DISAGREES WITH REVIEW OF ‘LA PETIT ARMEE’
I just finished reading your latest issue (No. 82) and as always very pleased with the publication. I am however very surprised by the review of La Petit Armee in the reviewing stand. The individual who reviewed this set of rules was Greg Rice, and I fell he gave a very one-sided assessment of the product. I bought one of these sets at Historicon 01 this past year and found them to be terrific for the operation level that they portray. His review started out good and fair but then turned sour. The game was designed to be played at a divisional/corps operational level, that being said I don’t understand his comment that they are entirely divorced from historical organizations.
Anyone serious player can pick up one of many books and easily adapt an order of battle to play a game. Throughout the Napoleonic wars the armies of Napoleon and his adversary’s changed their basic organization from battalion all the way up to corps many times and even adapted new operational doctrine dependent on weather, resources, diplomatic climate, and theatre. The rules provide a pickup game to be played with just the basic components that come in the box. The command control in the rules are the strong point to the system, I don’t know how he was manipulating his commands points to break the organization structure, but its not a legal move. Aside from that opinions are opinions.
I feel the system is elegant and easy to play, once knowing the rules you can play right from the quick reference sheet. The system works very well as a multi-player game and an engagement such as waterloo can be done in one evening. The armies I believe are not a lost investment as most brigade level games utilize movement trays for the troops regardless of how they are based. I would like to also add that Signifer publishes a newsletter to support the system and offers free of charge any future versions of the rules, which is unheard of in this hobby.
I'm glad that Mr. Jones enjoys La Petite Armee. Clearly different gamers want and expect different things from a ruleset. I think that my review was a fair assessment - the terrain is excellent, the rules are marginal, the figures are a trade-off to keep the total price within reason, limiting their usefulness. It may be that this combination appeals to a large enough audience to be viable. Tastes certainly differ: heck, I still like Jeu de la Guerre. - GREG RICE
ENJOYED DBA ARTICLE IN #81
I just finished reading your article in the Courier issue 81 and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. I played DBA for a year or so when it first came out, then moved over to Napoleonics, 54mm skirmish games and all sorts of other projects. The photo of the Carthaginians and Alexandrians on the cover of the Courier issue got me feeling all nostalgic, though, and when I saw the words “preview of the long awaited DBA 2.0” on the cover I snapped the issue up. Anyway, very nicely done. I particularly liked your insights into why you love DBA so much and what it has to offer. One thing I haven’t been able to figure out is when, exactly, issue 81 was published. More to the point, I’m wondering whether DBA 2.0 has been published already. Can you tell me, perhaps?
#81 was published in early 2001 and DBA 2.o was available at Historicon ‘01. It is now available from Wargames - see advt on inside front cover of this issue for their address. - DICK BRYANT
MISSED FRANK CHADWICK’S AWARD CEREMONY
I have to admit that one other member of the Legion of Honor was missing from the Historicon award ceremony and I hope that Frank Chadwick will forgive me. The fact is that I was playing in a DBM competition. Having brought my Tuareg army, which always manages a 10-0 (one way or the other) inside 2 hours, I had hoped to be finished in time for the speeches if not for the food. Being drawn against an Early Imperial Roman, a nightmare prospect for an almost exclusively camel army, I had every prospect of achieving this.
Instead, the fates conspired against my opponent and I found myself with the only classic Cannae of my 40 year wargaming career. The Roman cavalry and light troops had died or fled and I was remorselessly compressing the legionaries from both sides, forcing each unit to turn in detail, overlapping and flanking it and for once avoiding pitiful dice. I just could not bear to drag myself away from the steady but slow slaughter. So 2001is a red letter year for two reasons - Frank Chadwick got his true deserts and Phil won one.
Frank also got two extra desserts - yours and Mrs. Barker’s! - DICK BRYANT
STILL LOOKING FOR JIHAD’S ADDRESS
Looks like it’s time to resubscribe once more. Praise to you, as always, for keeping The Courier going. I know that it’s about two jobs (besides your day job) to do, what with everything from lining up articles to lining up advertisers, and I’m always impressed by the consistent quality. My own favorites are the reviews and the articles on things like the Russo-Japanese War and early machine guns. I could do with fewer rules sets, monuments to ingenuity that they are,-and what sometimes seem to be endless articles about refights of famous battles. (The latter, I suspect, are more fun for the participants than they can ever be for the readers.) I know, however, that:
1. Other readers might subscribe just so that they can read rules sets and endless articles about refights of famous battles
2. You’ve got 64 pages to fill and, unless people like me get off their duffs and begin to send stuff in, you have to make do with what you get
I also was queasified to see large, dripping blobs of some wargames association’s dirty laundry being spread out in your pages. I suppose that such stuff goes on everywhere (it certainly does in the academic world, where I live), but I’m sorry to see it and I’m not sure what good it does to make it public. I suspect that you’re a decent sort and got caught in the middle, which can easily happen.
So, thanks for the excellent magazine (always read through completely the afternoon the mailperson brings it) and long may it flourish.
Have you had any luck locating a proper address for Jihad as you said you’d try to? Last year, when a review of their figures appeared in the Courier, I sent a note to the address in the review, only to have it returned to me with “Addressee Unknown” on it. This was frustrating because their figures would finally supply an enemy for my Russian colonial troops from Gladiator. If info comes your way, I’d certainly appreciate your sending it on.
I’m sorry to say that all efforts on my part went unrewarded - I have not found any other address for this firm. I hope that if any other reader has a contact he will let us know. I get many requests for refights of famous battles. While I don’t like them myself, many others do - witness the popularity of scenario books based on historical battles. - DICK BRYANT
VOLLEY FIRE COMMENTS
Great issue! Have you considered putting “Volley Fire” feedback on the website?
Yes, we are working on it now - but it looks like we have to change our web site supplier and you know what a pain that is - Dick
We need more Sales & Trades.
We print what we get! It seems that the internet and e-bay have really cut into the need for printed want ads. - Dick
More refights of History’s battles and more orders of battle for the same
I always look forward to Rules, Reviews and table/Terrain tips. The covers are so inspirational!
Thanks - Dick
I don’t like card-based and/or alternate move rules! Bravo for pinting “the letter”.
The renaissance article started off by annoying me (I’ve never liked goofy place or leader names. But it was outstanding once I caught the drift of Otto Schmidt’s concept.
Hohenlinden was a well nigh perfect article: interesting, well written, well illustrated, and it had a couple of concepts I can use in my games.
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