Blue and Gray

Blue and Gray is an abstract strategy game for two players, patented in 1903 by Henry Busch and Arthur Jaeger. Named for the uniforms of the North and South in the American Civil War, it is also known as Cats and Dogs, Wild West, Thumps Game, and Captain and Soldiers. 

Learn more about the game:

• Wikipedia: Blue and Gray (board game)
• Board and Pieces
• NewVenture Games (Youtube)
• Board Game Geek: Blue and Gray

Playing the game: 

Blue and Gray is a two player game that plays like checkers with an added requirement to move your Captain piece along a defined path towards the center of the board. A set of compiled rules is included. 

About the model:

This is another game I came across while researching old board games where the lack of an existing 3D model stood out. The game is famously featured on the cover of some editions of Sid Sackson's A Gamut of Games, where it is believed to have been first officially published.

The game is visually and mechanically similar to checkers, except player pieces are placed on the board's 80 intersection points. To make the game easier to play while still being somewhat compact, I placed dots at these points and put a complimentary nub on the bottom of each game piece. I left the tolerances loose so that the pieces can be easily moved without resistance but still withstand the occasional nudge from a finger while placing pieces. 

Like my other models, my design goals are: 

• An easy, straight-forward print that fits most printer beds and doesn't require an AMS or multi-color machine to look good. 
• A complete game with everything needed to play, all available in one place.
• A very permissive and open license that allows the models to easily serve as a base for others. 

Printing: 

• The game board: while the game can be printed in a single color, its aesthetics are greatly improved by printing in two complimentary colors. Start with the color you want to fill in the game piece dots, captain's path, and central star, then perform a material swap on the 11th layer. In my example, I used a lemon yellow filament for the base and a cream filament for the top layers. 
  1. Print model at 5% gyroid infill with 2 walls. 
  2. Perform color change at layer 11.
      
• Player pieces: each player will need (17) “guards” and (1) “captain,” for a total of (36) player pieces. The captain pieces are visually much taller than the guard pieces. Captains only ever move forward on the board, do not capture, and never come into conflict with the other captain, so these pieces don't necessarily need to match their respective guard pieces. In my example, I colored both captains the same to make the board more visually interesting.
  1. Pieces should be oriented so that they print upside down and do not require any supports.  
  2. Print pieces at 5% gyroid infill with 2 walls. 
  3. Each player's set of guard pieces should be different colors. 

Safety Information:

CAUTION: This game is not suitable or intended for children under 3 years of age. The game as presented may include small pieces that could pose a choking hazard for small children. Young players should have adult supervision at all times while playing.