Official Guild Honors & Awards

The revised Players' Guild Awards system (like the original) is designed to acknowledge a HOLF Players' Guild member's game performance and history. All existing ribbons and awards have been retained and (in some cases) updated to fit the current game systems. Some ribbons have been created (for existing awards) and new (March 2009) awards have been constructed as well. The current mechanism for the awards is based primarily on participation in the NWOL and WBTS game systems. Ribbons and awards are decided upon and issued exclusively by the HOLF Players' Guild Registrar, Commissioners, or Board Members. Members are encouraged to recommend and nominate themselves or other members for awards which they believe they are eligible for, although there is no guarantee that an award will be issued. Awards are classified into three categories, experience, merit, and service/achievement-based. Experience-based honors are awarded to Guild members who ACTIVELY participated in any HOLF-related game (for a majority of the game time). Merit-based awards are issued exclusively for an individual member's game achievements. Service and achievement-based distinctions are awarded to members who perform various game roles or other services to HOLF and/or related sites.

EXPERIENCE-BASED HONORS & AWARDS
Civil War Online (CWOL)
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The 1997 Mexican War (BLADD beta test) The first game played using the software designed for Civil War OnLine. The game ended in a draw though the Union forces were able to seize Richmond. Game played with no terrain features except city locations.

Civil War OnLine I . First full game of the CWOL system. 110 players at the peak period (before Spring Break) and ran 90 turns from Sept 1997 to May 1998. Game play was extremely mobile and logistic play was rudimentary. Major game events involved the fall of Washington DC, Chicago IL, CSA cavalry raids into New Jersey and Pennslyvania, fall of Richmond VA, the states of Virginia and North Carolina. Union forces were approaching Georgia from the east at game's end. Ended in a draw (victory conditions were nebulous)

Civil War OnLine II. Second game in the CWOL series, Fall 1998 to March 1999 (had to stop before Spring Break started). USA decisive victory. The Union was able to seize large portions of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama which fractured the government of the CSA. Last iteration of the BLADD game engine (ACW-ver1 software suite)

Civil War OnLine III. Third CWOL game. Sept 1999 to December 1999. CSA strategic victory (split the USA by taking Ohio all the way to Lake Erie). First use of the SAS software suite (ACW-ver2).

Civil War OnLine IV. Fourth iteration of the CWOL series. Fall 2000 to Winter 2001. Revenge match for the USA following the defeat in CWOL III. USA team took four months to plan its campaign. USA victory based on seizure of VA, KY, TN, and blockade of the CSA coast. First use of a multi-integrated module software suite for land combat, naval combat, and economics.

Civil War OnLine V. Delayed for three months due to 9/11. This iteration of CWOL started in December 2001 and lasted until Spring Break 2002. USA surrendered on T28. Washington DC lost, Missouri under CSA control, and battle of annihilation near Bowling Green KY ended the game.

Franco-Mexican Incident 1863 (Civil War OnLine V). Parallel game run concurrent with CWOL V. Many thought the best players fought in Mexico and ignored the main game. This "excursion" was an experiment to establish the foreign affairs module, Treaties and Coersion, as a factor in CWOL. Players were able to fight as mercenaries for the Juaristas (http://www.holf.org/warcollege2009/archives/fr-mex_cwol5/Mercenary%20Ad.jpg) or the French Foreign Legion and send comodities to home nation unless intercepted by the blockade or commerce raider. Ended in a Mexican victory.

Civil War OnLine VI. Perhaps the most complex simulation done using the ACW-ver2 integrated software suite, SAS (land) / GQ (naval) / TAC (foreign) / CPAG (economics). Ran from Fall 2002 to Spring 2003. Naval actions and combined service operations along the rivers dominated the action. Victory determination is still debated among veterans of CWOL VI. Officially recored as a CSA victory. Seizure of Delmarva pennisula closed down the Chesapeake Bay trade routes to the Union and seizure of Cairo IL gave the CSA domiance on the inner-river network.

Civil War OnLine VII. Play in CWOL VII was affected by many veteran players being gone due to GWOT associated positions. The game started late due to GA-qualified personnel not being available. Game only ran during the Winter 2004 and only SAS (land combat) was played. Game officially ended in a draw. The USA seized Richmond but the CSA was able to retain control of KY and defeat all Union attempts to invade CSA territory in the west.

