"Your path through Napoleonic Rules over the years" Topic

1. Fire & Steel
2. To the Sound of the Guns or March to the Sound of the Guns
3. Empire 3
4. From Valmy to Waterloo (Probably most 'realistic' if there can be such a thing in a game.)
5. Legacy or Glory (First set I felt 'got it right' but almost unplayable)
6. Tried some of the 'variable bound' games but couldn't get them to work right after a few turns.
7. For the last 10+ years either Napoleonic Command or ESR in the last 3-4 years.

Frappe
Napoleonique
Tricolor
Pas de Charge
Empire I
Empire II
Garde du Corps
Napoleon's Battles
Shaking
Black Powder

In more-or-less that order. Although I believe evilgong has submitted the most relatable of sequences.

@Black Hat Miniatures

I might (should) have a copy somewhere.

I'll scan it and post it here.

1. WRG 1750-1850
2. WRG 1685-1845
3. WRG Corp de Armee
4. ESR
5. Napoleonic Command I
6. Napoleonic Command II

I've played other, these are my core rules.

Still play 4 & 6, they just cover different levels of command.

My journey for the perfect set of wargames rules started in 1983 with a little booklet who's name I cannot remember and never ever understood and now resides in a box in the loft.
I've played a few sets and collected too many over the years
Starting with
1 WRG 1750-
2 To the Sound of The Guns
3 In the Grand Manner
4 Republic to Empire and General de Brigade
5 General d" Armee

I think I might be there now!
As an aside,I'd say these are the rules that I actually used
If I take stock of my shelves I see that I have the following unused rules
Napoleon's Battles, Empire (dated 1990), Bruce Quarrie's, March Attack, Rank and File, Age of Empires, Shako, Blucher, Ebb & Flow of Battle. I have played 2 games of Black Powder at a collective massive anniversary game in NZ though
My wargames computer folder contains copies of Fast play Grand Armee, Elan, Warmaster Napoleonic and Huzzah

1980 club rules (North London Wargames Club)
25 year hiatus
General de Brigade
General d'Armee

A few odd games using other sets – but figure GdA is the best available

Napoleon's Battles
Volley and Bayonet
Age of Eagles
Snappy Nappy

Some long forgotten rule system
Empire 3

Kinda stuck there.

PSL Guide to Wargaming
WRG 1685-1845
Bruce Quarrie's Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature rules
Newbury Fast Play Napoleonics
Shako
Howard Whitehouse's Old Trousers

In Current Use:
Polemos Napoleonics
Grande Armee
Horse, Foot and Guns
Napoleonic Wargaming for Fun
Neil Thomas (various sets)

The numbered ones being the best

Bruce Quarrie (Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature)
1. Charles Grant "Napoleonic Wargaming"
On To Richmond variant
Fire and Steel
The Complete Brigadier
TSATF varient
Napoleons Battles
2. Volley and Bayonets
3. Shako & Shako II
La Salle.
4. General de Brigade
Sharp Practice
General de Armee
5. Sharp Practice 2
Black Powder

Mine was:

1. Melee – a set of "house rules" played at The Last Grenadier in Burbank, CA. as well at homes. Built five Russian corps (3 inf. and 2 cav) for that one. A friend of mine still has the castings.

2. Empire 2 and then Empire 3 – played that one at a home of a friend. Built the X Corps – La Grande Armee' – for that set of rules along with the Vistula Legion.

3. A friend of mine wrote his own set of rules but I cannot remember the name. It was a really good set of rules with zip zero errors in the text.

4. Empire 5 – played it with a friend of mine who has tons of castings.

5. Played several games of Napoleonics using Wargamer Rabbit's rules which were based on the Wellington's Victory boardgame rules. Lots of fun!

6. I once played Column, Line and Square back in 1981. Strictly for those that like to play with large groups of castings. Great for those that like to add in specialty castings too.

1. WRG 1750-1850
2. WRG 1685-1845
3. WRG Corp de Armee
4.Empire (once)
5. Napoleons battles
6. In the grand manner
7. Shako
8. In the grand manner
9.General de Brigade
10.In the grand manner
11. General d'armee
12. In the grand manner
13. Black powder (once….no…not once, half)
14. In the grand manner

Napoleon's Battles
Age of Eagles
Grand Armee

That's more a linear list than progressive. I started with NB and still plan on using it along with AOE for Peninsula and 100 days in 15mm. The large battles will be Grand Armee in 6mm. I have played Empire, and Black Powder but they are not to my liking.

1. Napoleonique – played lots while in university. Never had a dud game and every game produced at least one event of the type that gets into the histories of real battles. Lost my rules sometime ago. Downloaded a kindle version. Looked them over…you know they're still a credible alternative with some adjustments (i.e., convert hexes to cm or in).

