"Magazine Reviews of Snappy Nappy" Topic

Miniature Wargames (#317: Sep 2009, page 74) was the first to run a review of Snappy Nappy: Simple, Subtle, & Ultrafast Miniatures Rules for the Napoleonic Era. A summary excerpt from reviewer Gary Mitchell:

"The rules deliver what they say -- easy to understand and rapid to play."

"You can pack in a fair sized army on a budget -- not a bad consideration under the credit crunch."

He also noted that the free issue of Napoleon Magazine included with purchases from OMM (US) and Caliver (UK) was a "real fan's delight" and a "useful back issue" although he gave thumbs down on the included free music CD. (Supplies of both are still available).

After this positive review from MW came another positive review from Battlegames (#19: Sep-Oct 2009, page 36). Excerpts from reviewer Arthur Harman:

"It's catchy title makes no reference to Glory, Eagles or Victory (and throws some American Francophiles on TMP into paroxysms of rage that their hero is being called a diaper -- but this may not be so inappropriate to those who can remember Gen. Kleber's caustic comment on Bonaparte's abrupt return to France, abandoning the Army of the Orient in Egypt: 'That little 's left us with in his pants.')…

"Most of the concepts and rules can be understood pretty well on a first reading, thanks to Mr. Lockwood's congenial, clear prose style, which makes Snappy Nappy as pleasant to read as some of the 'classics', and careful explanations, without the undue use of jargon, acronymns, or initials that has bedeviled so many wargame rules. I soon felt that I had a good grasp of the rules, which is not often the case these days, and could play aided only by the Quick Reference Card"…

"It is heartwarming in these days of style over substance, to see a concise, reasonably priced set of wargame rules that have been thorougly playtested."…

And after these two good reviews…

Wargames Soldiers & Strategy 47 (Sep 2009) posted a news item (page 12). (no review)

Please note there is a Snappy Nappy Yahoo group that discusses SN and Napoleonic topics. Author Russ Lockwood responds to all questions and queries on the group, and floats around TMP as well.

We have Snappy Nappy in stock, along with the free Napoleon back issue (with many color uniform illustrations, some by Keith Rocco) and matching music CD. $29 USD (plus shipping).

Dennis from OMM
onmilitarymatters.com
publisher of Snappy Nappy

The cover is horrible!!!!!!!

As for the title, if you thought TW&T was bad, believe me, this is worse!!!

The idea of the cover -- and Lockwood persuaded me about it -- was that Snappy Nappy was different, much different, from the usual battalion-based rule sets. It needed a visually different cover than the typical illustrated covers, and so the "Picasso" cover was used. TMP threads have commented upon it (from good to bad), but the cover did what it was supposed to do: generate enough of a visual appeal to get people to pick it up and start to read it.

From the Harman review in Battlegames:

"The cover features no heroic battle paintings nor photographs of massed ranks of model soldiers, but a striking painting in cubist style…of a light dragoon."

If you want battle paintings, uniforms, and maps, the free included issue of Napoleon magazine is profusely illustrated in color. In the meantime, I can think of no other unique cover for a Napoleonic rule set than Snappy Nappy…and it's a great set of playable rules.

Dennis from OMM
onmilitarymatters.com
publisher of Snappy Nappy

"(and throws some American Francophiles on TMP into paroxysms of rage that their hero is being called a diaper"

The reviewer has apparently confused Americans with Brits. The Brits are the ones who flip out when Americans say "Nappy."

Cue Jeremy Sutcliffe….

I have played them and found them fun to play. However hit a streak of luck good or bad and watch out. Units can evaporate in a series of dice rolls the first time they are engaged. Make your morale rolls and stay around forever.

All welcome on our Yahoo group:

link

the best site for probing questions and erudite amswers on the SN Rules!

Vive l'Empereur!

The cover is horrible!!!!!!!

The cover frickin' rocks!

Crud, I wanted another clip-art cover!

I lied. I like the cover, too.

However hit a streak of luck good or bad and watch out. Units can evaporate in a series of dice rolls the first time they are engaged.

That's why you have reserves. I like rules that make a player nervous enough to want to have reserves.

I have played it and think it is DBA Napoleonics. If that's your kind of game, then go for it.

I have played it and think it is DBA Napoleonics. If that's your kind of game, then go for it.

But you'll find Mr Lockwood's prose far easier to read and understand than Mr Barker's!!

Does it use elements or units?

Infantry and Cavalry use two stands = 1 unit (brigade). Artillery uses 1 stand = 1 unit (24 guns).

The stands can be any size as long as the frontages are the same among all units. The largest stands used that I've heard of were for Volley and Bayonet rules and 25mm figures, I think 3"x3".

It is a simple, subtle, and ultrafast system where each player is a corp commander. For those with little time and space, you can play in a 2'x2' area.

Those of you with old MWANs can read the AARs as it was playtested in large, multiplayer "campaigns in a day." The largest game I ran at Historicon was 8 players (6 adults, 2 teenagers) in just under 2 hours. The largest game I ever ran was 22 players in my basement across seven tables in about 6 hours.

>But you'll find Mr Lockwood's prose far easier to read and understand than Mr Barker's!!

Thank you for your kind words.

There's a Yahoo group for Snappy Nappy that one of the gamers started. I get the daily brief via e-mail and answer questions about the rules, design philosophy, historical elements, and so on.

Russ

To add a bit (I never have taken the time to write a proper review)…..

The stepped morale concept is clever. That's the part of the rules that I like most. Marking it on a roster isn't so great, so if I had a way to represent it cleanly on the unit to dispose of the clipboard then I'd be happier. (This is not a design issue, but a modeling issue)

The included CD of wargaming music is a fantastic idea. I've used it as background music and it works well. Good job on that, Russ.

On the "con" side, I see little point in issuing orders since players tend to do what they want and ask the C-in-C to give them the orders they feel are most useful. In your next edition you might consider using a table to generate orders instead.

Also, I don't see why two stand units are required. I like to see battalions on the table forming column, line and square. These rules could easily be scaled to a battalion-level game.

"You can pack in a fair sized army on a budget "

surely that is a criticism.

One of the virtues of Napoleonics is having to paint more figures than is humanly reasonable.

"The included CD of wargaming music is a fantastic idea. I've used it as background music and it works well. Good job on that, Russ."

I hope all the necessary license and copyright fees have been paid on that. Or is all the music simply pirated from the Internet?

Mike, I was wondering the same thing, but when I played it the first time it was obviously something that had been created on a synthesizer as original work. Russ confirmed to me that he had commissioned it. The music has Napoleonic 'themes' – one sounds like French marshal music, another has a bagpipe sound, another reminds me of Russia…it was very clever and well done.

It won't win any Grammies, but damn…for wargamer music it is better than what I would have done!

Best of all is it's all the same volume with no 'surprises' to distract the gaming.

OK, thanks for that clarification.

I just put one of the songs on my website. Go to link and it will play. (I replaced the appropriate buy annoying Marsiellaise.) The song is called "Rally to the Emperor".