Napoleon 1806 by Shakos Games

 Napoleon 1806

by

Shakos Games

 The Third Coalition was brought into existence by English money (subsidies) to defeat Napoleonic France. Prussia, oddly enough, had not joined it. The consensus of historians that they were biding their time until either side had given them enough of a bribe. They hadn't counted on Napoleon, and the completely trained and incredibly formidable Grande Armee. Before anyone realized what was happening, the Austrian General Mack (and 50,000 soldiers) were swept up by Napoleon without really a fight. This sent the Austrians reeling back to meet their Russian Allies. However, a little battle called Austerlitz put the Third Coalition down for a dirt nap. Prussia was just starting to think it would be a good idea to join the Third Coalition before it was no more. So with the Grande Armee and its roughly 200,000 troops sitting in Germany or nearby on the border, the Prussians came up with one hell of an idea. The Prussian court had a war party headed by their lovely Queen. This war party finally talked the King and his ministers to go to war with France virtually on their own. What was wrong with the drinking water in Berlin I guess we will never know. Russia had not concluded peace with France, so the Russians could help in the long run. The Prussian Army was led by octogenarians who had been weaned on Frederick the Great's battles. One of their youngest generals was Blucher, who was in his sixties. The Prussian staff seemed to have no idea of what actually to do. They staggered slowly toward the French border with no real plan. They also decided to split their army in two without having any idea of where the French were. The lion that was Napoleon had no trouble dispatching the sheep that were the Prussians. As a matter of fact, the 1806 Campaign is usually listed as the first blitzkrieg. The French went through Prussia like poop through a goose, probably only stopping at times to procure more maps of each new area they were rampaging through. This is one of those games where it is almost impossible to do as bad as your historical counterpart. The history being done, let us see what is in the box:

1 mounted game board 60 x 60 cm

1 rulebook

1 quickstart booklet

2 player aids (orders of battle)

2 player screens

2 sets of 36 cards

1 sticker sheet (54)

More than 220 wooden pieces

10 combat dice

1 cloth bag

  Opening up the box leads a person to exclaim 'C'est Magnifique! This is another European wargame that mixes a real honest to God wargame with a Euro game's look. The map is a beauty, and has a real historical feeling to it. The stickers are little pieces of artwork. They have the countenances of the Prussian King Frederick III and his various generals. These are countered by portraits of Napoleon and some of his Marshals. The two Orders of Battle are made of hard stock and are also a pleasure to look at. The Quickstart Guide is a very large four page fold out. It has a simplified rundown of this information on the first and fourth page:

Setup

How To Win

How To Play

How To Move

Fatigue

How To Engage In Combat

The middle two pages have a complete picture of the map and the Orders Of Battle and a Sample Card. The information needed for using the Orders Of Battle and Cards are also printed there. There are two Player Screens, one in blue, and one in gray. On the inside of the Screens are The Game Sequence and information on combat etc. The two Decks of Cards are also well done, and the Cards themselves do not feel flimsy. The manufacture of the wooden block pieces was done with excellent quality control. I found no mismatched sizes in the different pieces. The Rulebook is a work of art in itself. It is filled on most pages with colorful illustrations of what is being written about on the page. It is twenty-three pages in length. The actual rules take up fourteen pages. There is also a Short Scenario added for those who can only fit in time for a short game. A section called 'Rules For The Grognard' is added to add some historical flavor, and fog of war to the mix. Next is a section called 'Rules Of The Marshal"; this is a setup to play a tournament of the game. For conventions etc. this is a nice addition. What follows is a three page rundown of every Card and their meanings. The end of the Rulebook is a four part History Of The Campaign, and Design Notes. You also get a nice bag for the different pieces. The picture on it is a gold Napoleonic Eagle done on a blue background. The actual game pieces are a carbon copy of what you would find in Shakos Games 'Napoleon 1807' game. I will have a link to my review of that game below.

 The Sequence of Play is easy to remember:

Draw -  Each Player Draws Three Cards

Initiative - The Player With The Highest Value Card Wins

Operations - Movement And Combat

Recovery - Each Player Can Remove Fatigue From Some Corps

  The game rules allow for games to be played quickly. However, there is so much that a player can choose to do each turn that it can be a longer game. This totally depends on what depth each player wants to put into each of their moves. The Grognard Rules really add a lot to the game. These are:

Hidden Setup

Fog Of War

Cavalry Vedettes

 The Map is a point to point movement type. With the Order Of Battle Cards being hidden from play, your opponent will have no idea of what is in front of him strengthwise. The Cards Decks add to the 'friction' of war. While the French Grand Armee is still near its peak the Prussian Army, if not led as it was historically, can still give the French a run for their money. This game is another example of a designer wanting to have a game based in history, as much as possible, but still make it an excellent 'game', and a relatively easy one for two players to enjoy.

 Thank you very much Shakos Games for letting me review this beautiful and great playing game. It deserves to be right up with its brother Napoleon 1807 on your shelf. They have also come out with Napoleon 1815, so it is now a trilogy of games. I also had a chance to review their Saladin game. I will have the review in the links also.

Robert

Shakos Games:

Shakos | Historical board games

Napoleon 1807 Review:

Napoleon 1807 La Campagne de Pologne by Shakos Games - A Wargamers Needful Things

Saladin Review:

Saladin by Shakos Games - A Wargamers Needful Things