The next piece in our ongoing look at the Charles S Roberts award winners for 2024 covers Napoleonics games, essentially games set around Europe during the early 1800s, when France marauded about and Russia wielded winter as its greatest weapon. As we’ve noted before, the games below cover a variety of ground, from hex-and-counter to solo adventures, so even if you’re new to war gaming (or have never clipped a counter), you’ll likely find something worth playing. And, of course, you’ll want to add those titles to your Want List, as many come and go from Noble Knight’s store fast.
So put on your bicorne, grab a saber and a horse, and get ready to lead a snowy charge. It’s Napoleon time.
(Did he yell that going into battle? Definitely).
VUCA gets Sneaky
Secret orders, card-driven battles, and a unique production make 1812: Napoleon’s Fateful March an operational level standout. Like most of VUCA Simulations’ 
titles, Fateful March delivers a quality experience with unique twists, starting with those secret orders. You’ll place them in blocks by armies taking actions, cluing your opponent in that something is going to happen, but not what (only enhanced by bluffing blocks). Deception (or fog of war) plays a large part here, with force composition hidden behind player screens, event cards, and putting the onus on commanders to suss out information and act on it, while disguising their own intentions in turn. This ain’t about smashing counters into one another and seeing who rolls better.
Fateful March adds spice by taking land attrition into account, meaning forces can’t simply park themselves on the map without consuming all the resources and starving themselves. If you’re Napoleon, you have to keep moving. If you’re not, well, keep the Grand Armée mired long enough and you can win the battle before it starts. The rules are concise, with a few neat twists (cavalry pursuits, the aforementioned attrition system) that give Fateful March personality without forcing you to check the book every turn. Couple the fast play with scenario variety and you can easily knock out rounds of this in an afternoon, which is, in our time-strapped universe, always a plus.
Backstabbing Reimagined and Revitalized
The long hand of Diplomacy continues to cast a back-stabbing shadow over war gaming, with various attempts made to add more wrinkles to its formula. Columbia Games, with Alliance, keeps the European map but drops things back a century. Blocks replace the armies and frigates, bringing further deception to
the experience, which can play up to seven (though does fine at fewer) in an afternoon. Rather than freeform chaos, players receive five cards per round and use those plays to dictate actions, with particular fun coming through political phases sparked when players drop leader cards. These opportunities give nations a chance to grab minor states, make diplomatic overtures, and more. In other words, you’ll have all the shifting teams that make these games sing, but with a bit more meat on the bone than its forebears.
Alliance also goes the extra mile with its rules, culling fluff to bring the rulebook down to a paltry eight or so pages. This isn’t an hourlong teach rife with exceptions and fiddly bits. Complemented with a sturdy production (the giant neoprene mat is a must if you’ll be playing frequently), with chunky blocks, thematic card art, and the solid bricks of Columbia’s block system (which you’ve probably played with Julius Caesar, among others), Alliance ought to be on tap for your next big group gaming event.
It’s definitely waiting for mine.
Tying Up A Hex-and-Counter Campaign
We’ve talked about the Operational Studies Group (OSG) and their goal to put every one of Napoleon’s battles into a war game before, and Napoleon’s End pitches 
four fights on the Seine in 1814 in this box. As with every OSG title in this series, the maps alone serve to draw you in – large, paper, and crisp, with just enough detail to put you in the scene without being distracting or difficult to read. Which is a good thing, as this is pure hex-and-counter war gaming. You’ll move counters, roll on tables, flank and be outflanked in turn. Extensive player aids make it easier to follow the action too. OSG’s system isn’t the most rules-heavy out there, offering enough to create compelling simulations without tome-like rulebooks, but the real benefit here is the amount of game you get by diving into this library.
Napoleon’s End alone has four battles, but you can combine the game with La Patrie en Danger and Napoleon Retreats for a 12 battle campaign, among numerous smaller scenarios. An optional card pack introduces dynamism, though these scenarios strike an excellent balance between simulation and possibility for alternative outcomes – it may be difficult, but changing history is viable here. Altogether, OSG’s series is a high quality adventure, one that, when completed in the next few years, offers a chance to literally play through Napoleon’s career and, in so doing, explore how combat and technology evolved from its start to its end.
If you’re interested in the Napoleonic period and a more classic style of war gaming, this series ought to be on your shelf.
A Tactical Feast in the Snow
By far the heaviest game on this list, Winter’s Victory, a tactical game covering the battle of Preussisch-Eylau, brings everything you could want from an in-depth simulation. Setting a turn time at 15 minutes is a good indicator of what you’re getting here, as everything from ammo, exhaustion, individual leaders, and more is present in this hex-and-counter affair. More than 2000 counters, four large maps (that are combined for the full game), gorgeous production elements, and an eye towards immersion make Winter’s Victory an easy choice for anyone interested in Napoleon from a tactical angle.
But, and I say this with love, understand that Winter’s Victory contains much. It’s a game where artillery not only has its guns but its gunners, the latter of which might drop their weapons and flee. Facings and formations are important but must be remembered. These details make solo play excellent, or committed efforts by two (or, in perhaps the holy grail arrangement, a team-based 2v2 where your mental load only need stretch so far). The publisher, New England Simulations, has continued their track record of meaty, large titles with a dedication to accuracy, options, and putting you in the snowy shoes of their soldiers. Jump in with your eyes open, ready to play some learning scenarios to grasp the rules, and you’re off on one great ride.
A Solo Napoleon Story
Perhaps not a surprise given the press I, Napoleon received over the last year, but winning this category is a cherry on top for the solo game playing out Napoleon’s life and career. Less a strict war game than a choose-your-own-adventure with dice checks, I, Napoleon is a meditative experience as you tell your own version of
Napoleon’s story. What could’ve been a simple, and dull, version of top decking a life has, thanks to the board and many ways cards interact with one another, a writhing vitality to it. Every turn brings a drawn card and its events, which cascade or bring unexpected challenges. Countries may come to hate or love you. Napoleon may find love or lose it. Ascend to become Emperor or die in the mud as a lowly captain. Change history or disappear from it.
I, Napoleon finds its best footing as a companion, small enough to take with you and play a session in an evening or over a couple lunch breaks. You won’t be playing on a plane, but with war games often gobbling up whole tables and more, it’s always nice to see a quality, easy to play solo title that fits on a desk. Just make sure to bring some dice you trust to this one, or you’ll find yourself cursing the fates more than once. Just like, I’m sure, Napoleon used to.