To create a software suite that was not reliant on a mandatory software download and multiple GAs to be played (the SAS suite involved a separate GA for each module);
To develop a software suite that was compatible with Windows XP (the SAS suite was written in Visual Basic 4 and would not run on XP);
Develop a Napoleonic game that could be played by multiple teams, involve a more dynamic foreign policy element, as well as involve an integrated suite of land combat, naval combat, economics, and foreign policy.

NWOL, after a deliberate and structured development schedule, met all these goals.

Napoleonic Wars OnLine I. The game ran from Fall 2006 to Fall 2007. It was characterized by the first "grand coalition" as a Dutch-sponsored coalition formed a multi-nation invasion of Russia and suceeded in knocking it out of the Majors category in mid-game. Skillful diplomatic play by the French team allowed it to gather secret allies to maximize the combined effects of its coalition and revenge campaigns by Russia on Austria and Prussia. Based on the three-tier nation-state classification the following teams won:
- Majors France
- Minors Sweden
- Fragmented states (Frags) Lombardy
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Napoleonic Wars OnLine II. NWOL II started in Spring 2008 and ran until Winter 2009. This game was distinctly different from NWOL I in that no "grand coalition" was organized by any faction and the unholy alliance of France and Britain dominated play by the Majors. Competition was heaviest among the Minors powers where a surprise strategy of power projection by Portugal lead it to have a greater role and success than most player teams had anticipated. The winners were:
- Majors France
- Minors Portugal
- Fragmented states (Frags) Pomerania
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Napoleonic Wars OnLine III.
Ribbon designed by Steven Mathena. NWOL III started in Fall 2009 and concluded in the Spring of 2010. The game centered on war between competing British/Bourbon and Republican French alliances and the initial primary theater was Northern Germany during the relatively short contest. The naval and economic stranglehold unleashed by the Royal Navy on the French and Dutch (and in particular their Caribbean possessions) was decisive. The eventual entry by the expansive Hapsburg alliance as well as the Spanish into the conflict against the Revolution led to a vanquishment of Revolutionary France. The winners were:

Majors Great Britain
Minors Denmark
Fragmented states (Frags) Mecklenberg

Red River Campaign "excursion" (2000) This "excursion" was the brainchild of Scott Lloyd, the new member, at that time, of the GACC (Game Administor Coordinating Committee), the governing body of this hobby group before the establishment of HOLF in 2001.
The Red River Campaign (RRC) was a decisive CSA victory. The scenario placed the onus on the Union team to gain ground and meet certain offensive victory conditions. The CSA achieved operational domiance by executing a surprise counterattack to capture Vicksburg from the Union and winning the scenario's "show-down" tactical battle on the eastern approaches and within the city of Baton Rouge. Other CSA successes were also achieved further north along the Red at places like Shreveport and Texarkana. CSA victory can be attributed to their use of interior lines (RR lines between Baton Rouge and Shreveport) to shift forces as needed against uncoordinated Union attacks. The lone exception was the port of New Orleans which was only lightly defended.

Manifest Destiny (2001) Manifest Destiny was the first attempt to export a successful simulation suite to a new scenario. The GACC, the controlling body of this hobby group before HOLF was founded, wanted to set up an annual gaming cycle for each year. The first game would simulate the Mexican War where most of the leaders from the ACW served as junior officers. The second game would be CWOL. Th e object was to attract new players to learn the SAS game system in the Mexican War scenario and start the forming of teams between the two games. So Manifest Destiny was developed. It simulated the Mexican-American War of 1846-47 using SAS and some new aspects we wanted to work into CWOL, increased logistics, tactical HQs, and multiple countries (in this case, Mexico plus the USA & the non-played CSA). The developmental cycle was rushed and testing was incomplete. As a result, the game engine developed a fatal flaw that the developer could not resolve during play. The game ended, the developer got reassigned, and the flaw was never fixed. The game officially ended in a draw.

Summer Games (2002) The Summer Games were conducted in the Summer of 2002 to give a "bridge" event to the more permanent members of the Players Guild. Each game was 6-turns lasting 2 weeks. The teams were in a single league of 12 teams of 4 to 8 men. The "season" consisted of a series of matches determined by random draw played over two months to establish the league standings. These standings were then used to determine the brackets for a single-elimination playoff that resulted in the league champion team. It was also an experiment of the flexibility of the SAS game engine to protray historical-based scenarios. Seven historical-based scenarios using SAS only were used.
- Brandy Station
- Gettysburg
- Sharpsburg
- Perryville
- Spring Hill
- Sabine Cross-Roads
- For the Championship Game: North Anna
On September 9th, 2002, the Marx Bros Brigade gained victory in the Championship Round. The Marx Bros had lost their first two rounds and had to win the remaining five rounds to claim the Championship.

