Battle Commander: Napoleon's Italian Campaigns

by

Sound of Drums

 One of the greatest perks or extra pleasures of playing wargames is the learning that is involved. I am not talking about game rules. I am talking about learning about other periods of history. While I can quote you verse and chapter about Napoleon's campaigns after 1808, I know very little about the early campaigns or the Spanish Ulcer. Oh, I know the general history but not the nuts and bolts of those campaigns. So, my first thought when I saw this title on my table was, I am going to have to do some deep diving. You cannot judge how a wargame represents a certain period of time without knowing anything about that period. Questions such as, Did the Austrians really have a chance? Was Napoleon really just leading a ragtag army that had very little chance of victory? How close in some of the battles did the Austrians come to winning, except of course for Marengo. To me, only after you have delved into the actual history of the campaigns can you get a feel for how well a game represents it, if at all. Some wargames are more of a sandbox than a representation of history and that is quite alright. It is the games that supposedly come close to being a simulation where they should be more harshly judged on reality. So, let us open the box and see what Sound of Drums and Mr. Paradis have in store for us. This is what Sound of Drums has to say about the game and the series:

Ew Gross, tokens it's a Eurogame!!!

"Battle Commander recreates historical 18th-19th century battles. It features a fresh framework focused on providing two key aspects: command decision and maximum playability. In Volume I, you act as Army Commander in a series of six dramatic Battles fought during Napoleon’s two Italian campaigns. Volume II will cover engagements of the Second and Third Coalitions, including Austerlitz and the Battle of the Pyramids.

In Battle Commander, you struggle against the chaos of battle, making meaningful high-level decisions, not micro-managing your troops: that’s your colonels’ job! Good card play is paramount for Battle success but make no mistake: this is not a card-driven, but a card enhanced game.

Cube-pull activation is used to manage game phases (movement, combat, rally, card draws etc.), and cards for the interactive combat system and events, allowing for a myriad of possibilities and solitaire-friendly gaming. No dice, no complex odds counting, no markers, no play downtimes, no sure thing!

A persona card represents each Commander, his specific abilities and your Army’s resources; the all-important Subordinate Leaders are integrated in an innovative multi-role card system. Morale and troop skill are a core mechanic: demoralizing the enemy goes a long way towards winning the fight, with Armies slowly degrading in performance, until the breaking point! Casualties are managed effortlessly, and a correct “Battlefield Look” maintained at all times.

With a game piece count similar to chess, you’ll be able to assess your going in one quick “coup d’oeuil”. Be ready for an exciting battle simulation that’ll allow you to refight Napoleon’s greatest triumphs, and failures. Action is quick and non-stop, rewarding planning, risk-taking, and initiative.

I seem to remember this person.

In Battle Commander you are in command, you make the critical decisions, you play history!

What makes Battle Commander a unique and exciting wargaming experience?

Immersive Historical Setting: The game is set during the early Napoleonic Wars, a period of great upheaval and change in Europe. You can command the armies of Napoleon himself, barely 26 years of age at the time, or lead the forces of his many enemies. The gorgeous deluxe game components, including painted wood blocks, pictured event cards, and a new map-grid system, fully immerses you in a series exciting of 19th-century military confrontations.

Engaging Gameplay: Battle Commander uses a cube-pull activation system that keeps the game moving quickly and creates unpredictable situations. You’ll need to make tough decisions on the fly, just like a real Napoleonic general. The game also features event cards that can swing the tide of battle, adding an element of surprise and excitement.

Streamlined Mechanics: While the game is historically detailed, the mechanics are streamlined and easy to learn. This allows you to focus on the strategic and tactical challenges of Napoleonic warfare, without getting bogged down in complex rules.

Emphasis on Command: Battle Commander puts you in the role of a Napoleonic commander, making critical decisions about troop deployment, movement, and combat. You’ll need to manage your resources carefully, maintain the morale of your troops, and exploit your enemy’s weaknesses to achieve victory.

Varied Scenarios: The game includes a variety of scenarios based on historical battles. You can play as the French or their opponents, experiencing the challenges of both sides. Optional rules allow you to customize the game to your liking, adding new challenges and historical flavor.

High Replayability: With multiple scenarios, optional rules, and the unpredictable nature of the cube-pull system, Battle Commander offers high replayability. No two games will be exactly alike!

