I had played Columbia Games' Julius Caesar years ago and really enjoyed it, and I had had people tell me that Napoleon: The Waterloo Campaign 4th Edition was even better. I finally got around to playing Napoleon recently and here are my thoughts. Like Julius Caesar, Napoleon is a block wargame, but where Julius Caesar spans the entire period of the dictator's war with Pompey, Napoleon takes place over a few days, the final campaign in a much larger war. The game is for 2-3 players, with one player taking on the role of the French under Napoleon as they invade the low countries in June, 1815. The other player(s) takes on the role of the Anglo-Dutch army under Wellington, and the Prussian army under Blucher. Players can begin the game by placing their units where they sat historically, or by setting them up according to their own designs. A track at the bottom tells who's turn it is, and whether it is day or night (you cannot attack at night). The most striking thing about Napoleon is the game board, which is not divided into hexes, squares, or spaces, but rather looks like an actual map with cities and villages connected by roads. Players place their blocks in the towns then can move a certain number of them along the roads (big roads allow eight units to move, small roads six). The blocks face the controlling player, so there is a fog of war element to the game. Each turn, the French can move two groups of blocks, and the Allies can move one Anglo-Dutch group and one Prussian group. The goal of the French is either to eliminate a certain number of units from both Allied armies, or to capture two of three victory cities: Liege, Brussels, Ghent. The goal of the Allies is to destroy a number of French units, or deny the French occupation of the victory cities by the end of the game. Additionally, as soon as the French occupy a victory city, the Allies begin to have supply problems and must eliminate units without a fight. When one army moves into a city containing enemy units a battle begins. If one side or the other has less than three units it is a simple skirmish- both sides must endure a round of combat. If, however, both sides have three or more units, a special battle board is used. Each side of the battle board has a right, a left, a center, and a reserve. Players randomly select terrain blocks that can give advantages to the section of the board. In battle, both sides take turns using their units to engage the enemy, to disengage, or to attack. Cavalry can engage and attack on the same turn. Players roll dice equal to the unit's strength value, which is found on a side of block. When units take hits, they rotate the block to the appropriate strength level. After all of a player's units have moved, the player can bring in reinforcement blocks from adjacent towns and place them into the reserve, to deploy next round. As soon as one side's flank or center is broken, (only enemy units occupy it), or if one side decides to retreat, the battle is over. Napoleon: The Waterloo Campaign is great fun. It is a simple game to learn and to play, but there is a ton of strategy here. Should you retreat in one direction to cover the approaches to a victory city, or should you retreat in another to support an Allied army that will soon be attacked. Should you attempt to hammer the Allies in set piece battles, or attempt to outmaneuver them and try to take the victory cities by surprise. Should you keep fighting a battle in the hopes of wearing down the invader, or should you pull out while your units still have some fight left in them? The game gives you some tough, agonizing choices throughout- the hallmark of any great game. This is one of the best wargames that I have played in long time, and I look forward to playing it again and again. I definitely recommend it.Weiterlesen
