EAGLES OVER THE EMPIRE:
Designer's Notes

With the increasing popularity of the Internet as more and more gamers come online I thought I would let the members know about a unique project started two years ago during the WWW's infancy.

With the speed and ease of information exchange I started developing a Napoleonic ruleset over the internet. The idea was simple, create a basic outline for the game, then give it away to anyone who wanted a copy. In turn they were to send me ideas, suggestions and variations they came up with during play. To say the least I was surprised at how well the idea took off. Gamers from around the world began sending me suggestions, this in turn opened up a dialog where different perspectives were gained in rule development. Gaming groups in Austrialia, Indonesia, Poland, Spain, Germany, Finland, UK, and of course the US have participated.

There was only a few guidlines we went by, first the game had to play quickly, second it had to have the right feel and balance, and third the charts had to fit on one page.

Amazingly enough this has been accomplished. After two years and countless playtesting the rules are finally taking final form. There is still discussions going on, but these are those areas being fine tuned and chromed.

The ruleset, called EAGLES OVER THE EMPIRE is a battalion level game. It is written for 6mm, 15mm and 20-25mm. Players are Divisional commanders and higher. The game is flexable enough to allow the game scale to be changed to regimental level for large battles without changing a single rule or chart. The basic unit strength is not the number of figures in a stand, instead it's a Combat Value. This way strengths can be changed by adjusting a number rather than have the right number of figures on a stand. The tactical combat is fast and simple. Any basing scheme will work, so if you got two zillion figures mounted for Empire you won't have to remount. Large multi-corp battles have been resolved during a day's gaming. Plus, rules tweeking is not only allowed, it's encouraged!

Oh, yes one more guideline that is followed, and is probable the most important, the ruleset is freely distributed, always. Anyone who requests a copy is sent one. While it may not be public domain, it still can't be sold other than to cover the cost of reproduction.

Any gamer who has internet access and e-mail can write to me and request a copy of the rules. The available formats are Wordperfect, Word, and ASCII text. ASCII text requires a LOT of formatting. Also any gamer who requests can be added to the mailing list for updates, changes, new versions and discussions.