Introduction

Le Grand Empire: France and Napoleon, 1795-1815 is a game type simulation of the Napoleonic period.
Players 2 to 7
Period Napoleonic Europe, 1795 - 1815
Scale Strategic Turn One year
Map 175 kilometers across each hex
Unit Army (land) and fleet (naval)

Components

Box ziploc bag
1 12-page half-size rulebook
1 standard two-color map
255 die-cut counters

Counter Manifest

46 France (magenta) 24 units; 20 markers
35 England (violet) 15 units; 20 markers
24 Austria (blue) 15 units; 9 markers
30 Russia (yellow) 21 units; 9 markers
24 Prussia (green) 15 units; 9 markers
43 Europe (olive) 34 units; 9 markers
24 Asia/Africa (red) 15 units; 9 markers
17 Neutral (white) markers
19 miscellany (white) 7 markers; 12 blanks

SimCan says:

“The object of this design was to come up with a system that could represent the strategic possibilities of the Age of Napoleon while at the same time presenting the limitations imposed by the types and natures of the governmental, economic, and military systems of the time.”

The Reviewers say:

“Le Grand Empire ... has by far the broadest scope of Napoleonic games to date ... The most striking feature of Empire, considering its grand scope, is its simplicity. There are only seven pages of rules! This has been made possible by a clever handling of the potentially most complex facet, the war-peace interface.” --F&M 24.

“The game is easy to play, but the extreme simplicity avoids the strategic complexities of Napoleonic maneuver ... While one can applaud the effort involved in such a grandiose undertaking, the game does not live up to the designer’s objectives, let alone a historical veracity.” --Ian Chadwick in Moves 52.

“The game is pretty simple (and somewhat simplistic) and could probably be played in a long evening, depending on how many players are involved. Long on game, short on simulation.” --S&T 72.

“A rarity: Napoleonic strategy! ... The game mechanics are amusing, with particular interest attached to the fleets of minor powers; the best French chance lies in a well-timed offensive against several minors to get their navies at the same time and attain temporary dominance of the seas. ... The multi-player game looks more interesting than this rather preordained course of events, but the fun of a free-for-all erodes the historical plausibility while giving the French a better chance”. --Nicky Palmer in the Best of Board Wargaming [the only SimCan game reviewed in the book -ed].

Comments

Le Grand Empire is one of the few games that deals with the entire Napoleonic period. Unfortunately, it was a simple game released at a time when gamers were demanding ever larger and more complex simulations. Thus the fact that it was not a critical success should not be surprising, even though it was being measured against standards that clearly were not applicable. Oh well.

Collectors Notes

This SimCan game did not have the smallest print run, yet the first 1,000 copies sold out quickly and a second run of indeterminate size (probably about 500) also sold out almost as quickly. Boone lists low, high and average costs of 4/24/12.00 at auction and 10/25/ 17.50 for sale.

Errata

• In instances when both a fleet and an army occupy a city, the army takes precedence for the control of that city.
• For game set up Northern Italy starts 1795 in a Pro Austrian state.

Suggested Changes

In rule 11.1 the three player game should use France, Russia and England/ Austria as the active countries. In the four player game Prussia is added to the above.

A Wellington counter would be an 1809-1815 counter with a factor of 1 but may only command English troops until 1813 and if he is ever involved in a battle in which he retreats or loses troops and the opposing player does not he may not command non-English troops from that point on. In all other respects he is treated like the Napoleon counter.

In rule 11.65 only up to 2 unused attacks may be accumulated per nation/player per turn for use in later turns.

Steve Newberg says:

This was one of my first attempts at producing a broadly reflective, but easy to play, strategic game. At the time I wanted one of every three games we did to fit this category, with the idea of encouraging new players and providing a ‘beer & pretzels’ game for the older hobby people. I have no idea if it worked. The game is colorful and fun, within its scope. It emphasizes maneuver. It sold out its print run quickly. And we heard just about nothing back about it.