Bobby Lee (game)

Bobby Lee, subtitled The Civil War in Virginia 1861-1865, is a two-player block wargame published in 1993 by Columbia Games. It simulates the campaigns of the Army of Virginia under Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War, with one player commanding the Confederate forces and the other the Union. Designed by Tom Dalgliesh with art by Eric Hotz, it uses a 22 by 25 inch hex map for operational movement, running from Harrisburg in the north to Norfolk in the south, and a smaller battleboard on which battles are fought face to face. Its 84 wooden blocks stand on their edges with the unit stickers facing the owner, so an opponent cannot see a unit's identity or strength until it is engaged, which produces the fog of war that reviewers praised. Each turn is one month. Four short scenarios cover one year each from 1861 to 1864, and a longer campaign joins them. Victory is scored on a points track, for example for holding key cities. Columbia published a companion game, Sam Grant, in 1997.