For some reason, most wars in the game-universe go much faster than in real life. No commander on the game-board seems to wait for anything or doubt anything, which, by the way, are the two things a real commander does most. While The Gamers' games are unusually real in this respect, the morning hours in Marengo still seem implausibly fast, especially compared with the historical account and the starting times of the scenarios in the game.

Any French player with half a brain will have Lannes and Murat moving at about seven o'clock, and any Austrian player who lets Ott spend five hours contemplating the mysteries of life in Castel Ceriolo should consider retirement. Still Ott did this in real life and Lannes didn't realize that was going on till around eight. The following three rules will make Marengo's time- frame more real without much trouble.

Austrian Approach March

Line up the Austrian 6:00 units in one long column off the map with one infantry or cavalry unit, or a maximum of 5 gun points of artillery in each stack. This column, strung out along one imagined off-map road, determines the order of entry. While off the map, no unit may "drive past" another or violate the one-unit/5-gun- point stacking limit.

It took until eight o'clock (four turns) before the Austrian attack on Marengo started. Apparently the Bromida crossing was a time-consuming affair. This rule will prevent the Austrian player from stacking his army in six or seven megastacks and then jumping onto the map.

French Reaction Time

Lannes, Murat and Wartin may not roll for initiative until after the third player turn in which guns have been fired around Marengo. [Ed note: Players should agree beforehand what "around Marengo" means]

Unless Lannes is visited by an angel in his sleep, there is no way he can grasp what is going on in the first two or three turns of the game. This rule makes him more real.

Austrian Command Sluggishness

The Austrian player has an anti-initiative of -1 until 12:00 or the time when any Austrian division first fails a stoppage check, whichever comes first.

It apparently took (especially) Ott some time to realize that things were not going all that well around Marengo. This rule will make the Austrian leaders less spontaneous early in the battle, because they still try to follow the original plan while trying to figure out what the French are up to.

Any comments on these suggested rules are welcome.