Although "role-playing" is an unpopular phrase with most hardcore historical gamers, the fact is that all gaming, in any sphere, is essentially just that. We march battalions; they fly invisible hordes of eight-armed orcs armed with daggers and flamethrowers. It's all the samething, really.
Empires in Arms, Avalon Hill's reissuance of Austrialian Design Group's game on the Napoleonic Wars, is a game that puts you, the player, in the heart of history more than any game I have ever played. Each of the up to seven players (as few as two can play a good "seven-player" game because of EIA's excellent system for unplayed countries) represents one of France, England, Russia, Austria, Prussia, Spain or Turkey, during the period 1805-1815.
Diplomacy, economics and military strategy are all ofequal importance in this game, as each player attempts to realize his victory conditions while attempting to frustrate those of his enemies. Alliances, peace treaties (with a variety of conditions), leaders, fleets,armies, minor powers, sieges, blockades, troop quality and even tactics on the battlefield all play their parts in Empires in Arms.
The game scale is one turn per month, with the most common units being corps and fleets, though the former are usually amalgamated into armies of two or more corps, commanded by a leader. Each leader is rated for a variety of skills, including the number of corps he can comfortably command, his tactical ability, his skill in outflanking and retreating, and how well he can use his cavalry. Seniority is also a factor, and woe betide the Prussian player who allows the Duke of Brunswick to command an army that also contains Blucher!
With corps made up of varying factors of militia, regulars, guard, cavalry and artillery, each representing 1,000-2,000 men, and fleets composed of individual ships of the line grouped together, Empires in Arnis scenarios and campaign games are ideally set up for miniatures campaigns. With battles in the game itself never foregone conclusions (because of the tactical choices available to commanders, as well as other factors), gamers can easily fight a campaign wherein some battles are resolved on the tabletop and others with the game's combat system, with little worry about assimilating the results. One of my favorite features of the game is the fact that with troops rated for morale as well as strength,and victory or defeat in battle determined by which army breaks first, not which one suffers the most casualties, it is quite possible for a victorious army to suffer more heavily than the defeated, though the results of cavalry pursuit, which can be deadly to the vanquished, could change that.
(And, from Craig Taylor ... )
Converting a mapboard force to a tabletop force and vice-versa is simple and very flexible. The game's corps and fleet units are composed of strength points that can be proportionally converted to or from miniature units as local resources allow. For example, an army of 50 infantry and 20 cavalry strength points could be represented by 100 infantry and 40 cavalry figures or by 5000 infantry and 2000 cavalry figures, depending on what is available. Simply reverse the process to convert figure losses into strength point losses. Types of figures can be proportional to that nationality's historic proportions. For example, France in 1805 should convert infantry strength points into roughly 80 percent line and 20 percent light units (guard and militia infantry are already differentiated in the game). Artillery can be attached to the infantry and cavalry units in quantities to match historical usage (much higher than normal if an artillery corps is present). Sea battles can be similarly proportionally set up. Alternately, if the miniature rules in use include a point system for raising troops, figure point values can be used in proportion to mapboard strength points to "buy" figures and equipment. The game includes named leader units, but a number of unnamed subordinate leaders can also be added to the tabletop forces per corps or fleet as required to control the troops based on the miniature rules employed.
The topography of an area where a land tabletop battle takes place can be determined by an umpire (or any player not involved in the battle) or by using any of a number of systems employed to generate random tabletop terrain. Forces arrive on the tabletop from directions corresponding to the mapboard configuration in the area. When a winner is determined, the boardgame system can be used to quickly resolve pursuit losses. For sea battles, the boardgame has a method of determining which side has the wind gage. The boarclgame divides land combats into three "rounds" per "day" and has allowances for adjacent forces to "march to the guns" and join a battle in progress. Depending on the miniature rules used, players should decide how many tabletop Moves equal a "round" so taht they will know how long a "day" lasts and when to dice for the arrival of nearby forces.
Available in most game stores, or directly from The Avalon Hill Game Co., 4517 Hartford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214, for $35.00, Empires in Arms is a game that I not only recommend, but insist anyone with any interest in: a) the Napoleonic period; b) a good multi-player garrie: or c) a totally new and eminently workable campaign game system buy, borrow or steal, For legal reasons, preferably the former of those three.
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