"Boardgame for the Hundred Days Campaign" Topic

Can anyone recommend a good boardgame for the 100 Days Campaign for me? With a view to re-fighting generated battles on the tabletop, but with enough generalship in the board game to make the campaign strategy side fun too.

The old SPI quad game "Napoleons Last Battles" was quite good and dead easy to play, you can find it on eBay.

Columbia's Napoleon has point-to-point movement on a map of the 1815 theatre. The counters (blocks) represent divisions, but there are dummy counters as well. It all makes for interesting campaigns.

Avalon Hill / OSG did a 100 days minute game.

OSG did a more detailed 100 days

GDW did 100 days

both out of print.

can I recommend the following UK game store, they have a superb back catalogue for you to browse through. (there is a Napoleonic section link on the left side of the front page)

secondchancegames.com

I'd second NLB.

Yup. Nap's Last Bros. If you're in the U.S. try Fine Games for a used copy.
Bob

You may want to give Sam Mustafa's upcoming Blucher rules a look. The glimpses he has given of the 100 Days module looks like it promises to be an elegant way to combine miniatures and a map-based campaign. Both are due out in February.

The Emperor Returns. I spent a bit of time looking for a board game to run an 1815 campaign and this is the best I found.

Clash of Arms: L'Armee du Nord (OOP)

The idea of using a 100 Days Campaign as an engine to drive miniature games sounds brilliant. Will have to investigate Napoleons Last Battles & The Emperor Returns.

What about as a pure boardgame? I go to a Boardgames club and would be great if I could find a nice simple boardgame that would appeal to those unfamiliar with Napoleonics in particular or even wargames in general. Somthing you could play with 3 players in a 3 hour games night.

WI: NLB is a good intro game for napoleonics. Maps are small, easy to manage.

Decision Games is giving it a facelift: mostly eye candy (counters) and fine-tuning the rules which would probably help to engage those unfamiliar with this type of game:

link

The original SPI flat box and subsequent full box editions are usually available on the secondary market for reasonable prices.

*What about as a pure boardgame? I go to a Boardgames club and would be great if I could find a nice simple boardgame that would appeal to those unfamiliar with Napoleonics in particular or even wargames in general. Somthing you could play with 3 players in a 3 hour games night.*

The mini game 'Hundred Days Battles' can be played in an hour or so with experienced players and fits on a single A4 sheet.

For an overview of this and a number of others:

link

Allan

Thanks guys.

Joes Shop – Have bookmarked Decision Games Pledge Program to look at when next payday.

Allan – great overview – big help.

Cheers

James

The Martin Wallace boardgame of Waterloo link is really good for anyone looking for a 2-player game of the battle itself.

Thanks to all for the recommendations, links and comments, really useful!

Columbia's Napoleon game with the blocks is brilliant as a miniatures' campaign engine!

GDW's Napoleons Return supp for Volley and bayonet is worth a look as well ..

Kevin Zucker is bringing out Napoleon's Last Gamble later this year in The Library of Napoleon Battles.

link

And yet another vote for SPI's NLB. GDW's 1815 was also a lot of fun.

Is "Napoleon's Last Gamble" a simple reworking of Kevin Zucker's original 1976 "Napoleon's Last Battles"?? This is currently up for pre-order:
link

If so how different will it be from Decision Games 3rd edition that is in their pledge program due for release Summer 2015:
link

If you are looking primarily for an operational or campaign game to serve as a "scenario generator" for the 100 days, you really can't beat Columbia Games Napoleon. The hidden strengths and the road restrictions per turn (an important factor many other "more sophisticated" designs don't have) make this more of a simulation than most boardgames on the subject. It gives one a great gaming experience at the this scale. It plays in about 90 minutes and can be learned in 20,

Napoleon's Last Gamble fits into the Library of Napoleonic Battles. As I understand it the Library started with the 4 Lost Battles of 1813 and was based on the Last Days of the Grande Armee. These Library rules have evolved a great deal and been used for the 1806/7 battles (The Coming Storm), 1809 (The Last Success, 1813 Leipzig (now the 5th edition and very different from the first Napoleon at Leipzig. 1812 is next.

Lots more info on Consimworld
link

Mike

When you say "1813 Leipzig (now the 5th edition and very different from the first Napoleon at Leipzig0", how do you mean different? What sort of things have they changed? Different good or different bad?

I guess I am really wanting to know how the forthcoming 4th edition "Napoleon's Last Battles" from Decision Games is going to compare to the forthcoming SPI "Napoleon's Last Gamble".

I guess I am better off waiting until both sets are actually released before asking about comparisions between the two!!

OSG not SPI :)

See the post by the Game Designer here link

post 2721

A recent copy of the series rules is in the attachments at the top of this page.

link

This quote is from the Leipzig game on the Napoleon Games website.

"This game is epic. I've played it in its prior incarnations many times, but this is an entirely different animal. The combination of command, hidden movement and big stacks means that frontal assaults are both possible and decisive. Where the original game was the classic ‘line 'em up and count combat factors,' the new one is much more subtle. Hidden movement creats both local and regional uncertainty."

Also there are some explanatory videos here. La Patrie en Danger is for the early 1814 campaign

link

Can't comment on DG as I do not know that one beyond their Consimworld details link

"Columbia's Napoleon game with the blocks is brilliant as a miniatures' campaign engine!"

We did it with "Napoleon at war" as figs game and we enjoyed very much.
Here is the blog. Unfortunately many pics were lost.
link

Some pics of our campaign using Columbia games:

Two armies confront:

Initial positions:

Battle formations:

Prussian Ulhans:

Got to play Columbia Games Napoleon last night. One of the guys at my local Boardgames club had a copy and brought it down. It was great fun.

I liked the initial hidden block so not really sure what units were where.

The mechanics of main road and smaller roads worked really well in getting you to plan your logistics in a simple way without bookkeeping.

I like the step loss mechanic of turning the blocks, although I am a touch clumsy. Unfortunately for once in my life I seemed to roll more 5's and 6's rather than 1's and 2's. For the first time I was disapointed in seeing a six but I guess my normal luck with dice was maintained, albeit in an inverted manner! :)

I played the French and not surpringly was able to sweep through Charleroi with only loss of one step (from force marching). I was agressive with the early double French moves either side of Anglo-Prussian night move. Which mean that I was in ideal position to split the British from the Prussiasns.

However I then got side tracked by thinking I had the opportiunity with my 2nd succsive Day move (i.e. French turn 3) to pick on two outlying British armies where I had a slight advantage (I thought) in both battles (8 units to 6 and 6 units to 5) with further 3 more of my units in support. What I hadn't realised was that the blocks of his two armies inadvertently hid the marker he had used for main army of Wellington. Not deliberate on his part and I should have spotted it but hey-ho.

What it meant was that he ended up with slight edge in both battles and both battles turned into total meatgrinders. Essentially I was fighting all but one unit of Wellngton's entire army with 1st, 2nd, and 6th Corps, the Guard and half of Cavalry Reserve. Because the two battles both grew so big with Reinforcements, neither of us could afford to retreat along the small roads adjoining both battles.

I lost one battle having taken 10 step losses to his 8, and managed to win the other thanks to Napoleon and Guard Infantry.

But after such carnage I was unable to resist the Prussian assualt on 3rd and 4th Corps.

They say the best way to learn a game is just to play it, and I certainly understand far more about when & where to force march, how to plan ahead for just two moves per turn, and the importance of reinforcements. Hopefully I will fare better next time.

Sauve qui peut!!

James