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Black Hills1876

Squad battles of the Great Sioux War, fought from either side.

The Great Sioux War of 1876-1877 was fought between the United States and primarily Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne peoples over control of the northern Great Plains, especially the Black Hills, which the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty had reserved for the Sioux. After years of atrocities committed by both sides and after gold discoveries brought miners into the Black Hills, the U.S. government sought to acquire the land and ordered Native groups living outside the agencies to report to them; military campaigns followed when many did not comply.

Black Hills 1876 is a real-time squad tactics game. Lead the U.S. Army or the Lakota and Cheyenne and fight the war's battles on maps of the real ground.

Change log

Black Hills 1876 v0.5 updated 10/16/26

You are reading v0.4 from 10/08/26. Black Hills 1876 is now at v0.5. Read the latest update.

Major updatePosted Thu, October 8, 2026

The new army, day and night, real battlefields

Black Hills 1876 version 0.4

New looks, 17 new troops and five new guns, day and night, battlefields rebuilt from the history, and new music.

Additions

New troops:
- Army: Skirmish Infantry, Buffalo Soldier Infantry and Cavalry, Foot Scouts, Civilian Volunteers, Mounted Infantry, Saber Cavalry, Mounted Repeaters, Dragoons, Crow Scouts
- Lakota & Cheyenne: Foot Scouts, Carbine Warriors, Shield Warriors, Lancers, Mounted Rifles, Mounted Dog Soldiers, Horse Archers
- Guns: 3-inch Ordnance Rifle, 10 and 20-pounder Parrotts, two Gatlings
New look for most troops: kneeling, crawling, cheering, new deaths
Day and night
Sneak and Go Prone orders
War shields
Battle speed button: x1, x2, x3
Man abandoned guns, yours or the enemy's
New music on the menus, campaign map and briefing
Settler houses and farms, small native camps, roaming herds
Footing icon on unit cards
Muster roll tabs: Foot, Mounted, Guns
Shift + WASD scrolls faster

Tweaks/Improvements

Every battlefield rebuilt from the history
Long shots miss more
Troops keep formation better
Troops on walls, in cover or hiding hold their place when attacking
Smarter fort assaults by the computer
Dog Soldiers and Horse Warriors carry repeaters
Army riders fight with sabers
Skirmishers renamed Dismounted Cavalry
Hide replaced by Sneak and Go Prone
Camps keep their side whichever side you play
No music during battles

Bug fixes

Guns set up and fire reliably
Guns can go onto every wall
Troops no longer freeze on the march
Settlers no longer stuck at doors or seen through fog
Animals no longer flicker
Fort McKeen can be left again
Map fixes at Julesburg and Prairie Dog Creek
Yellow patches gone from the grass

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