Antietam: Burnished Rows of Steel

About this board game

Antietam: Burnished Rows of Steel is a tactical-level board wargame for 1–2 players, with approximately 240 minutes of play, depicting the bloodiest single-day battle in the American Civil War.

Turns proceed sequentially. Each player moves units, fires artillery, and conducts two rounds of combat in turn, creating a structured battle sequence at the brigade and battery level. Solitaire rules are also included for solo play.

The game uses a scale of one hour per turn and 250 yards per hex. The map and counters represent the battlefield and forces involved, while the rules focus on movement, artillery fire, combat, geographical objectives, and unit losses.

• Players: 1–2
• Play time: approximately 240 minutes
• Game scale: one hour per turn; 250 yards per hex
• Units: brigades and batteries
• Includes: solitaire rules

Victory is determined through victory points earned by the Union player for capturing and maintaining control of geographical objectives, along with points for Confederate unit losses. The Confederate player wins by holding the Union to fewer than 25 points. Solitaire victory conditions are slightly different.

First published in Command magazine No. 22 in May–June 1993, Antietam: Burnished Rows of Steel includes one 22-by-34-inch mapsheet, two countersheets containing 304 five-eighths-inch counters, and a 36-page rule booklet.