Russ Lockwood, designer of Snappy Nappy, here at Dennis' shop the day before NJ Con to answer a few questions regarding Snappy Nappy.
Cover Art: Eye-catching, isn't it? "like Picasso got into Napoleonic gaming" -- great line (wish I had thought of it)! And yes, it is meant to make Snappy Nappy stand out from the rest of the rules sets because the design is very different from the shoulder-to-shoulder battalion games normally played. New look and rules for a big scale, big battle, big campaign system for the 21st century.
Title: Memorable, isn't it? And meant to be different in order to highlight a new and ultrafast rules set. Yes, I know "Nappy" is British slang for diaper, but "lazy Americanism?" No worse than referring to Winston Churchill as "Winnie." Sure instantly recognizable from now on.
Scale: Roughly 2000 men per infantry stand, 750 cavalry per cavalry stand, and 24 guns per artillery stand. That said, there's wiggle room for smaller battles and for larger campaigns.
We've played small 4-player games on a 6'x4' field. We've also played 22 players across 7 tables (each 4'x7' or larger) in my basement (talk about fog of war…you don't need artificial rules when you have 22 Napoleons in charge!). Many of these large-scale campaigns were written up in MWAN…I *think* issues 88, 94, 10something, and 11something. Have to go back and look them up.
This is not a figure removal game -- hey, you painted the soldiers, let's keep them on the table (until they rout, that is). No rings, casualty caps, or other bric-a-brac. A clever roster system offers fog of war.
Teenagers and newbies can handle 6-10 units (roughly 10-20 stands) in their first game. Grognards can handle up to 20-25 units (40-50 stands). You need an umpire for multi-table campaigns to handle messages between C-in-C and marshals.
Small battles (like Raab) play in a couple hours. Large multi-table campaigns (like 1809, 1813 Spring and 1813 Fall) play in a long afternoon (5-6 hours).
How does Snappy Nappy play? Fast -- with enough flavor to get a feeling for the three distinct arms. Your C-in-C better have a plan, you and your marshals better understand reserves are important, and our motto is: If you do something smart, Snappy Nappy rewards you. If you do something stupid, Snappy Nappy punishes you.
As an example, I've seen a veteran gamer throw an entire cavalry corp away trying to bash a corp of infantry squares. I've also seen a newbie teenager bring up cavalry to force enemy infantry into square, bring up artillery to soften them up, and then bring up his infantry to sweep them away.
Usually, by the third turn, players are comfortable with the 4 M's (move, musketry, melee, and morale). By the 6th or 7th, as umpire, I'm just the messenger boy for the multi-table games.
Just one other point…Snappy Nappy has been played since 1993/4, so it's had over 15 years of playtesting among my local gamers and at conventions. It's pretty solid.
I remember a guy at Origins 95 who played Napoleon when I put on the Waterloo campaign (starting just before Quatre Bras/Ligny). Never saw the rules, and his first game, did many things wrong, including sending a corp (Lobau, not D'Erlon) between the two battlefields without engaging. He liked Snappy Nappy so much, he stayed for the second game and did a little better. On the third game, the next day, he again took Napoleon and proceeded to oversee the rout of the Prussians and the hard pressing of the British, tumbling them backwards towards Brussels. Thus, he learned the mechanics (4 M's) quickly, but it took longer to learn the subtleties of commanding.
Russ Lockwood
(using Dennis' account at OMM)
PS…If you buy Snappy Nappy from OMM, Dennis is including a copy of Napleon magazine #17 and a music CD "Emperor Triumphant" (background battle music for painting or gaming) free.
looks at some new terrain products, which use space age technology!
