This is not simply a game. It is a simulator for Civil War Combat (the whole 19th century with mods). I have never seen command and contol issues implemented so well. When you play, you can place yourself anywhere in the chain of command from brigade commander all the way up to army commander. The units in your army not under your command are controled my the computer AI, and each unit commander is has his own personality that affects the way he behaves. These behaviors range from the cautious plodding of McDowell, to the daring boldness of JEB Stuart. This game is not for those who want to be in complete control of everything that happens. Sometimes things get completely out of control, and that is when the fun really begins. There is nothing like watching, and pulling your hair out, as one of your flanks is getting savaged, and some dolt of a brigade commander will not advance to support you. On the other hand, you will want to cheer when unexpected help arrives, and through brilliant manouvers and troop handling, the enemy is routed. The graphics, while not exactly Half-Life 2 quality, are quite good. It is really cool to pull back to a wide angle and get a panoramic view of the battlefield. It is then that you understand what Lee felt when he said, "It is good that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it". All the other details that you would expect from a battle simulator are included, such as unit morale, quality, fitness, weapon types, etc. Terrain and positioning also play a vital role in dertiming the outcome of a battle. Watch your flanks!

I'm There!

This game is cool! Battle scenes make a clear picture of what Bull Run was.

Five Stars

absolutly stunning masterpiece of a strategy game !

Just a little bit of info

The developer's website for this game is [...] if you have questions or comments, please try their forums.

WINNER

IT IS WORTH EVREY DOLLAR I GOT IT TODAY I CAN NOT STOP PLAYING IT

American Conquest Divided Nation

This game is just like its' predecessors. It is a very good game,especially the civil war part of the instant action mode. It is very authentic,has excellent graphics, and is very realistic. CDV has put out another excellent game. This game come with everything that involves the Civil War, including the correct types of ships, the gatling gun, cannons, and the whole works. I have played the History channel Civil War Game, and believe me , it is similar to American Conquest Divided Nation, but American Conquest Divided Nation is much much better. I see that this game isn't out yet, but I ordered my copy from the CDV headquarters off the web site from Germany. This game called American Conquest Divided Nation has got a superb Civil War Game on it, (Union vs. Confederate). When you get this game you will find out what I mean

Best Civil War Computer Game Ever

I strongly encourage any strategy gamer or wargamer to pick this game up. I enjoyed Sid Meier's Gettysburg and think Sid is an absolute genius. But I honestly like this game more. (And besides SMG won't run on my XP system) Some reasons: 1. It is not a clickfest. Unlike SMG and most RTS games, the pace here is closer to reality. It exists in a space between real time and turn based strategy games. You have the time to create a strategy and make plans (rather than just click things madly) but you don't have unlimited time, and you can find yourself surprised and forced to make quick decisions. 2. Is is immersive. The graphics are better than any real wargame I know--better even than Combat Mission. You really feel like you're there as you see the troops marching into place, see the puffs of smoke as they open fire, and off in the distance--whose troops are those? Reinforcements or a flanking movement. In this game you really feel like YOU ARE THERE. 3. It is accessible. The tutorial is excellent and gives you all the info you need to play. Best of all, it is in-game, just like SMG, not like the printed tutorials common in computer wargames. Also, the interface is reminiscent of SMG, so your learning curve will not be that steep. 4. It is historically accurate. 5. It is scalable. You don't have to play at an insane difficulty level just because the designers want you to. Play at the level that provides the right balance of challenge and accomplishment. 6. It is fun. Unlike some historical games, it doesn't feel like a history lesson, or like the deck is stacked to force you to just recreate the actions of history. You have choices and it is exciting and challenging. 7. You won't regret it. I haven't been this fired up about a game since...well I better not say. I play non-wargames and I don't want to hurt my credibility by naming an uncool genre. Buy this game. I've been gaming since 1970 or so, and this is up at the top of my list of great games

The Civil War Genre....

This game got 5 stars because it is good but also because there are no other current... current .. civil war games out there that are any good... Maybe Gettysburg - American Civil War by Talonsoft .. but Gettysburg has little depth and is arcade style whereas The Battle for Bull Run is so much better.. Supposedly Sierra is coming out with Civil War Generals 3 .. which may be even better but its not out yet this review was submitted on 09/05. Anyway, The Battle for Bull Run (TBFBR) .. is easy to play tutorials get you going right away and there is strategy to it .. units fatigue and act realistic and you can take total control over them to where they will get shot at and wont react but continue to the objective. DEFINITELLY .. get the patch because I could not play it without it kept crashing or locking up... had to put it down until the patch came out.. Also in the patch readme it tells how you can edit the ini file to see 1024 x 768.. The only problem with game is there is no manual . printed but there is one you can access and print out in html format which is helpful.. The only other problem is the tutorial gives you messages about keyboard controls and stuff and these messages are not listed in manual so I had to use my screen shot program to take screen shots to save this vital info then I printed it out ... The lack of easily usable documentation is what is poor. But it is there just a hassle to get. But the price is decent very good comparing to what you get with the depth of strategy and playablility... and because no manual it should not be more than $20.00 Ok new update now its 2013 I have been playing Gettysburg Scourge of WAR this is the one to get now everything is so much better now worth the money. This one is to out of date bullrun is. Go to matrix games or google it. (Gettysburg Scourge of War)

Full Reviews