Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles, its first quadrigame — four different battles using the same set of rules, packaged into one box. The concept proved very popular, and SPI quickly produced Blue & Gray II, which rose as high as #4 on SPI's Top Ten Bestseller list, and stayed on the list for 6 months. The four games in Blue & Gray II were Hooker and Lee; Battle of the Wilderness; Chattanooga; and Fredericksburg. The latter was designed by Joe Angiolillo, with graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen. It was also released as an individual game packaged in a double LP-sized cardstock folio. It was not the most popular game in Blue & Gray II; in a poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular board wargames in North America, Fredericksburg placed 65th out of 202 games (compared to 44th for Hooker and Lee, 54th for Chattanooga, and 80th for Battle of the Wilderness.) Reception In the April 1976 edition of Airfix Magazine, Bruce Quarrie called this game "Good exciting stuff, challenging for experienced players but basic enough to make a good starting point for anyone interested in the Civil War and wishing to try board wargaming." In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames, game designer Jon Freeman called this game "an assault on a prepared position" with little room for creative maneuvering. But Freeman thought the option to combine this with Hooker and Lee "could serve nicely as the second step in a novice's introduction to the hobby." In Issue 54 of Moves, Steve List did not like the artificial restriction on Union movement, noting that it is "To insure that the Union player doesn't do significantly better" that the historical Union defeat. However, List liked the ability to combine Chancellorsville with Fredericksburg, saying that "This [combined] game is superior to either of its components." List concluded by giving Fredericksburg a grade of "C." In Issue 20 of Simulacrum, Steven Busey commented "This is certainly not a simulation. However, it is a very playable game system that often demands careful thought during play. The combination of easy-to-learn rules and short games makes this an excellent alternative when time and attention are short." References American Civil War board wargames Simulations Publications games Wargames introduced in 1975