Getting Started

American Civil War opens with a brief introduction to the War.  To ensure best performance, make certain that your graphical device interface (GDI) resources are above 80% when you load the game.  To do so, stop loading the game, then exit other programs still active in Windows.  Restart The American Civil War Demo.  If you still have problems, exit and  restart Windows, then restart The American Civil War Demo.  In the demo you will only be able to play (for a limited time) the 1861 campaign starting point.

DEMO WALK THROUGH
Follow these steps to become familiar with the game quickly.  NOTE: The term click means to press and release the left mouse button.  Right-click means to press and release the right mouse button.  Drag means to press and hold the left mouse button  while moving the mouse.  Once the mouse pointer is at the  desired location, release the mouse button.  Generally, right-clicking an icon displays a menu for that icon.  Right-clicking a stack of unit icons displays a pop-up menu that lists the individual units.  You can then select the unit you want.  There are some settings in the demo version that have been pre-set  for you.  Only in the full version of the game will you be able to change all of the settings and choose another starting point besides the 1861 starting scenario.

•	After the introduction has played,  the 1861 campaign will be selected for you.  You will play the Union side.
•	Click In View under Leadership Ratings so you can see the leaders' characteristics.
•	The Computer under Confederate  will be selected so that you will play against the computer. Note: There are other settings that you can change such as the starting  capital, leadership, and slavery status.
•	Click Done to begin the game.  The first screen displayed is an information box that informs you about the fall of Missouri.
•	After reading the screen, click Done.  Then a small screen indicating that this is just the demo version will appear.  Just click it away.  The game map is centered on Missouri, and you want to focus on a small area on the seaboard.
•	Move the mouse to the lower right corner of the game map, and click on the word Map to display the Overview map.  The overview map shows the entire area that the game encompasses.  States bordered in gray are controlled by the Confederacy, and states bordered in blue are controlled by the Union.  States bordered in white are neutral.
•	Click on the first blue border in the upper right corner.  This is a fast way to change what you see on the main map.  You can see your capital, Washington, D.C., and the troops around it.
•	Right-click on the stack of units located at Washington to display a pop-up menu listing the names of the units.
•	Right-click again on Washington to display the City Orders menu. In this window you can see which troops you have on garrison duty, and you can increase the level of fortifications.
•	Increase the fortification to 5.  Then click Done to return to the map.
•	Right-click the stack at Washington again, and then right-click on the flag icon (which is the symbol for Army Headquarters).  The Army Orders window is displayed.  In this window you can issue orders to be carried out by the units attached to the army.  Examine the information in the window and note that three units are attached to this army.  The army has a red bar at the top of its icon, and units attached to this army have the same color bar. (If a unit has a black bar, it is not attached to an armyand is operating independently.)
•	Set the supply priority to High.  Note that the current army objective is Richmond.  Since the army must pass near Fredericksburg, make  that city the objective.
•	Click on Fredericksburg in the Army objective box to make it your new objective.
•	Set the march mode to Normal so that the unit moves at a faster  pace, but not fast enough to tire quickly.  You do not want to arrive with fatigued troops, because that will hurt you in combat.
•	Click Advance under Combat stance.
•	Click Done.  Now increase your production of weapons and the number of soldiers in your units.
•	Click National, then City Production.  In the City Production window you set the number of weapons produced in your on-map cities, and you can increase their  shipbuilding capacity.
•	Click the up button next to Springfields to increase the quantity to 1000.  Then click the up button next to Parrott guns to increase the quantity to 32.  When new manpower and supplies become available, your units will  get the new weapons.  Examine the window and note that you see some of the same information that was displayed in the City Orders window.
•	Click Done to return to the main map.
•	From the Settings menu, select Hidden Enemy to view the enemy  units.  One unit near Washington has three dots in its  upper bar and has the roman numeral I, which indicates that the unit is the South's First Corps division.  The black bar indicates that it is operating independently of an army.
•	Right-click on the stack of units at Washington, and then left-click on Hunter to select his unit.  Hunter's name appears at the bottom of the screen in the blue bar.
•	Click on the stack of units at Washington and then slowly drag the units toward the enemy unit.  When you see an arrow on top of that unit, release the mouse button.  You just set the tactical movement for Hunter's unit.  The objective you set in the Army Orders was a strategic movement.
•	Right-click on the stack of units at Washington again, and then left-click on Tyler.
•	Left-click on Tyler's stack and drag it to the enemy unit again.  You just sent two units after the enemy.
•	Click on the Overview menu, then on Army Overview.  The resulting window shows your active land units—that is, units that have leaders to whom you can issue orders. You have more troops than are shown in the window, but they are on garrison duty.
•	Click Done to exit this window.
•	From the National menu, select General Force Status to see a list of all active troops (under a leader) and inactive troops (on garrison duty).  The window shows how many troops you have in each theater, and you can tell at a glance that you are weakest in the Mississippi area.  You can also see how many ships you have, and you can view your weapon distribution, availability, and production, as well as your current shipbuilding capacity and the current capitals of the North and South.
•	Click Done to return to the main map.
•	Right-click the unit that is slightly southwest of Washington.  You know it is a Union unit because it has a blue background.  The red bar at the top indicates that it is part of the Army of the Potomac, and the roman numeral I and three dots in the red bar tell you it is Union Corps Division 1.  Because the unit is not in a stack, you can right-click on it to go directlyto the orders window for that unit.  In the window you view the rating for the unit, along with statistics such as number of men and artillery.  You also view the leader's statistics.  Even though Heintzelman's statistics are somewhat low, he has an average combat score, so he is an appropriate block for enemy units headed toward Washington.
•	Click View Brigades to examine his attached brigades.  In this window you can equip active troops with new weapons and reinforce them when reinforcements are available.
•	Return to the Corps Orders window, then click OK.
•	In the main game window, go to the Game menu and select Execute.  In this phase the troops move and battles are fought.  New  manpower and supplies are available. 
•	Click OK to let the turn continue.  Because you turned off the hidden enemy, you can see what reinforcements they are getting, as well as their movements by rail, and their munitions at various ports.
•	Examine a battle at Fort Monroe in Virginia (NOTE: The battles vary from game to game, so keep executing until you find one you can examine.)  You can select the battle intensity, but your choices depend on your leader's combat rating.  Butler has an average combat rating, so your battle intensity choices are Low and Skirmish. 
•	Click Execute and hope for the best.  After the battle takes place, you learn whether you won or lost.
•	Click Analysis to see which factors determined the battle's outcome.  Now that you've been introduced to the main elements of the game, you can restart the demo, and plan your own strategy.