The last few issues, it seems that I've focused quite a lot on a set of concepts for the Napoleonic era, which were submitted by Dave Corbett of the Benedict Arnold Society. Note that I used the term "set of concepts", rather than "set of rules" because, although Dave did send in a complete set of rules, I've so twisted and warped and changed the procedures, that Dave can take very little blame for the final results. Dave's game is played on a table covered with 3-inch hexes. My adoptation is played on a table covered with rather random-sized, irregular shaped regions... which means that both games are "area games". Dave uses stands of figures mounted on 3-inch hexes, so that only one unit, i.e., one stand, is permitted per hex. I use anywhere from 3 to 5 stands (each called a battalion) per unit (which I term a "brigade"), and the stands are small enough so that 5 can easily fit comfortably in an area... only one brigade per area is allowed. My ping-pong table-sized area map measures some 12 areas across the short span of the table, and about 20 areas the long way. Placed on a ping-pong table, Dave's 3-inch hex set-up would give him, I think, some 20 hexes by 40 hexes, a much "larger" playing field, relatively speaking, than my own. Dave's original rules had the French moving faster than the British, and I've carried that through... my French infantry move 3 areas per movement phase, while British units move only 2 areas. All cavalry moves at 4 areas per phase. Until recently, I had a limited number of 3- or 4-stand light brigades, able to deploy in open order in a single area as skirmishers. Tony Figlia suggested that, in addition to the light brigades, one stand in each regular line unit be marked as a light unit, and that these stands be permitted to leave their parent brigade and, together, form a combined light unit. Normally, when a brigade takes a hit, a marker is placed with the unit in its area and the brigade carries the marker along as it moves; the marker is not "stand specific", but belongs to the unit as a whole. In contrast, when a combined skirmish unit takes a hit, the marker is assigned to a specific stand, and when that stand rejoins its brigade, it carries its marker back to the parent unit. Due to the irregularly shaped areas on the map, rather weird things can happen during the firing phase. Perhaps I should characterize these happenings as "irregular" rather than weird, so that they fit nicely in, as they should, with the irregular areas. For example, on the map sketched below, which is fairly typical of my layout, we have two artillery units, Batteries A and B, next to wooded areas. Rules for artillery fire state that (a) The range of the guns is 3 areas, (b) Guns cannot fire "through" woods, (c) The guns fire in a full arc of 360 degrees out of their area (there is no facing requirement), and (d) The guns can fire along any 3 contiguous areas to reach their targets. I've marked Battery A's selected target as Target A, and, in similar fashion, that of Battery B. Weird Things Can Happen I've also noted the three contiguous areas, marked 1, 2, and 3, through which Battery A's cannon ball passes on its way to its target, Target A, and the three areas through which Battery B's cannon ball bounces to get to Target B. You will immediately note the wicked, curving route of Battery A's roundshot... one might almost say it's a "homing cannon ball", a veritable cruise missile. And the same for Battery B. The Target A player thought his unit was appropriately under cover from Battery A, when... WHAMMO!... out of the clear blue sky come the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, etc. Ditto for the Target B player. Now the ordinary, everyday, true-to-fashion, stuck-in-the-mud, plodding wargamer might throw up his hands (and, possible, his dinner) when faced with such a situation. A look at the map might - I say "might" - cause one to think that the targets were shielded by the woods. Not true. Rules is rules and woods is woods and contiguous areas is contiguous areas, I allus sez. The above situation is, I would agree, an anomaly, an aberration, indeed, an abomination on an otherwise fine, historically pure and accurate and realistic set of Napoleonic rules. In fact, if one gave it ten minutes' thought, one could devise a rule preventing such goings-on with the artillery firing procedures. But why? A wee bit of silliness is part of a wargamer's stock in trade (one need only go to the professionally published rules books to see this) and, I think, such frivolity makes for a more enjoyable game. Scale The gaming scale is rather large. As noted before, one area holds up to 5 stands, each stand being termed a battalion, and the unit, as a whole, is defined as a brigade. A division is composed of up to 5 brigades, hence may be spread out over 5 areas. The table size is such that the battles take place between opposing corps, perhaps 6 or 7 divisions each. The victory conditions set up for the game look at the number of divisions on each side. Each side receives 3 Victory Points (VP) for each of its divisions. In truth, they're not so much Victory Points as "Defeat Points", for at the end of any full bound, if a side's points are reduced to less than zero, going negative, the game is up... by definition, the side yields the field. VP decrease in one of two ways: A side loses 2 VP for every one of its units (brigades) that is annihilated, and A side loses 1 VP for every melee it loses. There's only one way to increase the VP total. And that is to use a staff officer to temporarily prop up a rapidly decreasing set of VP. Each turn, the Corps Commander may receive one staff officer at Corps Headquarters (there's a basic 70% chance of the officer arriving). Ordinarily, the staff officer is assigned to a division and used to bolster a unit in melee... he gives the unit a couple of extra dice, after which, he's removed from the field. But the officer may also be used to augment the current total of VP; the number of points he adds is diced for: 01 to 33 Officer adds 1 VP 34 to 66 Officer adds 2 VP 67 to 100 Officer adds 3 VP Back to PW Review July 1994 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 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