Yes, you get two different Nappy cards.

Who is Battle Commander for?

Wargame Enthusiasts: Battle Commander is perfect for wargamers looking for a new and engaging experience.

History Buffs: If you’re fascinated by the Napoleonic era, Battle Commander is a great way to learn about the tactics and strategies of the time.

Casual Gamers: The simple no-nonsense lively wargame mechanics and short scenarios cater to people new to this fascinating genre of games.

Solitaire Players: The game’s design makes it easy to play solo, thanks to the cube-pull activation system and a set of solitaire card-play guidelines.

What does Battle Commander offer?

A fresh, engaging, and historically accurate wargaming experience.

A chance to step into the shoes of a Napoleonic commander and experience the thrill of battle.

Hours of fun and challenging gameplay."

The other cards in all their glory.

Game Components

3 x Double-sided 22”x17” mounted game maps

105 x Wooden cubes & markers

100 x Customized silk printed wooden blocks*

100 x Event / Leader / Commander cards

2 x Army Management mats

2 x Player aid sheets

1 x Rulebook

1 x Playbook

 It may seem like I have let Sound of Drums prattle on where I should be the one typing. However, this is no different than someone doing an unboxing video and relaying all of the box's information to you by voice. 

 This game is most definitely a cross between a wargame and a Eurogame. There is nothing wrong with that and the ones that I have played have definitely visually livened up the wargaming tables. The one thing I have noticed about Sound of Drums games is the heft of each game. Uwe must have a feeling that a wargame is not complete unless you can use the box for curls (unless it is their Assault games series, those you can use to bench press). The boards are on the smaller size at 22"x17", but they are mounted. The first thing that you will notice about the boards is there are no hexes or areas as we have come to know them. They are covered with large squares. However, the squares are not aligned as on a chessboard. They are staggered from one row to the next. So, perhaps they come closer to maps that have very large hexes in their design. Just like any other game board or map that I have seen from Sound of Drums they are beauties in their own way. There are six battles with this first volume, so there are three double-sided maps. 

 It is hard to decide which piece of the game we should describe first. So, I guess we will start with the Rulebook. It is 40 pages long with a complete Index on the back page. Do not be too quick to judge by the number of pages. The size of the type and the incredibly numerous illustrations make the Rulebook longer than it would normally be. This is another gift from game companies to the denizens of Shady Acres Grognard Home. The Playbook is longer at 51 pages. Both it and the Rulebook are in a magazine style. However, the illustrations are even larger than in the Rulebook and some of them take up a full page. As usual, you get the setup for the six different scenarios. This is also what you get in the Playbook:

Game Component Manifest (this is exceedingly helpful)

Full Example of Play (eight pages long)

More Combat Examples (seven pages long)

Player Notes

Historical Notes

Designer Notes

Game Credits (with playtesters listed, always a nice touch)

 Next, we have the Player Aid sheet. This is a large fold out one that is actually six pages in total. It is as colorful and large as the two books. The absence of a normal CRT is because this game has no dice. Then there are two small Army Management Mats. These are actually in 3d and have different compartments for the game tokens. Then we go the game cards. The first thing I notice about the card packs is something that takes me back to my irresolute youth. They come with the little tab and lines for opening that cigarettes used to come with (for all I know they still do, it has been 41 years). The cards seem the normal size, but they do seem a little sturdier than most. The Leader Cards have the appropriate small picture of the leader on them. Most Leader Cards are double-sided. The French, Coalition, and Shared Cards have pictures depicting an actual event during the Napoleonic Wars.

These are just the troop tokens.

 Finally, we have the tokens. There is not one counter in the entire box. This is not a knock on the game. It is just strange to me because even games that use tokens usually have at least a few actual counters. The Tokens come in two distinct types. The first would be the ones depicting both sides' troops. The rest are either gameplay tokens or ones to use with the troop tokens to depict formation etc. All of the tokens are colorful and are cut correctly. There are no flanges hanging off or chipped tokens.

 So, there you have it. Sound of Drums has lived up to its aesthetic level of wargaming once again. We have seen what it all looks like but how does it play? This is not that easy of a question to answer.

