Title: Eagles: Waterloo - 1815
Designer: Tom Dalgliesh
Designer's Credits: More than ten historical games, including Napoleon (with Lance Gutteridge and Ron Gibson), and Dixie, all published by Dalgliesh's company Columbia Games.
Number of Players: 2
Playing Time: 10-90 minutes
Complexity Level: Low; very good for beginners and non-wargamers.
Packaging: Light cardstock box with four-color illustration of the Napoleon card on front and a brief description of the game on the back.
Scale: Grand tactical battles in which one card represents either an infantry brigade (or Prussian regiment), a cavalry brigade (or French cavalry division), 2-4 artillery batteries, or an Army-, Corps-, or Division-commander.
Map: Each player's cards are laid out in five positions. Up to four infantry, artillery and/or cavalry cards are permitted in each of a left, center, and right position on a Battleline. Any remaining cards from the initial deal are held immediately behind this Battleline in a Reserve. All remaining cards in each deck are set aside, to come into the game as Reinforcements through the Reserve position. A line between each player's Battleline is known as the Middle Ground. Cards move across this Middle Ground when they move forward to engage the opposite enemy's position. Terrain cards are played either in the Middle Ground between opposing forces (such as the River Dyle), or as part of a Battleline (Hougoumont, Bossu Wood, etc.). Playing Pieces: A complete Waterloo campaign set consists of 300 full-color cards (110 French, 90 Anglo-Allied, 100 Prussian). The game is sold in randomly-assorted decks of 60 cards, plus each deck includes fifteen 5/8-inch die-cut cardboard markers used to designate hits scored, or to indicate that an infantry card is in column or square.
Rules: 23-and-3/4-by-6-and-3/4-inch double-sided sheet folded to fit into the box. Approximately 4,000 words with several nice diagrams and illustrated example of play.
Not Included: In order to play the game, four six-sided dice are needed (although five dice are used in some circumstances). Also, a zip-lock plastic bag would be helpful to store the punched die-cut markers.
Scenarios: The four battles of the 1815 campaign (Ligny, Quatre Bras, Waterloo, Wavre) can be played. There is also a Campaign Game tying together all four battles, plus a hypothetical Battle of Charleroi within the Campaign Game if the French player loses either the Ligny or Quatre Bras battles.
Historical Background Information: There are no historical notes or bibliography, but numerous historical details are provided in the rules and on the cards (the complete set of cards gives the full order of battle for all three armies, including Anglo-Allied units available but which did not fight at either Quatre Bras or Waterloo).
Publisher: Columbia Games, Inc.
Stock Number: 3801
List Price: $8.95 per deck (see ad on back cover for toll-free phone number and ordering information).
Summary: Eagles is an easy-to-play, abstract card game covering the four battles of the June 1815 Waterloo campaign involving the French Armee du Nord, the Anglo-Allied Army of the Low Countries, and the Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine. It is a fun introduction to the tactics, the influence of leaders, and the interaction between infantry, cavalry and artillery during the Napoleonic period.

Collectable card games have become the most popular type of game, surpassing both board games as well as role-playing games in sales. Perhaps it was inevitable that some enterprising game company would seize upon the opportunity presented by the visual appeal of Napoleonic uniforms. Building on their experience with the Dixie series of American Civil War collectable card games, Tom Dalgliesh and Columbia Games have done just that, and the result is a satisfying little game that includes some of the features of grand tactics of the era as well.

At least two decks are needed to play Eagles: Waterloo (and three decks in order to have a good assortment of cards to play the larger battles of Ligny and Waterloo).

The cards are printed on stiff card stock which is very difficult to shuffle even after several playings. The cards are coated with a matte finish, but the corners could be prone to splitting and creasing. We were very careful when we shuffled the cards, lest we bend a corner and ruin a card. Even after less than a dozen games, very small scratches were perceptible on the cards in our playtest deck. This was not enough damage to mark a card and negate its value for play. However, if your primary purpose is to collect the cards, it is not a good idea to play with them. Collectors may do well to collect two complete sets: one deck to play with, the other to store and preserve its collectable value.

The bulk of the cards represent military units of the three armies, generally infantry or cavalry brigades or aggregations of two to four artillery batteries. Each card contains a four-color illustration of a soldier from one of that unit's component regiments or batteries. Additional cards are either Generals (who improve the Morale rating of units they are with, a key factor in the game), Terrain, or Specials.

Terrain cards provide benefits to a limited number of defenders (only one infantry card may be in Hougoumont, but it receives a morale benefit), or limits tactical options (cavalry and artillery cannot attack into woods). A Terrain card can also limit the number of units which can move through it (only one card may cross the River Dyle per turn). Special cards reflect events or special capabilities such as "ammo depletion" (play it on an enemy card so it may not fire or shock), or "French Grand Battery" (all French artillery cards in one position get one extra die to roll).

Artist Eric Hotz accurately depicts the uniforms and equipment for the most part, although 95% of the horses in Europe at the time were not grays and buckskins. Each card shows the unit's type (cavalry, infantry, etc.), its designation (for example, "British 1st Life Guards") along with a color illustration of a soldier of that specific unit, and a national logo. Information is also provided that indicates how that card fits into the order of battle (corps/division/brigade) and which battles of the campaign it fought. Each infantry, cavalry and artillery card has a Combat Value and Morale value. There is also a Firepower rating (F), and, for infantry and cavalry, a Shock rating (S). Cards also have Battle Points (BP) to count if you want to build a custom deck but remain within the BP limits to refight a particular battle. Every card is also numbered for collecting purposes.

For collectors, Columbia has issued three versions of each card with either bronze (common), silver (uncommon), or gold metallic ink trim (rare). The trim color only provides "chase" cards for collectors, it has no impact on game play whatsoever. From a gamer's viewpoint, we felt some might be annoyed by the fact that some decks contained three copies of the same card, each with different metallic trim.

Combat Value (CV) strengths run from one to five per card, each CV representing approximately 800 infantry, or 400 cavalry, or 6-8 cannon. You roll one six-sided die for each CV to attempt to hit an enemy card. A card's Fire and Shock ratings (1-4) reflect that unit's ability to score hits. For example, a rating of F1 means that you hit on a die roll of "6" while a rating of F2 would score a hit with a die roll of "5" or "6". Cavalry can use its more powerful shock rating against "blown" cavalry, artillery, and infantry in line or column. Infantry in column can use its shock rating against artillery or against infantry in line or column. Infantry in square or defending buildings cannot be hit by shock, only by firepower [interesting, considering that town fighting was often at close quarters].