1. Bob Coggins said that during December, he visited Dallas and spent some time with Scotty (AKA Scott) Bowden, author of the EMPIRE II rules to be used for the BORODINO 192 wargame. Bob discussed B192 with Bowden who stated that he thought the B192 organizers made a poor choice in selecting EMPIRE II. Why? Because, indicated Bowden, there were too many inconsistencies in the rules, too many points needing clarification. If one takes the Bob Coggins' report literally, Mr. Bowden's position manifests a Pride Of Authorship taken to a new high. Why weren't we told of these problem areas in 1977, when Mr. Bowden's Napoleonic Reference Source Book was first published? And how about Mr. Bowden's latest Napoleonic effort, EMPIRE V or VI or VII, I forget which? Any problem areas there? In truth, I've played EMPIRE II recently, and despite its plethora of charts, the presence of which turns my stomach, it plays like any other set of minutely detailed, purportedly historically accurate, Napoleonic rules. That is to say, once the game gets going, and you're into the procedural rules for fire, melee and morale, it flows along, if somewhat slowly and ponderously, like any other game. In re-reading the above, it seems to me that I've almost taken the position of defending EMPIRE II from negative comments made about it by its own author. This is an awkward stance f or me to assume... it represents, obviously, the height of asininity. I shall say no more, lest I put my other foot in my mouth. 2. In the above discussion, I mentioned charts-. and I must note that John Costea, a REVIEW subscriber, recently sent me a copy of a rules book which sets new standards in its historical accuracy, its overwhelming chart content, its absurd fire and melee calculations, and its consequential unplayability. Now, having said that, I should state that the author obviously poured his heart and soul into this rules book; it is a virtual textbook and it's as complete a text as any I've ever seen. No stone is left unturned, no tople unmentioned, no factor unquantified, no procedure unexplained. In a word, it is complete, complete to the extent that the fanatical historical wargaming zealot, whose only desire is to be immersed in chart data and, as I term it, historical sludge, can wish no greater glory than to be buried with this text. The name of the rules book is LANCERS AND LEWIS-GUNS. It was published in 1988 by Modeler's Mart in Florida, it contains 140 pages, and it was authored by E. C. Page. Below is the equation (page 95) used for fire calculations; there is no need to explain all the abbreviations used for the nine factors involved, the point to be made is that they exist: The formula for determining a unit's Fire Factor is listed an the Fire Caffbat Procedure chart (3.216), and is reproduced at right: Here is a sample calculation (page 98) for the above; the numbers come from a specific example selected by the author, in which he plucked numbers from his many charts, to illustrate the ease of calculation. It is my duty to point out that the eighth factor, termed Firer-Target Multipliers, is itself composed of four or five other factors. (15.2)Fire combat Resolution: By using all of the various multipliers arrived at in the nine steps of Fire Combat Procedure (15.11-15.19) above with the formula for determining a unit's Fire Factor, the exact rnumber of casualties (either in figures or pieces) is calculated for each unit Firing at each indivi- dual target. To help demonstrate the Fire Combat process, the examples of the two Firing sample units will be carried through below to their conclusion. The Fire Factor of the sample Infantry unit is calculated as follows: 1.200 X .0074 X .50 X 2.1 X 1.0 X 1.2 X .7 X (2.4 X 1.4 X .9 X .5 X 1.2) X .10 equals 1.8270861 or, rounded off to the nearest hundredth, 1 figure casualty and a 83% chance of inflicting a second on the target unit. The Fire Factor of the sample Artillery unit is calculated as follows: 6 X 1.28 X 3.0 X 1.9 X 1.1 X 1.0 X 1.0 X (1.0 X 1.4 X .8 X 1.1) X .10 equals 5.6202 or, again rounded off to the nearest hundredths figure Casualties and a 62% chance of inflicting a sixth an the target unit. The melee calculations use a similar routine. One has to wonder at Mr. Page's statement in the introduction that his game "...is intended most of all to maximize the enjoyment we figure gamers gain in the... limited time and space we have for gaming." Back to PW Review February 1992 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com