How long do the games take to play? I've heard from some people that they can be rather slow. And is noting down the casualties and stragglers on charts as sfiddly as I might fear?
That depends; some of the larger battles that include a build up of forces will have longer periods of non-combat activity, but these periods also have a significant impact on how the battle fleshes itself out. Once the battle is joined, things can slow down a bit due to the number of units involved, fire/melee/morale results, but that tends to be the heart of the action and holds your attention more closely. I think the scrutiny of a battle joined makes the time fly even if the turn marker is crawling along. As for time, the best I can do is to have you check back at the couple of the AARs I've done (Second Manassas & In Their Quiet Fields 2) and presume each section was anywhere from 3 to 4 hours apiece. This doesn't subtract the sometimes lengthy BS time associated with each sitting, but will give a nice general estimate. (I also do not want to appear to be self-promoting, but it's the best method I have to give an estimate of the time involved)
As for the casualty/straggler charts, they really are no big deal at all. They're just like any other mechanism in any other system; once you get used to them, you hardly think them a bother. In fact, for this type of warfare, I think it far superior to show casualties in this manner than any sort of counter or step reduction. Not every casualty will have an impact on the fire level of a given unit; though once those "B" and "C" level markers start showing up, you know the unit is down to it's last 6(or less) strength boxes; I've found these units then tend to receive undesired attentions if not quickly replaced in the line.
Before discovering CWB, I had tried a fair amount of other systems for Civil War combat; most left a bad taste in my mouth because they just didn't
feel like a Civil War battle. This system does. I am completely enamored of it (and it's close relative, the CWR series) because it gives what I presume to believe is an accurate feel to what it must have been like to handle a 19th century Army in action. If play seems to crawl a bit because of the lack of panzers or T-34s, I am quite alright with that. While the decision as to what constitutes "slow", "well-spent" or "mind-numbingly laconic" is up to the individual, I, for one, take the experience for what it is. If this type of combat require my guys to march by foot halfway across the map, so be it. I think the strength of the system is how it makes you, not only view, but act, in a similiar manner as the historical counterparts; it is part of the radiance of the basic design. In large part, the inability to (often times) bring your entire force to bear on a visible threat or propitious opening, as in most every other wargame, and the frustration or elation (delending on your point of view, of course!) that brings, is almost solely the province of this most superlative system.
If you have the opportunity and/or the inclination, you should give the system a try first hand and form your own opinions based on your experiences, I think if the ACW interests you at all, you will be most pleasantly surprised.