Almost one year ago, Games USA entered the wargaming scene with the release of their version of Napoleon's battle of Borodino, along with the promise of many more games of the era, all following the same standard rules. They have now released the second in their “Eagles of the Empire” series, Friedland. The Custer-Rorke Syndrome lives on. For those newly come to the pages of BROG, the C/R Syndrome is wargaming’s most pervasive disease. (Idiocy and incompetence are conditions, not diseases. The latter are sometimes curable; the former is usually chronic.) Its premise is that there are a large number of military and historical subjects that, while interesting to read about, make films on, or simply discuss, are just god-awful subjects for games … the most obvious examples being Little Big Horn and Rorke’s Drift. Friedland, for those who believe that real men only push cardboard panzers, was the final battle of the 1806-1807 campaign which saw the Prussians humiliated and the Russians running for home with their tails between their legs. The Russian commander, Bennigsen, saw an opportunity to destroy an isolated French Corps under Marshal Lannes. Lannes skillful delaying action and the Russian sloth allowed Napoleon to concentrate his army and, in a few short hours, virtually destroy the Russian army. This all makes for fascinating history, but it’s Turkeys Romanov for the players’ dessert. Friedland was such a cakewalk for the French that it has even been ignored by the Francophiles at Clash of Arms. The designer begs the issue in the exclusive rules by asking that, if we study such debacles as Pearl Harbor and the Dardanelles, why not Friedland? Well, how many games are there on Pearl Harbor? Or the Dardanelles? This game suffers from the classic Custer/Rorke Syndrome, and no game system can fix that. The physical package is, again, impressive, from the Russian Grenadiers on the box cover to the colorful counters. The rules are written in time-honored SPI case style, including a standard rules book and a separate exclusive rules book. A chart and table card is included, but it would have been nice if the long list of combat bonuses had been printed on the card. It would have saved much wear on the rules book. (Ed. Second time we pointed that out, Brien and Mark. Next time we escalate to violence.) The counters are colorful, basic blue for the French and green for the Russians. They include a color band to differentiate commands, but it is so thin as to be difficult to read at times. The counters come in two sizes, long rectangles for most infantry ( like the phalanxes in GBoH) and standard squares for everyone else. Since the standard rules are edition 2.0, one must assume (hope? pray?) that Games USA has incorporated errata and updates. For owners of Borodino, they have included a summary of the rules changes, most of which seem to be clarifications. Two of the more important changes are in the mechanics of stacking and artillery fire. Stacking limits are now in effect throughout the movement phase, while artillery fire now causes step losses in addition to the PIN result that modifies the combat die roll. They also have included the now familiar "Whoops, we forgot this" post-printing errata card, most of which is to clarify the map terrain. It is printed on a very small piece of paper, so be careful it doesn't vanish. The 16 page exclusive rules contain the five scenarios, special rules for the battle, historical commentary and designer’s notes. As with the standard rules, the exclusive rules are clear and well written. Much of the special rules cover the Alle river and the problems it caused for the Russians. Another section covers the fires that started in Friedland, allowing the French to try and fry the Russians in the town. The scenarios cover the opening cavalry action, Lannes' holding action early on the 14th of June, the historical battle, and the full day. The mechanics of the game are surprisingly simple and clean. After determining weather for the current game turn, both sides check the command status of their armies. Command is traced from the HQ counter down through the chain of command, with the French having the added advantage of using Napoleon as an extra source of command. Players then roll on an activation table that determines which side activates a force. (Ed. TCT Lives!!) The activation tables and forces are defined by the special rules and a very colorful chain of command diagram printed on the map. Activated forces are allowed to move and conduct combat as long as they are in command. Out of command forces/units have limits to their movement and cannot assault. Leaders are rated for initiative that can be used, by passing a die roll, to place themselves and their units in command. Combat is resolved by each player rolling a die, adding or subtracting a rather extensive, albeit interesting, list of modifiers, and subtracting the defender’s die roll from the attacker’s. We began by setting up the historical, 14th June scenario, and it became obvious by the third turn that the French would win; the only question being how big. That depends on how well the Russian can get his units safely across the Alle. Since crossing the Alle river is most difficult, the Russian usually sits and watches his units slowly turned into dog food. There was little movement, since the armies start set up practically next to each other from flank to flank, and the activation table favors the French so much that the Russian is ecstatic when he is allowed to move anything. The Lannes' holding action scenario is a little more interesting, but again the activation table is so limiting for Russians that there is little they can accomplish. As in the historical scenario, movement is limited by the set up and the map, which brings us to the most important problem with this game system. Brien Miller, the series designer, writes in his designers notes that he needed a new map system to project the true geographical lines of a particular battlefield. He used high tech scanning software, much research, and, Shazam! (Ed. Anyone remember what that’s an acronym for? If you do, time to start asking for Old Age discounts.) reinvented the area movement map so loved by fans of such hits as Tito! By reinventing this particular wargaming wheel, Brien has stripped the game of its period flavor. There are no sweeping movements or massed columns; what we get is more die rolls than movement. The map itself is bland, printed in green and brown, and small, only 15" by 16 1/2" inches. The very size of the map mitigates any of the feelings of grandeur and mass that Napoleonic warfare is supposed to engender. The excellent counters - and they are truly top notch - look out of place on such a bland map. The graphical presentation of the counters, and the simple, clean rules make this game one you really want to work. Unfortunately, the map and the situation itself ruins any chance of that. We’d say, “Better luck next time”, but we also have to warn that “Three Strikes and You’re Out.”. CAPSULE COMMENTS: Graphic Presentation: Excellent for the counters, bland and boring for the map. Playability: Very good. Most questions answered in the rules. Replayability: Minimal movement, one sided battles should be banned from the hobby. Creativity: Reinvented the area map; good otherwise. Historicity: Good Wristage: Low Comparisons: Not much on this battle. At this scale, NES’s Napoleon battle system (see next BROG’s review) may not look quite as good, but it is more evocative. Overall: A good, clean, interesting system with an albatross-like map and an anvil-like battle. from GAMES USA 17" x 25" map; 380 counters; Standard rules booklet; Exclusive rules booklet; Charts & Tables card; boxed. Games USA , 9836 Carousel Dr., Syracuse, NY 13290. $35? Back to Berg's Review of Games Vol. II # 19 Table of Contents Back to Berg's Review of Games List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Richard Berg This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com