The production of new game titles seems to be continuing at an extraordinarily rapid pace. While the variety of subjects covered by these new games is very large, there is one characteristic which most seem to have in common, they are generally rather complex. This complexity often arises from the number of units involved, the length and abstruseness of the rules and the time required to play the game. Accordingly, skillful play of these games is very rarely achieved by anyone and an unusual concurrence of inclination and ability is necessary for two persons to become adept at a given title.

The upshot of this is that many wargamers and informal wargaming groups have gotten into the habit of drifting from new game to new game, while never really fully mastering or fully enjoying any of the games. Finding this to be true of myself, I recently decided to escape this syndrome by going back to one of the simplist games I could find and attempting to, if not master it, then at least to explore its play more fully than is possible with more complex games.

The result is in part contained in this strategy for a French victory in NAPOLEON AT WATERLOO. The coordinates referred to are located by the following system. The columns of hexes are lettered from A at the French player's left to AA at his right. The rows are numbered diagonally and run towards the west, starting with 1 in the lower SE corner on the French player's side. For example, Hougomont, in hex J18, Le Mesnu is in hexes G26 and G27.

The French army has several advantages over its British counterpart. The French have nine cavalry units as compared to five for the British. These units are useful both in terms of their greater movement factor and, especially for the French, because of their handiness for "soak-off" attacks. The French also have four artillery units with a total attack factor of 13, while the British have three of these units with a total attack factor of 8. The French also have an advantage of 89 total attack factors to 73 for the British. The French then should attempt to bring these various advantages to bear with the object of defeating the British army before the Prussians can be brought effectively into play.

To accomplish this the French player must make effective use of two groups of units I have labeled reserve A and reserve B. Reserve A consists of the 6th and 9th infantry divisions and the 1 artillery. Reserve B consists of the 19th, 20th, Chas Gd, Yg Gd and Gren Gd infantry divisions and the VI artillery. Since, as previously noted, the French do not have an overly great advantage in terms of basic combat factors, it is vitally essential that these two reserves be directed towards that section of the British line against which they will have the maximum effect.

In order to ascertain where this will be, it is necessary for those units in the French front line--i.e., those units not in the two aforementioned reserves--to move forward and engage as much of the British line as possible in order to achieve an advantage which the reserves can be used to exploit. The following then is the situation at the end of the French first turn movement:

CAVALRY
1st on S19
2nd on J20
3rd on P18
5th on P17
11th on F19
12th on I19
13th on T15
14th on U15
G.L. on T16
G.H. on G19

INFANTRY

1st on L19
2nd on Q18
3rd on R18
4th on S18
5th on K19
6th on 117
9th on K16
19th on N17
20th on N16
C.G. on M16
G.G. on L15
Y.G. on P15

ARTILLERY

I on J16
II on M18
VI on O16
Gd on R17

If these French attacks are all successful, then the British line will be in deep trouble; its two best units will be gone and deep inroads will have been made on both its wings.

The French player, however, should be willing to and, barring a string of lucky die rolls, will obviously be forced to settle for less than this total success. Usually the French player will be able to count on one or the other of his attacks on the British 7-4s succeeding.

If the attack on the 7-4 on the British left is successful, then the British player will find himself with all his units in that sector tied down except for one 4-5 which will either have to be thrown into the attack against the French 3rd infantry division--which has advanced next to the British 3-5 forcing a 1-2 counterattack--or else moved further east to protect the flank. In either case the French are in a good position: on their second turn they should send the 13th cavalry to the town hex T17 to delay the arrival of the Prussians, while attempting to turn the British flank with the 14th and Gd Lite cavalry divisions. Also reserve B should be used now to launch an attack on the British line directly east of Le Haye Sainte, or if it seems profitable, upon the town itself.

Should the attack on the 7-4 on the right of the British line be successful and the accompanying advance be accordingly executed, it at first appears that the British will be able to launch and effective counterattack against the French 1st and 5th infantry divisions. A second look shows, however, that such an attack would leave these units open to a strong counterattack to be delivered on turn 2, in part by reserve A. Additionally the British will be hard put to construct an effective extension of their line on the right wing, which is vulnerable to a flanking manuever by the French 11th, 12th and Gd Hvy cavalry divisions and to a possible later assault by reserve A.

If both attacks on the 7-4s fail, the French strategy is somewhat changed. Attack number 2 usually succeeds and it, by itself, is able to tie down four British units--1Gd and 3rd infantry divisions, 1Gd cavalry division and II artillery--on the first turn. This generally weakens the British right wing.

Therefore, in this situation both reserve A and reserve B should be directed against this section of the line. Reserve A should concentrate on the extreme right wing with the object of attempting a flanking maneuver in conjunction with the available cavalry units. Reserve B's attacks should go in immediately to the west of Le Haye Sainte.

The attack on the British left must be content with the forces already in place there, which, while fairly strong, will not usually achieve anything decisive. In fact this situation involves a much tougher fight for the French, since the British are still in possession of both their 7-4s and also hold a reasonably intact line.

>THE FRENCH ATTACKS FOR THE FIRST TURN ARE RESOLVED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER
# French Units	British Units	Odds	Results
1. 6th, 9th inf., I art.	vs. 1-4	15-1	DE
2. 1st inf.	vs. II art.	2-1	If DR then adv.
3. 5th inf., II art,	vs. 1Gd Inf.	1-1	If DR and attack 2 was successful, then advance.
4. 2nd cav.	vs. 2nd inf.	1-3	-
5. 3rd cav.	vs. 6th inf., I art.	1-9	AE
6. 2nd inf., Gd art.	vs. 2DB inf.	2-1	If DR then adv. and retreat 2DB to P 20.
7. 3rd, 4th inf.	vs. 5th inf	1-1	If DR and attack 6 was successful, then advance.
8. 1st cav.	vs. 3-5	1-2	If DR and attacks 6 and 7 were successful, then advance and retreat 3-5 to Q21.

In any event, on subsequent turns the French must take advantage of opportunities to tie down British units in order to facilitate flanking moves. If the Prussians are screened off and their arrival is effectively delayed, the British will often be incapable of presenting a continuous front. This should leave ample opportunities for the unit destruction necessary to achieve British demoralization, after which French victory is generally assured.

All in all, I have found this to be a workable French strategy which often results in a rapid British demoralization, although, as in any game which is heavily dependent upon the luck of a few crucial die rolls, it is a long way from being a sure thing. It does give the French player the enjoyment of attempting to execute a fairly detailed and specific plan of action (as well as attempting to carry out the advice of generations of military historians by launching a strong attack on the British left). rather than having to flounder from turn to turn as is too often the case with the play of many of the overly complex and seldom played games now on the market.