"Which Empire do you use?" Topic

I now have copies of III and V and will combined the best (from my point of view) of the two into my own 'house rules.'

Which version do you use?

Have any of you attempted to use whichever version you use to create a Divisional based rule set. I can only field enough troops for a single Russian or Austrian Corps with accompanying Cavalry and artillery. At a stretch I have sufficient French for two weak Infantry Corps plus artillery and one Heavy and one Light Cavalry Corps. I only have a 6x4 table anyway.

Any suggestions?

Richard

I have only III, been at it since 1981. Sadly only get to play solo.

How many game turns did you manage in that time? :-)

III

Dont play it much anymore

But use IV

Dexter for the win!

Have lots of large games under my belt, I almost always do over 1,000 figures on each side.

Back in the day we used III A bunch of us were pretty proficient with the rules. A few times we had questions and Scott Bowden responded pretty quickly via mail between games. A few of us even sat in one of his rules Q & A sessions at a con (maybe an Origins in Baltimore, '85?).
Despite Empire's reputation we actually had games that moved quite quickly. However; once we were really good with the rules, we all graduated or got married and moved away from each other.
Good times. Good times.

Anyone out there developed a Divisional based Empire?

Do you usually attack using single battalions at a time or regiments of multi battalions at a time or even Brigades of Infantry?

I have not played Empire since the 1980's. My experience (a few games) was not brilliant but, luckily, I was with a group that had some familiarity.

Why were there three different sections covering disorder in the rules? So many pages. I think the writer must have disordered himself.

So, may I vote for the Holy Roman Empire?

I have III and V. Played III a lot in the mid to late 80's and loved it so I bought V when it came out, but haven't found any opponents to play it much.

I have Empire I,II,III,IV, & V. I switched to each new edition when it came out. I am still playing V. I have been playing since the mid-70s and was gaming once a week for about 2 decades. I now get in a game once every few months or do solo games to keep fresh and to work on tactical problems to solve. When I want a division size game, I just double the casting size of the units and go at it.

I'm getting back into the Empire gaming-fray with III following a 30-year hiatus when my storage unit was looted while away in various war frivolities. Happily, I was able to score an unpunched minty III edition on eBay, huzzah!!! And while I know nothing of IV, I hope to collar a copy of V and the Campaign rules in the future.

Would someone be willing to briefly highlight the differences between III, IV, and V? Google seems fruitless so far, and I really don't want to leap into General d'Armee or some such other system just yet. Perhaps it's nostalgia, but I treasured Empire =D

For better or worse only have III, but will get VII when it sees light of day.

I have my own house rules mostly V but also reverted back to a lot in III. I play solo and really enjoy myself. That's the only point that matters. Right?

i just got Revolution and Empire today – i would be interested in solo play using it too – i didnt know there is an Empire V

R&E, but I have III, V and the ECS. Usually use R&E, but keep the others handy for rules that were omitted (e.g., water terrain in V) in later editions, but which I like.