4942 W. Kesler Lane. Chandler, AA 85226 USA. Price $26 incl p&p. With the rules comes a bimonthly magazine "The Herald" at present issued free. A well written, easily understood, well printed set of rules supplied with a good index. Very comprehensive with 81 pages of rules and 27 of appendices. Provided in a sensible lay flat binder. Ground scale varies according to size or figure from 1"=25yds for 25mm to 1"=100 yds for 6mm. Time 10 minutes. The author knows his period and the rules have obviously been well play tested. The book is full of useful tips on how to make up scenarios and mount figures in units. Particular attention has been paid to command rules and organisational structures. An interesting innovation is the use of variable command radius according to a general's ability and nationality. The theory is that certain nations had good staffs and could therefore exercise control over a wider territorial spread. Also used is the limi-tation on the number of units controlled which I have only previ-ously come across in Avalon Hill’s board game "Empires in Arms". Movement is well defined with penalties according to terrain. Interpenetration of units is spelled out, though not always with the logic that is used elsewhere in the rules. Another bogy of mine is built in with a double move allowed for so called “Strategic Movement”. This means, for example, that infantry in column on a road can move at 6 m.p.h. From experience I can say that this is impractical for more than about an hour. The rules for the organisation of Artillery are realistic and the build up of Grand Batteries is correctly restricted. The author ducks the question of howitzer fire by saying that they are included in the normal fire or a battery, However, this does not cover the Prussian and English practice of having complete bat-teries of Howitzers, or their use against villages. Morale, Firefights and Melees are covered in some detail, but all contain much arithmetic with more pluses and minuses than I like to see in a set of rules. Casualties are accounted for by the use of “death caps”. Good rules are in place for controlling cavalry and another pleasant innovation are rules for engineers who can build and destroy bridges, erect pontoons and construct field works. A better written set of miniatures rules than "Legacy of Glory", Avalon Hill’s "Napoleon’s Battles", "Empire" or "To the Sound of the Guns", and therefore highly recommended. I still prefer my version of Dennis & Knight’s “Napoleonic Rules for a Large Scale War Game” which, though nowhere near as comprehensive, give a faster game with much less dice throwing. More Reviews Fields of Fire: Battlefields of the Peninsular War British Artists & War: The Face of Battle in Paintings and Prints Napoleon's Irish Legions Old Glory Special figure packs House Rules Napoleonic: 2nd Edition Red Coats and Grey Jackets: Chippewa 1814 The Duke and Emperor Napoleon's Generals Napoleon and Iberia Eagles Last Triumph Figure: Bicorne 25mm Napoleonic Prints: Napoleonic Cartoon "Novelty" Prints Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #20 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com