 Carl Paradis (designer) and Sound of Drums took a bit of a gamble on this new series of games. First of all, they picked some of the earliest of Napoleon's battles to simulate. Most game companies start with the usual battles of the 1st Empire. Secondly, the game components look like they should belong to a much more beer & pretzels like game. The game is enough of a simulation to attract the grognard. However, grognards are typically hidebound and not attracted to new things. They, me included, are usually hex, dice, and CRT or nothing players. On the other hand, the way the game looks might attract the said beer & pretzel crowd, much to their chagrin. This is a game that you should on no account judge by its cover. It is a rich, deep, and thinking cap required simulation. The ability to solo play is a definite plus in this day and age.

 The game includes rules for these:

Infantry Square and Line

Fire Combat

Assault

Infantry - Elite, Veteran, Trained, Conscript, Militia Units

Cavalry Grand Charge and Steady

Horse Artillery and Foot Artillery

Grand Battery

Reserves

Garrisons

Headquarters

Rally

Morale

Reaction

 This is just a small list of what was included to simulate Napoleonic warfare.

My pathetic picture of part of the Battle of Arcole

 Morale is one of the core parts of the game. Just as in reality troops will lose the will to stay and fight quicker than actual casualties pile up. You, and your opponent, will also have the ability to rally their unsteady troops. All movement and combat is based upon the large six squared 'hex' around each unit. Each side starts out, or hopes to, with activation cubes, which are the currency of almost all parts of the game. Your ability to hoard them and then to use them at the appropriate moment is one of the core ideas behind the game design. As in Chess, the player must think turns ahead. If you are used to grognard wargaming then I do agree with Sound of Drums that it is an easy game to learn. 

 The cards put another level of gameplay on the table. They can put the proverbial 'wrench in the works'. Your well-developed plan that would take three turns to come to fruition is now, on the second turn, turned into a nightmare of your own making. Of course, on the other hand the card gods might be extremely helpful. However, do remember that this game and its winning and losing is entirely in your hands. You will be handed lemons and some plums, but it is up to you in the end. Your plans and reactions to the other players' plans are what is going to make you lose or win. The Austrian side of most of the battles is the one that requires the most gray matter, at least in my playthroughs. The French side becomes more able to deal with the friction of war as the battles go by in time. The optional rules can help balance between players level of skill.

The two Army Management Mats

 To be totally honest and fair, I did not really look at the game until it thudded down on my porch. My delight quickly turned to a little bit of chagrin because of its looks. Unfortunately, because of almost going straight from the womb to a love of history and a very early purchase of Tactics II, I am still not used to Euro style wargames. I see them and my lizard brain sees a game of RISK. I am very glad that I was completely wrong about this game. It is much deeper than I ever imagined but is not hampered by a set of rules that looks like an old phonebook and necessitates constant indexing and reading. Not that I do not like those games. I most certainly do. However, this is one of those games that make you realize that hexes and counters are not the end all and be all.  

 I am totally sold on the game and the series. The rules, along with the optional ones, play out more like a simulation than the game's slight resemblance to Stratego does. Looking at it from a historical point of view you would think that the Austrians are behind the eight ball right from the beginning. However, the card play and sheer 'friction' of battle mean that the games could play out with both sides having a chance at victory. The victory conditions also make it easier in that respect.

 Thank you, Sound of Drums, for allowing me to review this extremely interesting and dare I say fun (shudder) game. By the way, Expansion I for the game has been released and I will have something to say about that in short order.

Robert Peterson

Sound of Drums

Battle Commander: Napoleon's Italian Campaigns

 

A fresh, engaging, and historically accurate wargaming experience.

A chance to step into the shoes of a Napoleonic commander and experience the thrill of battle.

Hours of fun and challenging gameplay.

 Neither King Nor God

by

Sound of Drums

 This is some information from Sound of Drums about its newest release.

"Dear friends, supporters and grognards!

I hope you all do well and enjoy autumn, the long evenings around a table with family and friend playing board games.

Designing Neither King Nor God: The Story Behind Its Creation and the Pilot Edition

First and foremost, I’m a gamer - and have been since I was a kid. Some of my favorite moments are when fellow gamers reach out or when we meet at conventions to talk about games, history, and those wonderful cardboard boxes that bring the two together.

