"The ultimate Napoleonic wargame rules review and comparison" Topic

Behind this somewhat gratuitous title you will find a long list of short reviews of many Napoleonic rule sets. There are enough explanations of mechanics out there for rule sets. These reviews will focus on comparisions and results instead. More content will follow over the next weeks:

The ultimate Napoleonic wargame rules review and comparison

Very good. I will certainly follow this with interest.

Much appreciated, thanks, Shugyosha. I have added yours to my Collected Reviews of BBB page.
link

I have found this very useful. Thanks.

Quite a diversity you have documented, well done.

Fantastic resource.

Links would have been a nice helpful addition….

I noticed you didn't include Empire V or did I just miss it?

This is a great resource. Thank you. I tried to leave a comment on your blog but I am not sure it posted so here is my 2 or 3 cents.

Another factor to judge a ruleset by is esthetics. How do the rules affect how figures are organized and painted for a particular nations units. I maybe the only person who cares about this but that won't stop me. I am a Anglophile and play British, a lot. Brigade level games IMO, do not suit the British Army. In many instances there are a variety of unit types and therefore uniforms in each infantry brigade and sometimes cavalry brigades.

You lose all the wonderful units. In a brigade game I have to decide which unit is going to represent all these types of units. I can't do it. They all became part of a generic brigade.

If I was a Saxon player I would lament the loss of the great Saxon Cavalry regiments. This is why I prefer the battalion unit level and I play as large a battle as I want.

I use battalion stands in brigade/division units. All uniforms will be represented.

No mention of Empire, maybe speaks for itself. I battle on thougth

Missing any other rule set is just missing, if played would be there, if not no idea if it is best sliced bread ever and not know imo.

Links would have been a nice helpful addition….

Link the where? The publisher's web presence? Not all rules have those but I can add them where available.

I noticed you didn't include Empire V or did I just miss it?

Its not there yet as I never played it. I will add it to the list. As it has been mentioned twice here I'm interested in trying it.

Another factor to judge a ruleset by is esthetics. How do the rules affect how figures are organized and painted for a particular nations units. I maybe the only person who cares about this but that won't stop me. I am a Anglophile and play British, a lot. Brigade level games IMO, do not suit the British Army. In many instances there are a variety of unit types and therefore uniforms in each infantry brigade and sometimes cavalry brigades.

Good point. There are many different approaches to judge a rules set / game by. The representation of certain units is less important to me personally but understandable. Looking at a game and seeing different formations, distinct divisions on attack or in reserve and such, is a thing I'm very much interested in and falls under aesthetics as well I guess.

What an ambitious project, well done for taking it on and sincere best wishes.

I also tried to leave a message on your site, but don't think it has posted.

I have used "house rules" for my wargaming for many years, but prior to that played with many commercial sets since "Charge, or how to play wargames".

Even with my long experience of wargaming I find it difficult to compare the many different rules available, so how much more difficult for anyone new to the hobby. I am sure that they will find your project very useful.

When I first saw your post I thought you were very brave to put such a project here on TMP, and I was expecting a rash of criticism. How pleasant to see that all of the comments, at least so far, have been postiive and supportive.

Good luck with your project, which I will follow with interest.

Why do people print white letters on black? So incredibly hard to read, especially with ageing eyes. It just hurts to read!

Ha! You can drown in rules written. That said, you did seem to identify all the rules that I would choose.

The only surprise is the listing of two Neil Thomas rule sets but not his Napoleonic Wargaming rule set. I would admit, however, the rule mechanics are similar to his other rulesets…

The only thing I don't like about this project is that there aren't more projects just like it.

I look forward to reading the reviews as you publish them.

Given the absolute flood of Napoleonic miniatures rules available, this kind of thing is a huge help.

- Ix

Yes, as I started the list it was already long but there is always another title missing. Interestingly there are many good ones, even if I'm overly critical at times the average quality is quite good.

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavour for what is inevitably a question of personal preference.

Interestingly enough my top two are ones that you didn't recommend – FoGN and GdA. (Note that I am not a tournament player so that has no influence on my preferences.)

However, any review can be useful provided one knows the reviewer's preferences. That's true for things like restaurants, movies, etc. as well as wargame rules.

I've added texts for Polemos Ruse de Guerre, Shako and Republique.

The ultimate Napoleonic wargame rules review and comparison

Thanks for the Republique notes and observations. To answer the question about period content/imagery, once the v5 beta is completed I will post more in-game photos within the rules before posting to the main Gaming page. I've avoided too many such graphics so far in order to leave space for example figures, which I still need to consider adding as required. There are also some limits, as my last step before locking in the revision is to make sure it prints out as sensibly as possible for those folks making hard copies.

Feel free to email me directly at the WTJ email address (webmaster@wtj.com) if you have any questions or suggestions. The input is always appreciated, and I can help with various details.

Thanks for all the work. I miss "over the hills" though

Good reviews and i am looking forward to more of the WIP being converted into a review. I particularly liked your review of BBNB and Age of eagles, both very accurate.