"Best / most popular current 15/18mm Nap rules" Topic

I've been told that locally there's not a lot of Napoleonic miniatures gaming going on right now. I was just wondering what rules the folks here are mostly using. I am most interested in rules for 15/18mm.

Either home grown or Black Powder here.

I am most interested in rules for 15/18mm.

Most rules are pretty much size agnostic.

Neil Thomas from his Wargaming an Introduction (modified a bit by some rules from his Napoleonic book).

I like Black Powder although its not Napoleon specific

If you prefer a miniatures game that is like a Board game there is Lasalle

Age or Eagles. Solid and well supported

Roughly a Corps+ per player

My preference is General De Brigade, but a number I know like FOG Napoleonic.

Has to be GdB
Best by far !

Napoleon At War
Field Of Glory Napoleonics
Imperial Eagle
Shako II
Piquet: Field Of Battle
Tremble Ye Tyrants
Rank and File
Piquet Les Grognards
Lasalle

Are all sets I have tried lately and all useable with same 15/18mm 'toys'

Cheers

I know that they mostly play Napoleon at War in the Austin area, and I think a couple of guys also play GdB. My preference is GdB.

Shako for each unit representing an infantry battalion, cavalry regiment and arty battery. Still the best rules for introducing newbies to the period. One of the few rulesets I don't have to re-read before every game. Everything just makes sense, at least to me.

For each unit representing a brigade I use either V&B, GA, FGA, HFG, or DBN. I will often use the scenarios from NB as starting points. I would also use NB but it requires just too many figures.

Though I have always liked C&C N combat resolution.

One thing about Napoleonics, ask 10 Napoleonic gamers for their opinion and you will get 11 responses!

Good luck with you journey.

Another vote for Age of Eagles in this scale. I play Black Powder in 28mm, but that is restricted to 'merely' commanding a brigade or division per player, while with AoE you are in command of a corps or more. Megalomania is good for the soul :)

Neil Thomas Rule set is a great introduction

Another vote for General de Brigade.

You can't beat them.

Cheers,

Paul

Yet another vote for General de Brigade. A good balance between realism and fast play with a bit more emphasis on realism, which is just the way I like it.

There Is But One True Set of Rules For Napoleonics! WRG 1685-1845, 1979ed. All Else Is Heresy!

Desert Fox is right. As you have seen, you'll get numerous responses. I've got more Napoleonic rules sets than I really need.

Maybe better to tell us what features you would like to see in a Naps game. For example, some like higher level formation games like Grande Armee or Volley & Bayonet whilst others like battalion level games. It might help narrow down our recommendations to fit your preferences instead of simply recommending our own favourites.

GDB

I've just bought a few sets of rules and I'm hoping to get a game soon using 15/18mm figs. I got Fields of Glory, Lasalle and General de Brigade. GdB is the one I have been most impressed with and the one I most want to try out first.

Tactical level- ( battalion is the unit) Carnage & Glory or Gen de Brig
Grand tactical ( playing a corps) AoE(FnF variants), Shako, Empire III* or V&B.In that order
* It can be played both levels. But for Grandtactical, bath-tubing is required to make it to a reasonable pace of play
If I play the Army Gen and it is not a multi player grandtactical- I stick to the board game. Fast play Grand Armee will work here as well but I have not played it yet since I am adverse to putting my figures on 3x3 sabots and being able to visualize what they are suppose to be.

MG

I have enjoyed all the responses so far. As for what I am looking for… I'm less concerned with being particular and more concerned with being able to eventually play. My only Napoleonics miniatures experience is a little bit of Napoleon at War, which I quite liked but which apparently is now defunct, or close to it.

As a new guy to Napoleonics you probably need something fast and fairly straightforward. And as you get to know the tactics better you may then wish to move on to more complex rules.

As you can see, everyone has their own favourites so I think you have to do some research yourself. Google all of the above rules recommended for reviews of same. Get a feel for the mechanics and features and how many wee men you've got to field before you can set up a decent game. Blogs with photos of games also help – you get to see how much the guys enjoyed playing the rules, how certain rules impacted on the game and how the games looked.

You liked Napoleon at War? I haven't played them but quite fast I hear and not too complex so maybe Black Powder might be an answer (Field of Battle too if you like an even more unpredictable level of movement). Shako is fairly straightforward and covers Napoleonic warfare (skirmishers, squares, infantry line vs. column) quite well without too much angst and number crunching but IMHO not as much fun as BP or FoB.

"Eventually to play." What size of units do you want to paint up and how many? Rules like GdB seem to be quite prescriptive in that you need to paint up loads of miniatures to field just one battalion but they look great and also cover Napoleonic warfare fairly well (GdB fans please comment) but with rules like Shako or FoB you only need about a dozen per unit.

Avoid rules with figure removal or rely on you to count the number of figures during the game (so old fashioned) and go for ones where the units essentially consist of a number of standardised bases where the number of figures on the base is purely irrelevant.

Good luck!

Some good advice from Westmarcher.

My group play Neil Thomas and are looking to his One Hour rules for larger games. But this was after trying out a dozen sets before we found something that played quick and gave us the right flavour – albeit based on personal bias rather than any scientific analysis!

You can spend years trying to find the perfect set of Napoleonic rules, so pick out three or four and play the one you like best. At least that will get you playing to a regular system and will help you decide on the sort of game you want or, indeed, have time and space for. We used Shako in the same way. May sound a bit odd, but it works!