Best Napoleonic Rules?

[Andrew_McGuire]

As the discussion appears to have widened somewhat beyond the original poster’s parameters I hope I may be permitted to throw in a couple of new names, albeit more in the hope of seeing comment on them than by making any useful observations of my own.

A set which appeared a few years ago to considerable acclaim and has since had a 2nd edition is Et Sans Resultat! It does not appear to have really caught on beyond a core of devotees, however, at least outside North America. If anyone has experience of playing it I would be most interested in knowing their thoughts.

Arty Conliffe’s Shako has been around much longer and was once at least, quite popular. It too is now on its 2nd edition, but seems to get little coverage.

The League of Augsburg’s From Republic to Empire is another that seems to be largely overlooked, doubtless through no fault of its own.

There are many more, of course, including another set published by Partizan Press, by the name of L’Aigle, which I encountered very recently.

Too Fat Lardies have another set with a Gallic name, Le Feu Sacre which is so overlooked I’ve only just remembered it. I do remember reading a review   which said something to the effect that it had plenty of good ideas, but they were rather hard to find. In short, it needed further work to be easily playable.

The above may be of little immediate use to the original poster but in the event someone is able to offer insight gained from experience with any of the named sets something of value may emerge.

[olicana]

I did some of the photography for Keith F's book. Publication is imminent.

[Andrew_McGuire]

Who is the publisher? Presumably not Osprey, in view of the other offering.

Edit: I now see it’s Partizan, in spite of their plethora of Napoleonic rules.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, though it’s just reminded me of Over the Hills, which was originally published by Partizan, though I believe the 2nd edition was self-published by the authors.

[vtsaogames]

Osprey have a new set coming out, Absolute Emperor

https://ospreypublishing.com/store/military-history/upcoming-books/preorder-3-months/absolute-emperor

It would be nice to know what the smallest unit is; battalion, regiment, brigade or division?

[SJWi]

Andrew, thanks for the other list of rules. With the exception of “Et Sans Resultat” I have heard of them but know no more. I tend to leave the earlier 2FL rules alone.

 By the way I think Partizan Press may be the publisher for Keith Flint’s upcoming “ Shadows of Eagles”.

[Andrew_McGuire]

Yes, indeed they are, as I have just discovered from the author’s blog. I get Caliver Books’  mailshots - it was a recent one which alerted me to the imminent arrival of Lasalle II, which I have now ordered and expect to receive by the weekend - but hadn’t heard anything about Shadows.

I agree with you about older TFL rules, having read but failed to understand the 1st edition of Sharp Practice, which I bought only a year or so before the vastly improved 2nd edition came out.

[OB]

Field of Battle 3 will give a good game for the forces you have.  Over the Hills is certainly worth a look too.

I'll be interested to see what Keith Flint comes up with.

[Andrew_McGuire]

I’m not sure it’s a contender for best set, but one that’s difficult to forget is Snappy Nappy. I’m sure it must have a following of some sort.

[Cat]

I’m not sure it’s a contender for best set, but one that’s difficult to forget ifs Snappy Nappy. I’m sure it must have a following of some sort.

For grand scale battles, I do like Snappy Nappy, a very close second behind DBN.  I've had the fun of playing in an all-day multi-player, multi-table battle that went quite well.


With the figure count of the OP, Snappy Nappy would also work as an option.

[valleyboy]

At 10 - 12 battalions/ side and a few cavalry regiments  i'd still be suggesting General D'armee
Good introductory videos of gameplay available on youtube as well

Edit - the nearest to the Holy Grail I've found in more than 30 years of searching

[Ben Waterhouse]

I am liking General d’Armee the most at the moment, and I go back to buying In The Grand Manner from the hand of Peter Gilder himself!

[SJWi]

Chaps, as the originator of this thread I will say that I am coming down in favour of “General D’ Armee”. Another member of my group has them already  ( amongst other rules) and I watched some of a run-through on “Lard TV”. My only observation is that I may need a larger table than my normal 6 x 4 playing area.

[SteveBurt]

General d’Armee is a good set, but it is complex, and also requires more than 12 units a side to work well. Most scenarios are nearer 20 a side.
If using 28mm you will need an 8x6 table.

The new version of Lasalle looks promising, I must say.

[Ben Waterhouse]

Chaps, as the originator of this thread I will say that I am coming down in favour of “General D’ Armee”. Another member of my group has them already  ( amongst other rules) and I watched some of a run-through on “Lard TV”. My only observation is that I may need a larger table than my normal 6 x 4 playing area.

Do it in 10mm! 😬

[SJWi]

Ben, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I’m not a died-in-the-wool Napoleonic gamer and was rather seduced into trying it when Black Powder 1st came out. My mates and I now have quite a lot of Peninsular stuff in 28mm but are now looking for a new rule set to kickstart the use of our long-dormant collections.

 If starting from scratch I would probably opt for Pendraken 10mm.