''Devil's Den'', subtitled "Hood's Assault at Gettysburg", is a

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

published by

Operational Studies Group Operational Studies Group, also known as OSG, is a publisher of board wargames. History Kevin Zucker, the Managing Editor at the wargame publisher Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI), left the company in January 1976. He and other ex-SPI emplo ...

(OSG) in 1980 that simulates the fighting to control the key

Devil's Den Devil's Den is a boulder-strewn hill on the south end of Houck's Ridge at Gettysburg Battlefield, used by artillery and sharpshooters on the second day of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. A tourist attraction since t ...

terrain feature during the 1863

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Background

During the second day of the three-day battle of Gettysburg, Devil's Den, a strategic hill, proved to be a weak spot in the Union battle line, and was overrun by

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops from Alabama, Texas and Arkansas after fierce fighting.

Description

''Devil's Den'' simulates the Confederate assault on the original Union position at Devil's Den.

Components

The game box contains: *22" x 34" paper

hex grid A hex map, hex board, or hex grid is a game board design commonly used in simulation games of all scales, including wargames, role-playing games, and strategy games in both board games and video games. A hex map is subdivided into a hexagonal tili ...

map of the ground between

Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left ...

and

Big Round Top Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the Gettysburg Battlefield and for 1863 American Civil War engagements for which Medals of Honor were awarded. In addition to battle monuments, a historic reconstruc ...

, scaled at 30 yd (27 m) per hex * 400 die-cut counters * rule book * Study folder *player aid charts *two 6-sided dice

Gameplay

Several scenarios are included with the game, including one for the Confederate assault on Little Round Top.

Publication history

Leonard Millman and Dr. David Martin had previously produced the American Civil War wargame ''20th Maine'', published by OSG in 1979. The next year, Millman and Martin designed ''Devil's Den'' using many of the same rules; it was also published by OSG. In 1985,

Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...

acquired the rights to the game, and revised the rules to include basic and advanced games. It was then republished with artwork by Charles Kibler and George I. Parrish, Jr.

Reception

In Issue 54 of '' Moves'', Steve List considered this a much more refined game than its predecessor, ''20th Maine'', but noted that "The game plays well, but slowly compared to ''20th Maine'' because of the greater number of counters and markers in play. It is no worse in this respect than any of the Terrible Swift Sword''">Terrible Swift Sword (game)">Terrible Swift Sword''family, though." List concluded by giving ''Devil's Den'' a grade of B+.

References

{{reflist American Civil War board wargames Board games introduced in 1980 Operational Studies Group games