I had been keeping an eye on Europa Universalis for ages. Back in the early days of Sound of Drums, I even reached out to AEGIR about possibly doing a German edition. But since AEGIR, like us, is a small and passionate team, they were understandably swamped getting the project off the ground, so our contact remained casual.

For years I kept going back and forth, asking myself, “Should I back it? Shouldn’t I?” Each time I decided, “No, Here I Stand is already on the shelf, and let’s be honest, you’ll probably never play EU anyway.” That internal debate lasted far longer than I’d like to admit.

At heart, I’m a wargamer, mostly drawn to the Napoleonic era. But the Renaissance, with its politics, intrigue, and shifting alliances, has always fascinated me.

So, while I was busy dithering between Europa Universalis and Here I Stand, my desire to play an epic game set in that period only grew stronger. Then, after reading a historical novel that captured the era’s drama and complexity, I thought: why not design one myself? And that’s when the idea was born: a game built on the design philosophy of Sound of Drums.

The important thing was that it had to be accessible, and yet epic. Or perhaps better said: epic, as the theme deserves, but still accessible. In other words, the exact opposite of Europa Universalis and Here I Stand in that regard.

The novel also sparked the idea for the game’s core mechanism - one that would ensure a high level of player interaction, something I consider absolutely indispensable in any design.

Sorry, I posted the old meeple sheet along with this new one.

How can I bring the game to a wider audience? And how can I reach the full potential of the player base that might love it?

We’re gradually making a name for ourselves, but the market - and the competition - is brutal. I know from experience how much my beloved series History of the Ancient Seas has flown under the radar. I’m thrilled that it’s now slowly finding a wider audience, but it takes time and persistence.

With our rhythm at Sound of Drums and the way we work, I can’t simply produce eight or nine advanced prototypes, send them out to reviewers, and launch a massive marketing campaign. That’s not realistic for a small studio.

We do, however, have a loyal base of players who appreciate the quality, artwork, and game design we deliver. But the market moves fast. Players rush from one novelty to the next. And I always remind myself, with every project: we only get one chance to do this theme. One bullet in the chamber. It has to be right, because we won’t revisit the Renaissance or Mediterranean civ-building theme a second time. It has to be the ultimate game.

That’s when the idea came to me: what if we created a “light” version, focused on the core mechanism - the Courtiers? I asked my friend and fellow gamer Chris Synatzschke to lead the development and Andrew James to take on the role of editor. Both had very little time to work with, and the challenge was enormous.

The goal was to scale down the original design: only four factions, a smaller map, and just 300 wooden pieces. We’re producing this Pilot Edition in a very limited quantity - once they’re gone, they’re gone.

It will be available from October 11 to 31, 2025, priced at EUR 29 instead of EUR 69. Production finishes on October 14, just in time for Essen. We don’t expect to sell out instantly; some retailers have already shown interest in taking remaining copies. We’ll also be generous with YouTube reviewers and influencers.

The goal of this limited edition is simple: to showcase the unique, intelligent Courtiers mechanism and to build anticipation for the epic version. I hope many players will say, “For 29 euros, I’ll give it a try,” and later, “Wow! That Courtiers mechanism is brilliant.”

The full epic version will offer much more: a rich diplomatic subsystem, a non-player Ottoman Empire, deeply asymmetrical factions, additional courtier types, and plenty more. Yet it will still remain accessible - far more so than Europa Universalis or Here I Stand, both incredible games that are admired more often than they’re played.

My plan is to reach those same players through this Pilot Edition campaign. And thanks to our talented graphic designer Marc von Martial, along with our signature wooden components, I’m confident we can achieve a production quality that truly justifies the effort.

We’re also expanding thematically. We’re about to sign another historical title alongside Neither King Nor God: The Collapse, designed by Daniel Iniesta Hernández, set during the Thirty Years’ War."

 This is the information about the game:

84 x 60 cm double-layered mounted map

over 300 wooden playing pieces, most customized & silk printed

36 Victory Conditions cards

4 double layered faction sheets

4 wooden storage boards

2 dice

1 cloth bag

1 play aid withset up instructions

1 rules manual

Game Info:

Designer: Uwe Walentin

Artist(s): Marc von Martial

Developer: Chris Synatzschke

LTD  Pilot Edition: This edition is only available until 31st of October in a limited print run. 

