"Large Napoleonic Games" Topic

Not long ago I was gifted several thousand, mostly well painted 15mm Napoleonic miniatures. These were organized at 1 infantry/cavalry miniature equals 90 men and 1 artillerist representing 2 actual guns. At this scale I have everything to fight all of Borodino (including Cossacks, Russian militia, French allies, including corps not even at the battle, and all the guns). I have everything for Waterloo also but want to concentrate on Russia first.

Current basing is an easy adaptation to Age of Eagles rules (or Napoleons Battles which is similar but dated). I am looking at rules options to get all the figures on a game table. AOE and NB will fit what I have. Volley and Bayonet is also possible though I would have to make changes as I do not like the "block" brigade basing and like base removal. I purchased Bloody Big Battles to consider that also, but it is not really a Napoleonic rules set (they're for FPW), but it has roots in Fire and Fury like AOE rules so might be possible, and I have found variants that might make it work.

Bottom line is I want to fight Borodino since I have all I need at the scale organization and the armies are all complete. The unit of maneuver needs to be brigades just to facilitate moving and controlling armies of this size. I also Have some copies of unpublished rules I played at conventions that show promise.

If you have experience running or playing in games at this, or similar scale, I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Kim

Sounds like a great project! I've run many a full-sized battle with NB and I expect that AoE runs about as fast. For Borodino, you'll need about 6-8 players and count on a run time approximately the same as the historical battle (i.e. the entirety of a Saturday, or 2-3 full evenings). This is assuming all players are familiar with the rules (if not, consider running some smaller "test" matches like Loubino, Poltotsk, Klyatitzy, etc.).

Personally, I think AoE is a GREAT option. Expect a player to be able to handle a Corps(+). I have had convention games where most players were running the game themselves by turn 3.

Really plan on playing 'real time' so allow 6-8 hours for a really big battle.

IIRC there is a Borodino scenario on the Age of Eagles website.

Worthy of a game once you nail down a rule set. Hope to see pictures of it.

Another nod for NB's. For larger battles it works well. Units are also brigade sized. The battle will be a grind fest! I have played it three times with ties being the most common outcome. Have fun!!

We use Et Sans Resultat for large scale Napoleonics. We game in 28mm so Borodino is a bit large in that scale it's certainly doable in 10 or 15mm. The 1812 campaign book even has it as a scwenario.

Borodino will be one of the scenarios in a forthcoming BBB book of Napoleon's biggest battles, probably out in the first half of next year. See AAR here:
link

Fast play Grande Armee. Free set of rules. Created by Sam Mustafa based on concepts in VnB.

Thanks

John

What a great project to be considering options for.

Our group uses Volley & Bayonet – Road to Glory. My own armies are in 6mm but several have 15mm armies and some in our group 25mm. Volley & Bayonet shines when refighting battles.

While I've refought Borodino, though friends have, we have played a range of large refights. The list includes Aspern-Essling, Ligny & Waterloo, to name a few.

You have likely seen my Volley & Bayonet website.
volleyandbayonet.wordpress.com

Thanks for the feedback.

John, I have Fast play Grand Armee and also Volley & Bayonet.

Both these rules have strengths and weaknesses. The biggest draw back for either of them for me is the mounting of troops. I am not fan of the large square block, single stands for representing brigades and all my figures are currently mounted for quick adaption to Age of Eagles or Napoleons Battles.

I think BBB might be possible, though I would need to reduce the scale by at least half or more so I can use all my figures. Also, BBB is not as detailed as I would like, but I did find these rules that that were derived from them specifically for Napoleonic's that I think greatly improves the original game and might be my top choice:

diningtablenapoleon.com/rules

As long as I can use all my troops I have and keep a Napoleonic flavor I will be open to even other options.

Thank again

Kim

This is a big game at that scale. If you basic unit is a multi element Brigade then I would expect you need something like Napoloen's Battles, Shako, The Age of eagles, March Attack or Polemos Ruse de Guerre. I would plan on at least 3 days with teams of 2 or 3 per side. The only issue you may have is size of playing area, I expect you may need a reasonable large playing area – at least 8x6 feet.
Rules such a BBNB, Volley and Bayonet and Marechal d'Empire may allow you to reduce the size, but you may lose your required detail. However those are the rules i would consider. Boardgame to figure game conversion may also be an option, such as the SPI Borodino. You may not have your requires detail but it would be playable in a day.

Kim
I gamed Borodino at 15mm using the then current printed Age of Eagles scenario in 2012. It was an excellent game. Our gaming group is about to repeat the battle but using an updated scenario. We are setting up on 5th December 2023, having a review evening 8th December and will start playing 15th December. On past experience I am expecting the game to take at least ten playing sessions of two to three hours each with four players per side. It is a big commitment.
Kind regards
Allan

Sample pic of the 2012 game taken from behind the French centre:
link

Maybe this rules review page will help:
link