If patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels as Samuel Johnson said, then semantics is the last refuge of designers of historical games. Using phrases like “based on” and “inspired by” allows designers to pick and choose the areas on which they want to concentrate. Historical purists will tear their hair if the order of battle or terrain of such-and-such battles have been treated cavalierly. On the other hand, a game that covers a broad span of time can actually benefit from letting some aspects slide in terms of detail in favor of other features. Such a focused approach can yield a feel for a period better than a rigidly detailed simulation of battles and campaigns. CDV and Strategy Revolution’s third entry into the American Conquest series, Divided Nation, takes such a broad approach—but was this the correct choice? …