Hist. period: Renaissance

Game length: 90+ minutes

Players: 4 players

Age: 14+ years

Complexity: 5 / 10

Solitaire: no 1 / 10

Robert

Sound of Drums

Neither King Nor God

My reviews of Sound of Drums other games:

Eylau 1807 Battles of Napoleon Volume I by Sound of Drums - A Wargamers Needful Things

1793 Patriots & Traitors by Sound of Drums - A Wargamers Needful Things

Hellas: History of the Ancient Seas I by Sound of Drums - A Wargamers Needful Things

 

1793 Patriots & Traitors

The French Revolution, Year II

By

Sound of Drums

 To get us into the correct mood, here is a compilation of songs from Marat/Sade by Judy Collins:

Judy Collins - Marat/Sade

 The above is a paean of praise to Jean Paul Marat. He was a central figure in the early years of the French Revolution. At times, he was forced to hide in the Paris sewers from the Old Regime pre-revolution. In doing so he contracted a nasty skin disease that not only covered him in sores, but he also released a very malodorous odor in the area around him. Apparently, modern science has stopped the debate of what it was by analyzing some of his blood. Thank you, Charlotte Corday; more on her in a minute. It appears to have been a fungal infection with a secondary bacterial infection. They believe it might have been Seborrheic Dermatitis. Whatever it was, even his friends in the National Assembly kept a wide berth from him. 

 The French Revolution was the first of its kind in the Western World. Wait, you say, what about the American Revolution. Sorry, they were completely different animals. The American Revolution was more about taxation and representation than about real freedom, thanks to the Magna Carta and Charles I for losing his head. Englishmen, and the American Colonials, had much more freedom than in other countries at the time. The French Revolution happened because of basic human rights that the average Frenchman did not have. They effectively were all chattels to the Crown and nobles. Just as Sam Colt made every man in the United States equal, the Guillotine made every Frenchman equal. Oddly, it was designed by a man who did not like the death penalty and was looking for something much more humane. So, back to dear Charlotte Corday. She removed Marat from his suffering with a large knife to the chest. She was absolutely fearless at her trial in the National Assembly. She had struck down Marat because she felt he was guilty of the death of the most prominent Girondins, moderates that you can play in the game. When she was brought to the Guillotine by Charles-Henri Sanson, first the royal executioner and then the high executioner during the Revolution, he tried to shield her from its sight. She asked him to please move out of the way because she was naturally curious about the machine. When Sanson was asked who was the bravest soul to meet the Guillotine, his answer was always Charlotte Corday. I happen to like Mr. Sanson very much. He ripped off the bandages on Robespierre's face before relieving him and that young Angel of Death Saint-Just of their heads (my apologies if the designer is somehow related). 

 I know that I have jumped around a bit and only scratched the smallest surface of the French Revolution. My love for the subject and some of the personalities is unbounded. My disgust toward Robespierre and his cronies also knows no bounds. So, as you can see, I do know a lot about the historical period and have some strong biases towards the events and people. Which leads, finally, I know, to this game in question. I am pretty giddy about having in my hot little hands a game where I can try to right all of the wrongs, in my eyes, that happened during the Terror. This phrase the Terror was for the longest time associated only with the French Revolution. It has only been in the latter half of the 20th century that the phrase has been associated with many more horrible historical happenings and periods.

 So, what comes inside the box:

1 Paris board (62x 62cm)

1 France board (30 x 30cm)

5 faction sheets

10 location tiles

150 wooden influence cubes

95 Tarot sized playing cards

47 customized wooden pieces

1 multiplayer rules manual

Solo / 2 player rules manual

4 player Aid Sheets

5 Cotton bags

 This is what Sound of Drums has to say about the game:

Hist. period: French Revolution

Game length: 30 – 120 minutes+

Players: 1 – 5 players

Age: 14+ years

Complexity: 5 / 10

Solitaire: yes

"For more than three years now, the banner of Revolution has been fluttering over France. Sure, the old structure has fallen but still the people clamor for change. There is a shortage of bread and on the borders the Austrians and Prussians are ready to invade. The press has become mighty popular, publicly denouncing traitors and calling the populace to arms. There are some that believe that the Revolution has gone far enough, but for others it has yet to begin. The land bubbles with intrigue and unrest. These are dangerous times. Now that the monarchy under Louis XVI has fallen who will dare to take the reins as the nation crumbles? 

