From: Doug Murphy Subject: Review: Napoleon at Lutzen This game appeared in Wargamer 32 and covered the first major clash of Napoleon's 1813 campaign in Germany. Also known as Lutzen 1813, the game is actually pretty enjoyable and an accurate representation of this magazine's games of the time. Indeed, any grognard could play this game within 20 minutes spent in reviewing the rules. NaL includes a 32x22 map containing all the necessary charts & tables; 200 double-sided counters comprising inf, arty, cav, leaders and Order markers, and 13 pages of rules. Turns represent 30 minutes, units are brigade-level or smaller, a hex equals 1/4 mile. Units contain quasi-NATO symbology, movement factor, corps & unit identification (which are all-important), fire/melee factor (broken out separately for Russian inf. units). Several units are represented by 2 counters representing 3 steps. Arty units have a separate support fire factor and barrage/melee factors. Leader units just have a movement factor. Order markers include: Reserve, Arty Battery, March, Cav Charge, Inf Assault, Inf Fire. A few more markers track morale and Vps. Winning is judged by amassing Victory points for specific hexes and by totalling morale points for each corps. The game turn is relatively involved but easy to grasp: Fr assigns Orders; Allied Op fire; Fr Op fire, Fr movement, Allied fire, Fr fire, Fr melee. Units can fire only in a single phase. A most interesting game concept that raises this game above the SPI Nap at War-level is the use of the Order markers. Orders are assigned to units by tracing LOC from Leader units and are impacted by Corps morale level. Each Order is detailed in an on-map table. Different Orders impact movement allowances, fire and melee strength and ZOCs (making them rigid or fluid). Leader units are mostly Corp commanders and can influence units within their Corps. A neatly drawn on-map Chain of Command table illustrates who can give orders to what unit within a generic radius of 6 MPs and how Leaders are "linked." In a nice twist, Leaders must trace LOC of any length to an Army leader or a map edge...so one can imagine gallopers racing back and forth delivering orders. Fire, Melee & Barrage Combat is traditional; roll on a CRT, though with a twist for infantry fire in that total fire strength is divided into groups of 8 with a roll for each grouping. Results are in retreat / steps lost depending upon the Order of each unit. Morale is impacted negatively each time a unit in a Corps moves out of the Reserve Order most begin the game under and each time a unit loses a step. Once a demoralization level is reached, units can no longer be assigned certain more "aggressive" Orders. And of course, one loses Vps as morale drops. There are three scenarios with many variable within each, depending on the initial deployments and speed of reinforcements. As the game represents an unexpected Allied attack on a Fr Corps which develop into a full-blown battle, there is quite a depth to replayabilty. I've played with the Fr reinforcements appearing via die roll to add a bit to fog'o war. Optional rules include a combined arms bonus which favors the Allies as they have significantly more cav and a Cav withdrawal before Melee option. Play is quite interesting and revolves around the choice of Order, commitment of reserves, leadership and morale levels. One tries to grab the victory hexes (mostly a series of villages mid-map) whilst keeping morale levels high by maintaining a fair-sized reserve and "winning" the combats (or rather forcing your opponent to take losses). Anyone else play this and care to comment? In several games, both sides have won. As the Fr, 've been initially battered by the Allies (as Ney is historically deployed quite stupidly) but eked out a good win by management of reserves, and also lost as an Allied attack steamrolled between two Corps and sandwiched a third. Doug Murphy