"Bloody Big Battles for Napoleonics?" Topic

Any one using BBB for Napoleonics?

How does it play? What, if any, house rules are you adding?

How does BBB compare with two other popular grand-tactical a-unit-represents-a-brigade rulesets, Volley and Bayonet and Blucher?

Thank you to all who respond!

I think BBB represents a division with multiple bases, a bit like Age of Eagles? I really don't know, but I am curious about these rules as well.

I gave it a whirl for ACW. It uses the Fire & Fury command table/maneuver table, so altho it was at a higher level it felt like F&F to me. Useable for anything in the 19th century I think, as at the high level you tweak a few modifiers and you have the weapons.

Many seem to have played it unmodified but others have tweaked some factors and results.

There are some ides & scenarios in the files section of the new forum on groups.io

The old Yahoo Group has no moved over to Groups.io, here …

groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles

You may need to 'join' groups.io to become a member, I can't remember how it works.

Thanks for the question. Yes, BBB is now being used a lot for Napoleonics. The 'Pushing Tin' blog has some nice examples:
link
'Wargaming from the Balcony' reviews why a group in Virginia has adopted BBB for Napoleonics:
wargamingftb.net/?p=4009

BBB enables you to fight big battles like Wagram, Borodino, Leipzig, Austerlitz etc etc in their entirety, start to finish, in a 3-hour club night on a 6'x4' table. Troop scales, ground scales and time scales are elastic, so a unit may represent a brigade, a division, or more, depending on the size of the battle.

A number of scenarios are available in the BBB files on groups.io (thanks, GildasFacit).

Hope this helps. Happy to answer any more questions.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
bloodybigbattles.blogspot.com

The Nap. playsheet is here:
link

Thanks, coopman. It is 'a' Nap playsheet, not 'the' Nap playsheet – ie not official, but yet another instance of people adopting and adapting BBB to their taste.

Chris

You don't really need any house modifications, but I usually include in any Napoleonic scenario Horse Artillery and Heavy Artillery types rather than just rating all artillery as smoothbore, and give cavalry a bit more manoeuvrability and resilience to reflect its greater impact compared to its numbers at this period. Where a nation has rifle armed skirmishers I allow units with them a one base ranged combat at rifle range. You can cover most situations by judicious use of the different unit characteristics and ratings though.