"Age of Eagles " Topic

I have been looking around for a grand tactical set of Napoleonic rules. Haven't found anything yet that really speaks to me. I was looking over AoE recently and it looks interesting. The one caveat for me is that I am not wasting my time again tagging units and worrying about the differences between 2200 men versus 1800 (I did enough of this years ago when I played Napoleon's Battles and Fire and Fury.)

I began to think about standardizing the brigades at one size and having each brigade represent a certain amount of men. What I mean by that is saying one infantry brigade = 2500 and if a certain corp has 20000 infantry in it it gets 8 infantry brigades. Could that work in A0E? Make each brigade say, 12 stands? That way one only has to work with three sets of numbers (for quality). Any thoughts are most appreciated.

Snappy Nappy might fit your requirements. Volley and Bayonets would as well.

Thanks

Blucher or Grande Armee.

The labels are to get forces that are historical (OOB generated). As long as you have roughly the correct number of stands in a Division you should be good.

Really it is the difference between thinking of a simulation vs a game

I opt for the labels and troop strengths from scenarios. I don't find it a chore as it is set up I can do well before game day

Have you tried the GMT Games' "Commands & Colors Napoleonics" system? Each type of unit has a standard no. of strength points. You can play the game with your miniatures instead of the labeled wooden blocks that come with the game. The scale of the game is sort of abstract/flexible. In one scenario a unit might represent a battalion and in another scenario it might represent a brigade. There are probably some videos on youtube for the game if you haven't seen it.

I'm in a similar (Napoleonic) boat, so I just bought Snappy Nappy. Will work for me better than AoE or NB with small brigades (2 stands) and fit on a 6x4 table.

AoE was just too sprawling for me to ever get a game in.

Just played AoE at Barrage 2 weekends ago for the first time. I found them really easy to understand and a fast moving game. We played French vs Austrians and the average size for the French was 8 stand Brigades and 12 for the Austrians. With 4 figs per base, it looed nice in 15mm. One could put fewer figs per base as the number of bases that count-not the number of figures.

I've had this rukles set for a couple of years and am kicking myself for not playing it earlier! Only thing I did not like was the need to use command radius! "I" could ignore that and still have an enjoyable game since "I" am firmly roted among the followers that believe that units continue to follow their last given orders and should not have to stop when it reaches it's "out of command" range.

"Sgt to Commander,"We must stop now sir or else we will be out of command range!" Think that really happened in real life?…(Rhetorical question…)

I enjoyed my game and so did my opponent. It was a see-saw battle as we both held back reserves and committed them when and where needed! Great game!

The AOE scenarios will have the number of bases for each unit listed on the OB. You might want to check them out before you decide. It's the same way with NB. If you don't like labels then you don't want to use AOE.

I like to mark the name of the unit on the bottom of each base. The rest of the information I put on a table which I include with the scenario set up and rules. No labels needed. I am not a fan of either NB or AOE. I much prefer battalions rather than brigade level games. "Warfare in age or Napoleon" or "General de Brigade".

My club plays AOE. They are okay if you like the Fire & Fury system (which I don't). But I play it because the club plays it. As a house rule I would suggest you don't roll for your reserve movement. It really speeds up the game.

No matter which rules there is going to be some amount of marking or tracking required since you will have several formations ( Div or Brigade) in a corp size force, to identify your leaders of those formations.
THat is life of using your figures and not permanent made counters, you have with a board game.
I have played AoE and labeling can be a choir for a large multi Force game.
I have since played Es San Resultant. It works well with a roster sheet, label the formation commanders, and you can use the troop stand as a unit w/o any label. So standardization to a formation size is not required to get game prep minimized and thus you can also easily stick to the historical/scenario conditions with little pre-game effort dragging you down.
You should look at this rule set before you make your final move.
thewargamingcompany.com

BTW I still like a game of AoE when available/ put on by my fellow players- it still creates a good wargame.

Good luck
MG

AOE does a great job of simulating the front line action and the reserve zones of Napoleonic combat, much better than anything else I've played. Most rules focus on the individual battalions or regiments going into action with little attention paid to reserves or shifting the point of action on the battlefield. AOE allows for those large scale maneuvers and once you've played a few turns it gets pretty easy.

I've played many Nappy sets over the years but have settled on ESR (Et Sans Resultat) these days. For us it focuses on the things we are interested in, command and reserves, without getting bogged down in details over how each battalion is functioning.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have Snappy Nappy but for one I don't like the command and control (order system.) Now one could overlay a different command and control system but for the moment I'd like to try another set. I played V&B and GA quite a bit over the years. Also Napoleon's Battles. Not quite what I am looking for anymore. Blucher looks interesting but it probably shares many of the same strengths and weaknesses as GA. One of my problems with GA and V&B is that in, my humble opinion, brigades combat effectiveness doesn't attrition the same way a battalion would. That is what I like about AoE. A brigade can sustain some loses before its combat effectiveness is reduced (going from fresh to worn.) I think what I am proposing will work but was hoping that there would be more real life feedback (Mr. Dye excepted) confirming it.

As an aside, we play 28mm on big tables and ESR doesn't look like a good fit for our scale. Plus, I have never really gotten over the horror of Legacy of Glory!!

Brigade games take all the really neat units and amalgamates them into a generic brigade. The great Saxon cavalry regiments, the incomparable French 9th Light Infantry Regiment etc.

I am primary a British player and playing on the brigade level is no fun at all. All these great units, the Black Watch, Oxford Light Infantry, 60th and 95th Rifles with their distinctive uniforms all reduce to a few figures in a generic brigade. Might as well play a board game, moving card board counters.

Blucher plays just as well as a battalion/battery/squadron game as a brigade game.

But playing a battalion game where all the details are evident also means that one is only ever playing a small portion of a battle. Hardly seems in keeping with the grand scope of Napoleonic warfare. I want to experience Murat's charge at Eylau, not a tactical refight of Hougoumont. But to each their own.