One 24" x 20" mounted map; 216 counters; Rules Book; Special Rules Book; 5 Play Aid Charts. Boxed. In US, via Mail Order Houses. $45 retail. The SimTac folks, over in Valencia, Spain, mostly noted for their detail-and-process oriented Napoleonic battle games - the ones that cause an immediate outbreak of the heebie-jeebies in the hallowed halls of Clash of Arms - have decided to attack the "We Need Simple Games!" situation head on, by providing players with a "simple" version of their standard tactical system. And to introduce this worthy project, they have settled on one of the more obscure pieces of entertainment in the Napoleonic portfolio, the battle outside of Alexandria (Egypt, not Virginia) in 1801, known "officially" as Canope … thus leading to the conclusion that they're using this game as a "can opener" for the simple game crowd. The choice, with some reservations, is a good one, as it is a fairly small, head-on battle, allowing players to absorb the system without trying to figure out what they're supposed to do with all those gaily-colored counters, wandering around in the desert and salt marshes. Like their previous two publications, Alexandria, 1801 is a feast for the eyes, a visual impact that is sure to impress many a post-holiday wallet, almost as much as the $45 (cheaper from mail order houses) tag will depress same. (And see commentary on AH's Renaissance game, herein.) First off, the map is mounted, and nicely mounted at that. It is also a very attractive rendering of the battlefield area, especially given the fact that there's not much one can do to spruce up the desert. The Roman ruins and local towns are the highlights, although the "Roman Camp" would look more apropos in a Rommel game … and those two "rowboats" in Lake Maadieh look like nothing less than escaping arthropods, bringing on visions of a "Dice for the Lice" table. The play-aid charts are also attractive, and most helpful, and the Rules Books (in English) are - at least visually - models of their kind. Les pièces de resistance, though, are still the counters. Accurate, breast-view renditions of each battalion's uniform, who cares if they are often impossible to read in terms of to whom (leader) they belong? Napster types are used to that sort of thing, the visual impact of the counters is still a major selling point, and - Good News! - for the Simple System you don't have to turn the suckers over to get the useful numbers as much as in the Standard System. All of this augurs well for the game's - and the players' - future. However, like most auguries, it all depends on how you interpret the results. The problem with Alex '01 is that, while the system is, in the end, about 50% "simpler" than its progenitor, that simplicity is often hard to find. José Arcón, and his estimable staff, "simply" can't seem to pull themselves away from the original for more than a sentence or two. And while the game is easier to play, some of the rules are so arcane and overwrought as to defy explanation. Example in point: the method of determining Initiative. This one not only caused severe eyeball roll-strain, but not a small amount of hootish derision. Best I can make it out is that high DR wins. Unfortunately, that DR is DRMed by such as whether or not your Army commander is stacked with his HQ (and several variations on that theme), what terrain level he's on (but not whether he's taller, per se, or not), the number of subordinate HQ on the map, and whether or not Mars is aligned with Saturn in the 4th quadrant. (I could have sworn that was in there.) Hey, amigos, this is supposed to be a simple game! How 'bout just rollin' the damn die. And on it goes, in that vein. What does emerge as a relatively - if not truly - simple game is often buried by verbiage guaranteed to produce perplexity, rather than easy access … to which we can add the unforgivable (in my eyes) Road Movement Rate of 3/4. And me without my slide rule … drat!! Edouard, Marquis de Clash, has railed bitterly at (what he perceives as) SimTac's theft of system. Well, he's got some solid proof here, because the only other place I've seen this sort of math-trash is in the La Bat games. Be of stout heart, however, because the system manages to overcome the above evils and inequities. Still, a caveat to those interested in a gentler, kinder Napoleonic battle system: this is a "process" oriented game, not for gamers who are interested more in the end result than in the ways to arrive therein. Despite its claims of simplicity, the combat mechanics still involve morale checks, fire and return fire, and shock resolution. In this, it is no different from GBoH, GBACW, or even La Bat. The only thing simpler is the mathematics involved. Like its rather difficult, but ultimately kindly, uncle, Simple SimTac is command oriented, but in a way not usually seen in tactical games. The units of a given command do not have to stay within a specific range of their leader; they have to stay/move within (and not beyond) their HQ, which counter is used as a sort of "objective". Moreover, battalion infantry must end movement "in line" (adjacent), a rule (with certain exceptions, to be sure) which does much to provide Napoleonic flavor. Those of you who like to split their brigades up like district salesmen are not going to cotton to that rule with great relish. The Sequence of Play - actually, there is no printed sequence; it's sort of discussed, something that doesn't make the game any easier to follow - is interactive, in a quasi even-handed manner. The Initiative Player can activate any one division HQ, moving all or some of the brigades within that division before turning over play to his opponent, who does likewise. When activated, the units of a brigade fire their artillery, move (and small-arms fire), and then, if they wish, close for the Big One. Sound familiar? Well, it's that familiarity that breeds accessibility, rather than the rules or the mechanics. Those of you who've done this sort of thing before will have little trouble grasping the premises by the roots. As far as the situation goes, the historical scenario is rather interesting. The Brits are all on the map, good units in good position. However, the approaching French have better numbers (if lousier commanders), a light, but interesting, flanking position, and a rather sizable group of reinforcements. What emerges is a fairly mobile French player, and a determined, if stolid, British approach. (There is a "basic scenario", in which both sides come on like two football teams at kickoff time, but there is little reason to play this.) What tends to make all of this come apart at the seams are the 15 minute turns, relatively large movement rates, and the small map. While the action is exciting and fun, it doesn't seem to be playing out in "real" time. Granted, the units take losses incrementally (making the game far less simple than it wants to be), and slowly, but it just doesn't feel right in this one area. Other than that, the only question I have is whether anyone will want to pay that much money for a game on an obscure subject that is far more, in terms of system and mechanics, than it wants to be. CAPSULE COMMENTS Graphic Presentation: Great. All games should look this good. Playability: Far less simple than SimTac would have you believe, but, once you slog through the overwritten rules, fairly accessible. Replayability: Not much, as the battle is fairly straightforward and obvious. Wristage: What you'd expect from a tactical game. Historicity: Excellent. Creativity: In terms of reducing the parental version to a more accessible form, not much. Comparisons: In trying to fill a vacuum - simple game with solid historicity - it stumbles. Then again, it has no competition in that niche. Not yet. Overall: Because of the price, this will be of interest mostly (try only) to the Nap crowd. Back to Berg's Review of Games Vol. 2 #24 Table of Contents Back to Berg's Review of Games List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1996 by Richard Berg This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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