Price £ 7.00 U.K., £ 8.00 overseas, includes post and packing, from C.J. Lane, 20 Bladnoch, Nr Wigtown, Newton Stewart, Scotland. D08 9AB

Clive Lane recently sent through a copy of his Napoleonic rules, and an impressive book it is to. A4 format, with 104 pages, crammed full of the Lane theory of Battlegaming with Hexes. These have been featured in other magazines, most notably Practical Wargamer October 1990.

I am not in a position to have play tested these rules, mainly because they require a hexagonal gridded table and hexagonal terrain features. It is a sort of kriegsspiel in reverse, miniature figures moved and deployed on a 3 dimensional board game, where kriegsspiel involves counters on a realistic map, if you see what I mean.

The hexagons are the key to the system as all movement and firing ranges are counted in terms of the number of hexes. For 15mm gaming a 100mm hex is recommended, and this necessitates 202 hexes being drawn on to your table (5'4" x 3'10"), for 25mm the hex size is increased to 150mm for a table size of 8'x 5'9", a daunting prospect for anyone who is uncertain that this is the system for them. The photograph on the cover should help you decide if you like the look of the system or not.

Clive claims that the use of hexes speeds game play and reduces player disputes, both good points for any system. I have used the term system twice now, because, this booklet is just that. A complete way of life for a gamer. Everything is covered from how to construct the terrain and buildings to the basing and organisation of units. 66 pages of text and good illustrations explain the game workings. The remainder of the booklet detail 12 scenarios, replete with orders of battle and table layouts for actions as diverse as Pultusk to Wavre.

I noted that the system has been undergoing development since 1978, and is copyrighted as 1984. The copy I received was the 1990 edition. To be honest I felt that Clive's work is to much too late. If it had been widely available 10 years ago in it's current format, it could have revolutionised table top gaming, as it is with the current trend for fighting big battles at a higher command level, it may be arrving on the scene to late.

I cannot, nor should I, dismiss these rules out of hand as I have not used them. I feel that if you like them and are prepared to indulge in a complete D.I.Y. system they are certainly worth the very reasonable price. An added bonus, I felt was the scenario sections, although the O.B.'s are not very detailed they certainly lend themselves to easy conversion to other rule systems, particularly Napoleon's Battles. Recommended, well worth £ 7 of anybody's money, even if only for the scenarios and the ideas contained within.

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