X-Sender: borodino@pop.freeuk.net (Unverified) Subject: MINI REVIEWS: 1809 MINI-REVIEWS 1809 (Victory Games, Kevin Zucker) CHRISTIAN BEIJNER'S BIT On 25 Jul 2000 18:49:05 GMT, d88-cbr@dront.nada.kth.se (Christian Beijner) wrote: >>Would like some opinions on Kevin Zucker's "1809: Napoleon's Danube >>Campaign" published by Victory Games. Thanks. > > >I sold my copy a long time ago, but if I recall correctly it had the >same simplistic system as Napoleon in Italy by Avalon Hill. >Each leader had a command rating, ie how many units he could control >and you kept track of unit strength on track under a leader portrait. >Horrendous attrition losses, while battle losses were more abstract >winner would take a given number(call it x) of losses and loser would >retreat y spaces and take x or y losses, whatever was the most. >Winner would then pursue for a random number of spaces. If this number >resulted in a pursuit into the losers new hex, loser dies. >I wish I had not sold it because I would have liked locking at the OB, >but the 4 dimension attrition table (yes: distance from base, command points, >hexes moved, size of force) and simplistic combat put me off on the game. >Still the leadership tracks were quite intelligent. > GECKO80'S BIT Hold hard there boy....anything less than awed admiration for one of Kevin Zucker's Napoleonic masterpieces is just bad form. It is part of a series of games (Napoleon At Bay, Struggle of Nations et al) all stressing the logistics and command in a common framework; learn one and the rest can be picked up easily. And anyone with lingering doubts about the importance of logistics to Napoleonic armies (well any armies for that matter) should get a copy of Martin Van Crevelds book 'Supplying War'. The designer decided that is what was relevant to Napoleonic theatre warfare and *THAT* is why the combat system seems simplistic and the attrition table four dimensional. Now this doesn't make for bean counting. The supply and command processes are intricately linked through a common feature called APs (Admin Points). Hoard them to keep your forces supplied, spend them to move your army. Beautifully simple and quite revolutionary to the board game grognards used to moving everything for free every turn! Anyway, you decide the main thrust of you operation, try to march everyone along it dispersed (keeps attrition down) and then concentrate like mad when you bump into the enemy. Battles (big ones that is) occur as sharp, simple punctuations amongst all your logisitical and command problems. You just roll a D6 and cross your fingers. No careful point counting here to get exactly 3:1 and the like. Your just happy that a good commander (plusses to the die roll) is on the spot with enough nous to lead a couple of corps worth of troops (it's called command span) and that enough outlying divisions have marched successfully under intiative to join the mother of battles (cos Mortier failed his die roll and the Old Guard are going to sit this one out in the rear!). Nice colourful Victory Games maps. Great chrome with all those leaders. Scenarios for Aspern-Essling, Wagram as well as the full campaign. Dipped into it here and there meself enough to heartily recommend it. Of course it depends why yr asking. If you want an intro to the system try Arcola or Hundred Days Battles....want to freak out with the complexities of 1813 in central Germany then try Struggle of Nations. I've not played it enough to decide if there is sufficient game play on both sides...it seems much more fun to be the French with all those sexy leaders (high intiative values, people!), oodles of free ranging cavalry and the man himself at helm. The Austrians can hurt them I'm sure but they seem mainly there to get kicked around. If Archduke Charles pushes West, as he did historically, he might just pull it off (bottle the French up and defeat them in detail). OTOH the Austrian army seems not quite up to it...in one solitaire game I found they stalled in front of Davout's hasty defence and then with Nap counterattacking in front and Bessieres leading a cavalry sweep in their rear...well it all got a bit of a rerun of history. Still next time I'll maybe see if they have more success by not invading Bavaria but defending one of the many river lines blocking the way to Vienna.,, Find it. Buy it. Play it. At the very least check out www.grognard.com or www.consimworld.com for more opinions.