Spring Games (2003) The Session was a "scrimmage" or "sparring ring" type activity for Guild members. The Session featured a single bracket of teams to play a series of tactical battles in a generic scenario using SAS. The general scenario was an expedition to conquer Baja California. The teams represented two notional competing neo-colonial powers. The battles started as meeting engagements at different strategic locations on the peninsula and grew more complex as the session went on. The culminating round was an invasion of the losing home country by the other. Each game consisted of 6 to 12-turns. The winner of the Spring Session 2003 was the Pennsylvania Reserve captained by Jon Mattes.

Wake's Gym (2003) Wake's Gym "sparring bouts" started in July 2003. They involved 40 players on six teams using a revolving match setup like the system used in the 2002 Summer Games. Jeremy Wakefield was the coordinator of the event. However, mid-way through the matches, Jeremy became very ill and the session was cancelled. There was never an official winner.

Ole Rough & Ready (2004) "Ole Rough & Ready: The Struggle for the Nueces," was a simulation of Zachary Taylor's campaign in northern Mexico during 1846. The scenario opened in January of 1846 with the mobilization of Taylor's Army of Observation. General Mariano Arista's Army of the North is posted along the border. The initial campaign, the securing of the disputed Nueces River region, is the scenario. The scenario was an overland campaign so only the SAS land warfare module was used. The game was played in the Fall of 2004. The USA team won the scenario. This was the last time any module of the SAS software suite was used.

HOLF Spring Games (2009) Featured three distinct games spread throughout the NWOL map for players of different experience levels and tastes. Scenario A was an Italian scenario designed for newer HOLF members which saw the Venetian team outscore their Piedmontese opponents handily. Maroon stripes were included on the edges of the ribbon to denote the win by Venice. Scenario B was a recreation of the Great Northern War and ended with the anti-Swedish coalition achieving a narrow victory over Gustavus Adolphus' Swedish empire. A pair of gold stripes were included on the ribbon to represent the Saxon-led triumph. Scenario C, the centerpiece of the Spring Games (hence the Jolly Rogers on the ribbon), was a PATE-only Pirates scenario set in the Caribbean featuring the four major naval nations of the time and a select number of players representing major pirates. A Red Stripe has been prominently displayed in the center of the Ribbon to denote the English victory in the scenario.

HOLF Summer Games (2010) A tactical combat tournament featuring 35 players on six teams who competed head-to-head in five rounds of matches. Each team was named after a Mercenary band from the Thirty Years War and participants achieved victory based on the capture of the opposing teams "capital" city (modeled after a capture the flag concept) and also VP gains. The ribbon recognizes the efforts of the three top finishers: the White Company (team banner in the center), the Red Band (red stripes), and the Blue Hand (blue stripes) respectively.

HOLF R&D Ribbon Issued to any Guild member who participated in at least one full NWOL or WBTS test game. This award has been extended to all Guild members who have or currently supporting the R&D testing for ROTD, the CWOL Gen-3 software prototytpe. Guild members are allowed multiple awards of this ribbon.

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MERIT-BASED HONORS & AWARDS (click on the URLs to see the award & the qualifying citation)
BATTLE STAR
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/231
CAMPAIGN RIBBON
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/951
MEDAL OF VICTORY
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/234
MEDAL OF ENDEAVOR
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/233
GUILD CROSS
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/232
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SERVICE & ACHIEVEMENT-BASED HONORS & AWARDS (click on the URLs to see the award & the qualifying citation)
ACADEMY RIBBON
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/217
WAR COLLEGE RIBBON
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/219
TACTICAL BADGE
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/220
FIELD COMMAND BADGE
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/223
NAVAL BADGE
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/224
CHIEF OF STAFF RIBBON
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/225
COMMANDER'S BADGE
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/227
INSTRUCTOR RIBBON
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/236
COMMANDANT RIBBON
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/238
GUILD SERVICE AWARD
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/235
CADRE MEDAL
http://www.holf.org/guild/drupal1/node/237
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