1793: Patriots & Traitors recreates the chaos that tore up France in the years 1792-1794 as it has never been done before! 

Each of the players belong to a political faction, each with their own objective. Although engaged in a brutal political tug-of-war, they WILL have to work together to prevent the armies of Austria, Prussia and Sardinia-Piedmont from reaching Paris, thereby crushing the Revolution and ending the game prematurely…for everyone!

1793: Patriots & Traitors is a very compact CDG game that makes use of multi-functional playing cards to allow the players a broad range of decisions…and rest assure that every decision made has its consequences. With them, the players will be able to influence a number of areas in Paris (National Convention, Palais-Egalité, the Paris streets…) or the provinces. Each controlled area offers certain benefits…or will help them to perform a Coup d’Etat or Civil War if things turn for the worse…  

Also included are the various revolutionary protagonists such as Robespierre, Danton, Marat, Brissot who can help their faction to achieve their objective IF they are not arrested or assassinated in the meantime! 

Core mechanic is the possibility of making of laws for the new Republic which will change the game rules or even alter the board…of course: it’s a Revolution! 

Be prepared for a warm and asymmetrical game of high replayability that will allow you and your fellow patriots to relive the French Revolution: from the heated discussions in the National Convention to the angry streets of Paris and from the cheering crowds around the bloody guillotine to the gun smoke filled battlefield of Fleurus!

1793: Patriots & Traitors is a true aristocratic banquet for 1 to 5 lovers of history by the hand of Jason St. Just.

Marc von Martial, one of the best graphic artists in the business, is in charge of the artwork. Gamers can expect beautiful era style maps and beautiful customized wooden meeples! They will not be disappointed by his skills and love for the detail."

Three of the five different player boards of the factions

 So, we have a CDG (Card Driven Game) that has definitely been manufactured in the Eurogame fashion. I mean it actually has meeples. How much more Eurogame can you get. 

 The Map/Board is really a rather bland street map of Paris at the time and is mounted. The top of the board has two circles marked Oui!/Non!. These are for voting in the 'Convention Nationale'. Across the bottom of the board is the turn record track. This is a stylized calendar with the new months of the Revolution. These are a series of circles with period pieces of art inside them. The track 'Tracé du Temps' starts with the Month 'Frimaire' (November/December) to ' Thermidor' (July/August). There is a total of 21 months in the calendar. Next up is the ten Location Tiles that fit into the Paris board. Two of these are marked as the Convention Nationale and the Place de la Révolution (the place where the Revolution split both hairs and necks). These tiles are placed on the board due to gameplay and setup. They all have a very nice period artwork of each respective area. Once these are added to the board it really spruces up the board. There is a smaller mounted board with a map of France and some cities near it from the time. This is used for the various attempts of the other European states and their royals to end the Revolution and put a fat Bourbon back on the throne in France. 

 Then we have the five mounted Faction sheets. These give all of the pertinent information the player needs to know about each faction. The factions are:

Jacobins (Radicals)

Royalists (Ultra-Conservatives)

Cordeliers (Ultra-Radicals)

Girondins (Moderates)

Feuilants (Conservatives)

 The game comes with two Rulebooks. The first is for one to two players and is 12 pages long. It is in full color and the rules are typed in double columns. It also comes with a good number of play examples. The second Rulebook is for Multiplayer games. This one is 32 pages long. In all respects it looks like its smaller sibling. 

 There is a Leader card Players Aid that strangely shows all of the Leader cards and their effects etc. For those of a historical bent these are some of them:

Marquis de La Fayette (Yes, that one)

Jacques Brissot

Camille Desmoulins

Mme Roland

Joseph Fouché (Yes, that one)

Georges Danton (Yay!)

Louis de Saint-Just (Boo!)

 There is a three-page fold out that lists all of the Action Cards and their uses. There is a two-page fold out that lists all of the Law Cards that you can vote for or against. The Paris Board Player Aid shows all of the Paris Location Tiles and their benefits. There are five bags of colored wooden cubes (red, gray, yellow, blue, purple) that are used to show influence in the different boards. The 47 other wooden pieces represent everything else needed to play and even include a balloon. Then there are five cotton bags to keep all of the pieces from the separate factions.

