Players: 2
Age: 14+
Playtime: 360 min
Complexity: 9.5/10
This American Civil War classic—long considered the final table-top word on the conflict—has been around since 1998, and has seen many a reprint in the intervening decades. I joined the party back in 2015 with GMT’s third edition, but it’s already been 10 years and I haven’t played the game nearly enough in all that time.
So why not pick up the musket once more with a new version of For the People hot off the press for its 25th anniversary?
GMT gave the game a visual overhaul by commissioning a new cover from Donal Hegarty, as well as a new (mounted) map from Terry Leeds. The game also ships in a thicker, 3-inch box which allows the neat freaks out there to sleeve their cards and stow their counters in trays while still enjoying the subtle bliss that comes with a wargame box that closes just right. (You can also order just the new box and map, should you be so inclined.)
The new cover depicts Lincoln before a tattered American flag, in a sombre departure from the original GMT artwork. And while there’s no question that the 25th anniversary edition proposes a modern, war–is-hell kind of vibe, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the old-school appeal of its predecessor.
So why not pick up the musket once more with a new version of For the People hot off the press for its 25th anniversary?
GMT gave the game a visual overhaul by commissioning a new cover from Donal Hegarty, as well as a new (mounted) map from Terry Leeds. The game also ships in a thicker, 3-inch box which allows the neat freaks out there to sleeve their cards and stow their counters in trays while still enjoying the subtle bliss that comes with a wargame box that closes just right. (You can also order just the new box and map, should you be so inclined.)
The new cover depicts Lincoln before a tattered American flag, in a sombre departure from the original GMT artwork. And while there’s no question that the 25th anniversary edition proposes a modern, war–is-hell kind of vibe, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the old-school appeal of its predecessor.
I quite like the new box (and I’ll never say no to more storage) but I’m perplexed at the decision to depict only one side in that conflict. Gone is Jefferson Davis, indeed any allusion to Confederate forces. When I spied Ulysses S. Grant on one of the lateral panels of the new box, I assumed Robert E. Lee was waiting for me on the other side. Nope: turns out it’s Sherman, another Union general.
None of this detracts from the appeal of the new package, mind you; I’m just curious as to the creative decisions behind the work.I find the new map—now in earthy tones—more functional than the original, with modern trimmings, clearer reminders, and an overall palette that makes units on both sides really pop when strewn across the countryside.
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| Original map |
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| New map |
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| Units on both maps |
Not sure what map you’d favor? Fret no more! The mounted eight-panel board has the original map printed on its sturdy back, for your ambivalent pleasure.
Of course, all known errata have been addressed, and the new version of the full game ships with an updated 2024 rulebook. Completionists might be dismayed at the absence of variant rules and components (published in various issues of C3i Magazine over the years) but they’re not at all necessary: the game itself packs a punch that’ll send you reeling for years, if not decades to come. (I own all of that—including three bonus reminder counters that I picked up at some point—and I have yet to bring that stuff into the game.)
Above all, I’m just happy to see For the People go at it for one more round, fighting for the high ground and a chance to win new wargamer hearts.
That’s what the hobby’s all about.
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