Dead of Winter: The Battle of Stones River (Second Edition)

About this board game

Dead of Winter: The Battle of Stones River (Second Edition) is a two-player American Civil War simulation game with an approximately 180-minute play time, recreating the Battle of Murfreesboro, also known as the Battle of Stone’s River.

Set in December, the game pits the Federal Army of the Cumberland under Major General William Starke Rosecrans against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg. With roughly 40,000 soldiers on each side and remarkably similar battle plans, players contend with a near-evenly matched struggle for control of Middle Tennessee.

This revised edition completely revisits the battle and returns the ground scale to 110 yards per hex. The larger scale requires more maps, but provides additional room for historically appropriate unit frontages and more playable stacking.

Command unfolds through the GBACW series’ interactive chit-pull mechanics, designed to reflect the chaotic nature of nineteenth-century battlefields. The game builds on a design tradition that began with Richard Berg’s regimental-level Terrible Swift Sword in 1976, while adding Dave Powell’s design and historical expertise to Richard H. Berg’s series system and John Alsen’s development work.

Scenarios cover both the historical engagement and plausible alternatives based on events leading up to it. The available situations include:

• One introductory scenario and ten regular scenarios
• Games ranging from one-half of one map and about an hour to all four maps and several hours
• Optional forces that could plausibly have joined the battle

With its varied scenarios and optional forces, Dead of Winter offers a detailed examination of one of the Civil War’s most evenly matched battles.