 The 95 'Tarot' sized cards are a sheer pleasure to behold. These include the Laws, Actions, and Leaders cards that are used to play the game. The cards are nice and large. They also come with either a period piece of artwork or the portrait of the Leader they represent.

 This is most definitely a Eurogame and you can see and feel it in the wonderful production standards of all of the game pieces and boards.

 

This is quite a hand of historical cards. You have Robespierre(ugh!), Marat (sans his odor), and even Napoleon.

 One thing about the game that you should know before playing is that it does have a 'sudden death' feature that makes every player lose without any recourse. This is true if you are playing solitaire, two-player, or multiplayer. If any of the reactionary armies surrounding and attacking France take Paris, the gig is up. I assume the reason being is because of the actual historical situation that France found itself in this time period. France was split by many parties with many different agendas. It was also surrounded by almost the entire continent of Europe who declared war on France to stifle the Revolution before any of its horrible ideas (at least in the other Royals eyes), were exported into the other countries of Europe. Kings and Queens are like that, they are none too fond of revolutionary ideas and the like that could possibly make them lose not only their fortunes but also their heads. The historical situation was extremely volatile for both the citizens of France and Europe as a whole. Only the complete ineptitude of the anti-revolutionary armies, and some extremely good luck, allowed the Revolution to continue. So, the chance of the Revolution being squashed by reactionary forces was in reality pretty high. This was probably put in by the designer to try and make the game as accurate as possible. Considering the lengths he took to be historically accurate in the rest of the game leads me to this conclusion.

Aww a cute little Guillotine

 It does help with a game like this to have a grounding in the actual history of the period. To attempt to make this game friendlier to a wider audience would mean that it would have to, in essence, be dumbed down. If you do not know who Ms. Corday is, or what 'The Mountain' in the Convention Nationale was, would put you behind the eight ball while trying to play this game. There are CDG games that are very simple and only scratch the surface of what they are representing. Please be aware that this game is not one of them. 

 So, the entire essence of the game is to put your faction into power. However, as mentioned, you also have to defend France's borders. Becoming the first faction means nothing if the Prussians or Austrians are marching down Paris's streets. Above all in the game do not lose your head both literally and figuratively. The game gives you myriads of ways and decisions that you can make to win. It can also be a harsh mistress and back you into a corner.

 After the 21st turn victory is determined by the player who has the most influence in the Convention Nationale, Caserne/Champ de Mars, and in the Provinces. 

 Victory is automatic in one of three ways. These are:

Paris is overrun by one of the Coalition Armies.

The Royal Family is saved which results in an immediate win for the Feuillant player.

One of the players has initiated a Civil War or Coup d'Etat and also emerged victorious.

Handy little tote bags to carry your swag from the Revolution home

 Besides being as historically accurate as possible this game is also fun. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon or evening than destroying your enemies and seeing their heads presented to the crowd? You get to pass laws, or defeat them, to hem your enemies in before the final blow. You can dress like a Roman and pray to the Goddess Virtue. Okay, you cannot really do that. Unless of course the other players have no problem with it. I am once again enthralled by a game that gets history correct and makes it enjoyable while doing it.

 Thank you so very much, Sound of Drums, for allowing me to review this seemingly simulation built into a CDG. The game to me is a wonderful labor of love from Mr. St. Just. Even if it does stick in my craw that I have to congratulate someone with that name. If at all possible, in your playthroughs make it so Danton, even though strictly a Jacobin, and the Girondins live through that prig Robespierre's and Saint-Just's Terror.

Robert Peterson

1793 Patriots and Traitors

Sound of Drums

This is a link to my review of Sound of Drums game Eylau 1807: Battles of Napoleon Volume I:

Eylau 1807 Battles of Napoleon Volume I by Sound of Drums - A Wargamers Needful Things

 Eylau 1807

Battles of Napoleon Volume I

by

Sound of Drums

A Uwe Walentin Design

 I will confess up front that I am a Napoleonic fanboy, and not only in my choice of wargames. If I had my way, some of the decor in my house would be of the Napoleonic variety, much to the chagrin of my better half. To top it off, the Battle of Eylau has for some reason always been my favorite Napoleonic battle to read about and to wargame. So, I might look a little more harshly on a wargame based on the battle compared to others.

