Napoleonic Rules for small battles?

[Diablo Jon]

So I'm a 28mm man, most likely to game solo, and would have to paint up two armies to game. It seems to me that if I wanted to dabble in Napoleonic gamming I'd be best served by concentrating on the smaller battles of the era.

I'm thinking battles no bigger than say Gefrees, Halberstadt or Olper in 1809. So forces only a few thousand strong maybe 6 or so infantry battalions, a cavalry regiment and a couple of guns per side nothing bigger possibly smaller.

What rules out there might suit my purposes of this level of command as well as ideally being quick play, usable solo, with battalions as the basic unit and fought on a modest 6 ft wargames table with 28mm miniatures.

Any help gratefully received.

[Cat]

For that figure count range and table size, you might consider going to DBN.  It is a much higher level of command — 1 stand generally = 1 brigade.  There are some very nice game videos that should give you an idea if you would like it or not.  The author has been whiling away lockdowns making vids of solo games: https://www.youtube.com/user/DBNwargaming/videos

[Roo]

If playing solo recommend one hour wargames all you need in a single volume, get kite or less the same results without all the detail sonideal for solo play and 30 scenarios included.  Basic armies need 4 infantry, 2 LT Infantry, 2 Cavalry and 2 artillery as many figures as you want over a 6” frontage.  We have doubled the forces and played on a 6x3’ table.  HEALTH WARNING not universally loved but will get you playing scenario driven games that will allow you to dabble and expand perhaps into a more dedicated set of rules should the wargames butterfly land for a while.

[SteveBurt]

Lasalle would certainly work

[vtsaogames]

In other periods, do you like simple fast rules or something more complex? Can you leave the games set up overnight?

[Diablo Jon]

Thanks for the suggestions guys

In other periods, do you like simple fast rules or something more complex? Can you leave the games set up overnight?

I was brought up on Warhammer and Wargames Research group  Rules I'd happily avoid anything as painful as the latter still love old school Warhammer. These days I enjoy the Daniel Mersey stable of rules ( lion rampant, TMWWBKs etc) so something at that level would work for me. I have my wargames room so the table can be left set up for days if I like.

[mmcv]

Shadow of the Eagles (just out) might be worth a look - https://www.shadowoftheeagles.com/

I solo playtested it a little when the in progress rules were still in development and it gave a good game. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to Napoleonics and don't own any forces myself (I proxied in 2mm Crimean War bases) but think you could run reasonably small games with it easily enough. My test game was only 4 or 5 units a side I think (4 bases per unit) which gave a small quick game (though can be scaled up).

I plan to get them out on the bigger table at some point when I get the book through with the final rules.

I've also recently picked up a copy of Sharpe Practice which looks good fun, though haven't tried them out yet.

[Easy E]

Osprey has the game Chosen Men that I have not played.  In a pinch you could also use Rebels and Patriots

Here are my thoughts on both....

Chosen Men
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2017/02/review-chosen-men-osprey-games.html

Rebels and Patriots
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2019/04/review-rebels-and-patriots-osprey.html

[Mr. White]

Is Chosen Men a low model count game? For some reason I thought it was still decently sized.

I think low model Napoleonics is one of the driving factors behind the upcoming Silver Bayonet. It's got horror elements though and I'm not sure if they can be split out the way Dracula's America smartly can.

[vtsaogames]

I second Shadow of the Eagles, game tested that too. It will give a brisk short game if you've got ~ 6 battalions a side. Results make sense, nothing that leaves you wondering "how the hell that happened?" Last version I played all units were the same size. Ideally 4 stands per infantry/cavalry unit though this isn't a must. You could play it with a single stand per unit and use markers to show the formation. Number of figures isn't a big deal either. The frontage of a battalion in line determines what measurements and ranges to use. I play with 15mm figures and a 4" unit frontage. There is another set for 28mm figures, I forget the unit frontage, perhaps 8 - 10 inches or so.

Glad to know it got published. I knew it was coming soon.

[Andrew_McGuire]

Shadow of the Eagles is at the printer’s, according to the website, and likely to be available next week. A PDF of the rules but not the full book has been available from Wargames Vault for a while.

[has.been]

I'll second Rebels & Patriots.
Quite possible to tinker with the scale, eg make
the units bigger. It provides a fun simple & quick game.

[SteveBurt]

If you want skirmish-type games, then the new Shakos & Bayonets supplement for Muskets & Tomahawks looks good. Roof course Sharp Practice is excellent.

[Diablo Jon]

Thanks again guys plenty of options for me to look into.

[Matty]

While it has some technicalities I don't like, watching the DBN videos on youtube, I really do get a sense that I'm watching a battle unfold in a way that could be described in the same narrative of actual battles.  I think I might give it a go for a similar project, alongside Bob Cordery's Portable Napoleonic Wargame and Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames.  The last volume is great just for the simple army creation system and the scenarios.

edit:  didn't realize this was an old thread.  Sorry about that, my brain just didn't register April as long ago.