By zooming in and out of the map, players can monitor small engagements between brigades or get a whole view of the battlefield and determine where to move forces. Orders are given, units move and then it's on to the next situation. Unlike a turn-based game, the player needs to make some quick decisions and has to react. Players should also make sure to keep the commanders near their own regiments, as a commander without men to lead quickly becomes just another soldier on horseback getting in the way. Like the real battle, some commanders are obviously better than others, and shouldn't be expected to take too much initiative. In addition to controlling and ordering individual units, the player can give an order to a commander unit who in turn directs his forces.
To aid the player, as overall leader of the battle or engagement, commander units oversee their own forces providing support and helping keep up morale. After a couple of quick games, it becomes quite apparent why a chain of command is needed. Regiments are grouped together as brigades and are led by a brigade commander. The forces are organized into the type of units of the day, including infantry, cavalry and artillery, and appear on the map as regiments. This makes the individual games much shorter since units can be given orders while the player concentrates on more pressing matters and situations elsewhere on the battlefield.
The actual gameplay is set in semi-real time rather than strictly turn-based. Sid Meier's Gettysburg! manages to do what many similar takes on the great conflict have failed to do - take the events of the battle and present them with epic grandeur yet keep them simple to play without getting bogged down with too many rules.