Bloody April: The Battle of Shiloh, 1862

About this board game

Bloody April: The Battle of Shiloh, 1862 is a grand tactical, regimental-level simulation for 2–6 players, with an approximately 1,200-minute play time. It recreates the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee, fought on April 6–7, 1862.

The game uses the award-winning American Civil War battle system introduced in Terrible Swift Sword, with Bloody April serving as Richard Berg’s second game based on that system. Its design focuses on representing the battle at a detailed operational scale through regiment and battery counters placed across large, full-color maps.

• 1200 counters representing regiments and artillery batteries
• Two 22" x 34" full-color maps
• 115-yard hexagons for the battlefield scale
• 20-minute game turns

Infantry and cavalry counters use strength points, with each point representing 100 effective men. Artillery counters represent batteries, and each artillery strength point equals one gun. These scales provide a precise framework for examining the forces involved in the Battle of Shiloh.

Released in 1979, Bloody April offers a substantial historical simulation for players interested in American Civil War battles and detailed tabletop wargaming. Its combination of a large counter mix, expansive maps, and carefully defined battlefield scales makes it a focused study of the April 1862 engagement.