Eagles, "The Napoleonic Trading Card Game" is published by Columbia Games, Dept N., PO Box 3457, Blaine, WA 98231. Eagles is a two player Napoleonic card game of the Waterloo Campaign. One player controls the Allied forces (Britain, Prussia, Hanover, Dutch, etc) and the other controls the French force. Each deck contains a selection of 60 cards from a total of 300 cards in the series. Cards represent Generals, combat units, terrain, and Special Events. Eagles was developed by the same company that produced the ACW card game "Dixie."

Players can choose to fight any of the historical battles of the campaign. Each player requires a minimum of one card deck. All of the battles can be played with just two decks. Players form a Battle Muster listing how many cards can be deployed with the rest entering as reinforcements. For example, to fight the battle of Quatre Bras, the British player requires 18 cards: 9 are deployed, 9 will enter as reinforcements. The French will deploy 10 cards, with a further 4 entering as reinforcements.

Each player forms their battleline consisting of a left, center, and right flanks with their available cards. A maximum of four cards can be deployed in each flank. Extra cards are placed in the Reserve. Play consists of three phases, Morale, Combat and Reinforcements. The French player goes first in all games. Now the fun begins. The Object is to occupy one flank. When this occurs, the game ends in favor of the occupying army. Players can bombard, probe enemy flanks, or launch full scale attacks. Infantry can be placed in column, line or square formation. Attaching generals can aid the defense or attack in each sectors. But be aware, generals are easily lost, and should be used with care. Combat is fast and decisive. Each unit attacking comparing either its shock or fire factor against the enemy's morale factor. Hits must exceed the morale factor to destroy the unit. A unit's morale factor can be improved by terrain cards, special event cards, or generals. After all combat takes place, the French draws from the reinforcement deck and adds the cards to their reserve. The French phase is over and its time for the Allied phase. Again, the Allied player checks Morale, conducts combat, and receives reinforcements.

The Eagles cards are full color and are worth the price of the deck alone. Each card backing identifies the British, Prussian, and French with a beautiful logo. Front sides are also full color and represents a selected unit from an infantry or cavalry brigade, an artillery battery, a picture of key generals, a picture of the terrain feature, or a picture of a special event (such as bayonet attacks, grand battery, confusion, etc). Battles are decisive and generally bloody. If you choose to fight more than one battle, remember that units eliminated (including generals) are lost for the campaign. As an example, we played two games of Quatre Bras in one hour. First Ney eliminated Wellington in a rousing cavalry charge, and in the second game, Ney fell and Wellington led his forces to victory. Each battle was exciting and was not one sided. While the cards will never replace miniatures, they are a nice addition to our hobby.

All in all, Eagles is fun, exciting, and is an excellent addition to any wargamer's collection.