 The Battle of Eylau need not have happened. After the destruction of 90% of the Prussian Army in the 1806 campaign, Napoleon was trying to come to grips with the Russian Army who were allies of the Prussians. Time had moved inexorably forward, and it was now almost full winter. Both Armies had pretty much gone into winter quarters. The Battle of Eylau was mostly caused by Marshal Ney disregarding his orders (He might have been the 'Bravest of the Brave' but he was certainly not the brightest of the bright) and causing the Russian Army to stir. Both armies finally met at Eylau in typical norther European weather. The battle was technically named Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, this being the town's actual name. However, the slaughter in the snow would make a more accurate description. The Russian Army was as tenacious as always, as Frederick the Great, Napoleon, and others came to find out. Sometime during the battle, a raging snowstorm took place to make the soldiers and generals jobs that much harder. Marshal Murat at the head of 10,000 French horsemen is usually credited with stopping the battle from becoming Napoleon's first defeat. It ended as the first check and not the outright victory that Napoleon had encountered. The battle was summed up by this conversation between Napoleon and Marshal Soult: Napoleon told Marshal Soult, "The Russians have done us great harm," to which Soult replied, "And we them, our bullets were not made of cotton." This famous interaction between a commander and his troops also took place at Eylau: "At the battle of Eylau, seeing his horse grenadiers lowering their heads as bullets whistled around, Lepic uttered the famous words: "Heads up, gentlemen, these are bullets, not turds!" (Haut la tête, messieurs, la mitraille ce n'est pas de la merde !)."

 This is what comes with the game:

two 88 x 56 cm map sheets

1120 counters (15 mm)

220 alternative counters (15 mm)

40 grey and 42 black cubes

20 blue and 20 green cube

2 army charts

2 OOB charts

2 play aid charts

2 tally sticks

2 counter trays

4 custom dice

1 rulebook

 This is what Sound of Drums has to say about the game:

"Battles of Napoleon is an epic game series that simulates the most famous battles of Napoleon on a tactical scale sharing an elegant and cohesive ruleset. 

The series portrays the most important aspects of battles of the Napoleonic era with easy to learn and remember rules, intuitive mechanics and procedures. This enables players to focus less time consulting the rulebook and more time on strategy, tactical decisions and gameplay.

The system focuses on the “cat-and-mouse game” of coordination and timing of the various formations of the different arms without unnecessarily complex or excessively thematic gameplay that too often compromises game-flow. 

The scale of the series is appr. 150 meters per hex. Infantry units are battalions; artillery are batteries, and cavalry are represented as regiments.

EYLAU 1807 contains 1120 large (15mm) counters, 280 alternative counters, 2 huge map sheets (each 86 x 55 cm) with large hexes, 4 charts and tables, 125 wooden cubes, 2 counter trays, 1 rules manual and 4 customized dice. 

Thanks to the successful funding on Gamefound and the unlocked stretch goals the components of the game are upgraded: the dice are customized and the charts and tables are deluxe (printed on 2mm grey carton) and the game includes 280 alternative counters.

The Game includes 5 scenarios: The fight for night quarters (small scenario), Murat’s massive cavalry charge, Davout’s attack, Lestocq saves the day and the Grand Battle scenario

Marc von Martial, one of the best graphic artists in the business, is in charge of the artwork. Gamers can expect beautiful, era-style maps and counters, and they will not be disappointed by his skill and love for detail."

  One thing about the game that was brought up before it was released was the map. This wasn't a discussion about how excellent it looks but the fact that it has a white overlay to it. Apparently, some people wanted to see the little brown buildings in the town etc. Well, here is a news flash. The battle was fought in the middle of a hard winter during a snowstorm. I thought from the very beginning that the map color added to the game and actually added to the historical immersion of it.

 

 Before I dive into the various components that come with the game there is something very important I have to say. That is, this game has some of the finest materials that I have seen in a game. It truly looks like the labor of love that it is. I was impressed by their earlier Hellas game, review link below, and its pieces but I am blown away by what you find inside this box. