"New Napoleonic Player Needs Help Please!" Topic

After much hesitation I have decided to take the plunge and try Napoleonic miniatures wargaming. I have been a long time hex & counter wargamer but this is my first attempt at tabletop miniatures. I will be buying 10mm Napoleonic minis from WoFun but I am stumped as to what rules I should acquire. I have been doing research and there is a large assortment of rule sets and opinions on what to play. Be that as it may I would prefer something simpler to start, popular enough that others will play it, and available to buy. I will also be looking for terrain to buy to enhance the tabletop battlefield. Thank you in advance for your feedback.

The figures come with a set of rules. I suggest that you try those first.

Ten diffetent people are going to suggest fifteen different sets of rules.

Does anyone play Napoleonics around you, or is this a solo project?

Do you want each player to control a brigade or two, or a corps? Different rules do different things.

I play Age of Eagles, Blucher, LaSelle, Grand Armee, and Black Power. I also use Sharpe Practice for skirmish. I think that Black Powder is a decent introductory set; it is popular and has fairly simple mechanics compared to many other sets out there.
A simple search of this site will show that there are many other opinions out there.
Two examples below:
TMP link
TMP link

Since you come from a hex wargaming background may I suggest Blucher rules using hex wargaming table. Here is a link that will help.

link

@79thPA

Thank you for your comments. My battle buddy to start with will be my brother-in-law who is also new to this hobby. Therefore we will be starting with a blank slate.

In terms of unit size I am thinking more of a smaller sized unit level, brigade.

I looked at the WoFun description for the 10mm products and they do not state that they contain rules. The PD Starter Packs seem to but not the 10mm ones.

I think I'll stand to one side of the rules debate. My own choices run to homebrew, obscure and old. I would suggest two things.
1) At 10mm you're probably too small to mark off or remove individual figures, so you're down to damage markers, bookkeeping or removing figures by stand. Making a decision about that will simplify the rules choices.
2) Be careful, especially if shrinking rules written for larger scales, not to let stand size get below what you can comfortably handle. I once saw a player maneuvering 3/8" by 1/2" bases with tweezers because he'd done just that. Most people are OK down to about 3/4" or 20mm, but it's what you and your brother in law are comfortable with that matters.

I will always point first time players to these rules, "Fast Play Napoleonic Wargame Rules by Jon Linney". They are the rules I first tried out and I think they work really well for first time players. None of the details of the larger, more complex and more expensive (these are free). But they do give a fun game that has your table looking like a Napoleonic Battlefield.

link

I hope you try them and are hooked!

Dave

My personal favorite is Field of Battle by Brent Oman, which isn't terribly complex but I think that you'd be best to start simple. You could do worse than starting with Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames. A huge plus is the inclusion of a great many varied scenarios, and variable force lists.There is an active FB group, and a number of independently developed rules modifiers that tweak the rules a bit without making them too complex or overly detailed.

The relatively new Osprey rules, "Absolute Emperor" wouldn't be a bad starting point, either. Haven't played them yet but we've been looking at them with an eye towards being a set for introducing first time players to Napoleonics.

Try The Portable Napoleonic Wargame by Bob Cordery, which has rules for brigade, division and corps/army games using a common set of mechanics, that can be played on a hex or square grid.

Frankly, if I was starting out in Napoleonics, I would start small – a brigade or two of infantry, a couple of regiments of cavalry and a few guns on each side (say French vs. Austrian or British or Prussian or Russian) to see if like the 'feel' of the period. If you don't, you can always sell the minis and get into another period (the ultimate wargamer's curse).

Also, if you've never painted minis before, you need to start off small with painting, as painting large Nap. armies off the bat is a massive undertaking. One of the great things about Napoleonics is the pure spectacle of it all; however, the uniforms can be daunting if you've never painted minis before, especially 10mm.

Paint – craft acrylics are cheap and better than investing in the washes and other crap that no beginner should mess with until their painting skills improve. Craft acrylics are cheap, come in a wide variety of colors and are easily found (at least in the States – Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, etc. all carry Apple Barrel and other brands of craft acrylics). Finally, all craft acrylics can be thinned with water, so if you get into 'dry brushing' or 'over brushing' or other forms of paint 'magic', it's easy to do without investing more money in things like 'flow aid' or other expensive painting materials.

Having said that, DO NOT (just for emphasis, I ain't yelling) skimp on brushes! Brushes are an investment and the more expensive art brushes (again, Hobby Lobby, etc. sometimes have sales on art brushes) are a great place to pick up brushes.

Terrain – with 10mm, you can find some really cool small scale (6mm or 10mm) buildings, roads and bridges or make your own – there are free paper buildings online, although you'll just have to scale them down to your scale so that it 'looks' right to you and your mates. However, Ebay is your friend and you can find cheap trees, tufts and more for basing.

Also, there are a ton of tutorials on YouTube for making terrain and for painting 10mm Naps. Unlike most older 'grognards' (like me) who have minis that we painted back in the 'old days' of Airfix, Atlantic and ESCI, today's metals and some plastics are works of art in the hands of a great sculptor and painter.

Regarding rules – remember, you're starting out, so the simpler at first, the better. Good rules for beginners should contain enough 'flavor' of the period without bogging the rules down with jargon and b.s. Using the 'KISS' method, I would recommend looking for rules that make movement, firing, charging/melee and morale simple. If the rules have a 'Quick Play' sheet – that is all you need – the rest is for when you gain more experience in the period and with the rules.

I want to thank everyone for providing so much information, it is much appreciated. I will carefully consider my options now that I have so much information at hand.

You need the Carnage and Glory computer moderated system, which is simple to learn and can be tailored for any miniature scale/ground scale. There is a dedicated group of CG users around the US and UK and CG has a major presence at the HMGS conventions, not to mention many local conventions.