The Battle of the Little Bighorn

Reprint of the CSR Award Winner: Best Desktop Published Wargame, 2007.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, was the epic fight between a massive combined force of Plains Indian tribes and the 7th United States Cavalry under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. The battle was the most famous event in the Indian Wars and was a crushing victory for the Indians. Custer, already famous for his Civil War exploits, became an American folk legend. Little Bighorn was the last great victory for the Sioux and Cheyenne. Defiant and proud, they were determined to preserve their way of life but within a year they were broken and defeated by a nation swept up in the emotions of the Centennial and bent on revenge for the death of an American hero.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn is the third game in the Indian Wars of the American West series. This game also includes the Montana column led by Col. Gibbons. This column was the third column in the field within General Terry’s campaign plan. Crook’s Wyoming column was the other part of this campaign, and included in Volume II of the series, The Battle of Rosebud Creek.

The Montana column includes Col. Gibbon, the 7th Infantry, 2nd Cavalry, and Low’s Artillery Battery of Gatling guns(?) and a 12 lb howitzer. Players may now explore the possibilities and capabilities of these guns, and what effect these forces could have had on the outcome of the battle. Scenarios included the historical game, the Montana columns arrival, assigning the Gatling guns or the 2nd cavalry with Custer. Is this last line correct?

The new expanded maps (from the original DTP version), allows for the relocation of the Indian village, the arrival of the Montana column, and if Custer had waited for Terry or was delayed because he took the Gatling guns.