2. WRG 1685-1845 – coincided with converting to 15mm figures and a desire to play larger battles. Main issue was infantry plodding across the table for the whole game to get a few shots in. But it was a mainstay for quite a while.

3. Tried Napoleon's Battles because I had been posted to a location where the only other player used Nap's Battles. Never took to it.

4. WRG Corps d'Armee – very interesting game mechanisms. Tried it a few times but got posted again and lost continuity, but still one of those sets I keep because of the interesting mechanisms.

5. Principles of War – a good game especially for those who aren't regular gamers. Interesting ideas. A vastly underrated set of rules.

6. Lasalle – tried, but it didn't take.

7. Field of Glory – version 1 was hampered by the publishers demands. Version 2 rescued what was a darned good set for the Corps plus level.

8. General d'Armee – great game for the division plus level.

9. Honorable mention – Empire V. Interesting concepts. My main objection was re-basing – especially re-basing to different numbers of figures per base for a given type of troop. I've been caught with that for Johnny Reb – it's irritating. I've trialed a few actions, such as the cavalry attacks at Waterloo, and it has provided the best replication of the multiple cavalry charges, levels of casualties, squares holding out, etc.

Currently it's Field of Glory and General d'Armee but Napoleonique has me intrigued. Maybe someday I'll do Empire if I ever get around to converting the game for use with my current basing (e.g., infantry – generally 8 figures on a base in 2 ranks).

Empire 5
Napoleon's Battles
AOE
Lasalle
Club Rules
Warfare in the Age of Napoleon

1) Empire III
2) Napoleon's Battles
3a) DBN
3b) Snappy Nappy

Great topic D6. Now do the ACW and all the other big periods.

Hmm,

Empire 3
Shako 2 – play currently
Over The Hills – play currently

I also have Blucher, LaSalle, Commit The Guard, Le Fu Sacre, but the group mainly has played Shako 2 or Over The Hills.

Nobody mentioned LWS London Wargames Society

Prince August rule set
Donald Featherstone (napoleonic)
A rule set published in 'Battle' magazine
Durham Wargames
WRG 1685 to 1845
Newbury Quick play Napoleonic rules
Newbury (long play – cant recall what they were called
Grand Manner
Grand Manner (Reigate wargames variant)
Espirit Du Corps

I suspect like most wargames, i have a several other sets, brought at the various shows but never played.

Started in the mid-70s with Tricorne
then:
Empire 1
Empire 2
Empire 3
Empire 4
Empire 5
Age of Eagles
Back to Empire 5
Occasionally ESR.
Prefer Empire 3

1. Staines Wargamers club set by Paul Carson
2. Lots of others for about one or two games before becoming disillusioned and finding something else to do.
3. Shako
4. Neil Thomas (main set and one hour).
5. Journey complete!

Frappe
Column, Line and Square
Frappe
Napoleonique
Empire, various editions interpersed with Frappe and Chef de bataillon
Revolution and Empire
Empire 7

Empire 7 – tease?

My current go to sets are (In real order of merit all scratch differing itches)

Piquet Field Of Battle (house ruled for period)
General d'Armee
General De Brigade
Over The Hills 2
Black Powder 2 (with Clash of Eagles supplement)
Shako II
Field Of Glory Napoleonic 2
Snappy Nappy

Tried several others of course :-)

Blucher

My 50 year journey through Napoleonics:
1. Home grown set, based on "Charge"
2. Stuart Asquiths rules – can't remember the name
3. Peter Gilder's "Grand Manner"
4. "To the Sound of the Guns" Tabletop Games. Played this from around 1978 till late 1990s.
5. Field of Glory Napoleonics, interesting mechanisms and enjoyable game, spoilt by poorly laid out rule book.
6. Black Powder. Bit too generic and the activation system can be boring.
7. "Over The Hills" – still my favourite for divisional/corps level games, but don't get to play it much these days.
8. Napoleon's Battles 4th edition, still playing this fairly regularly, having been introduced to it 18 months ago
9. Bloody Big Battles – may become my favourite for the major battles. Just played Marengo.

Others with honourable mentions:
Age of Eagles, Shako, Lasalle, General d'Armee

Empire 2
Guard du Corps
Shako
Black Powder

Sold my 15mm collections and switched to 28mm. Currently build my collections so they are versatile enough to use:

Black Powder
Sharp Practice 2
Rebels and Patriots
Chosen Men

Wrg 1685-1850
Corps d-'armee
shako
shako II
Black Powder
general de brigade
and now using "Over the Hills"