From: Roberto Chiavini <mumaye@libero.it> 
Subject: One review 

Tolentino 1815 (Alea iacta est 3)

The third offer from Alea iacta est it's probably the better game of the
three peculiar choices designed by Esperia. This neat simulation of the
battle of Tolentino (Murat against the Austrians in the later phases of
the Napoleonic adventure) has a lot of potential and a strange,
fascinating system to add to his starting very good impression, due to
very good graphics (usual for this Italian magazine).

Designer Donato Maglionico challenges grognards with a deceiptively
simple design in less than 4 pages of actual rules!! So, much of the
rules are explained only once and you need to read very thouroughly all
the sentences to fully understand the mechanism of this game. The system
is a joy for the fanatic die-rollers out there, but it's a real pain for
all the others, as each combat needs several dice to be rolled (possibly
twice, as there is a second combat phase, regarding pursuit). Anyway,
the system seems to work and the game is definitely better than the
previous two from Alea.

Each combat unit is rated for combat (the number of dice to roll in
combat), morale (the combat die roll modifier for attacking) and
movement. Artillery has another value for artillery combat (the number
of dice to roll during a bombardment - up to three hexes far, cannot
pass through other units or terrain obstacle, like woods - dense and
sparse - and villages).

Leaders are rated for range (each units inside the range may move and
have combat, otherwise it is stalled and may only defend), while supreme
leader has also a maximum number of leaders/units they may give command
to. Both kinds of leaders have also a bonus for attack or defende
purposes, but only for unit directly stacked with.

Sequence of play it's a mixed one, with two combat phases inside each
turn, with player alternating in charges and artillery fire, with melee
fight by units inside the same hex.

There is no stacking (other than for the leaders). 

Combat is made by comparing the results obtained by the attacker and the
defender (each modified 5 or 6 rolled by each player equals one hit) and
reading a differential matrix that normally bring to another matrix for
the pursuit combat resolution.

Artillery fire is more simple and normally more devastating.

Victory is based on destroying the morale of the enemy army or, after 15
turns, on points, based on territorial objectives gained.

All in all, a really peculiar game, needing perhaps a facelift in the
rules department, but a very good sign of improvement by a magazine who
needs all the support in this world of re-growing passion for an old
hobby like ours.

I rated this game 6 1/2 in a 1-10 scale.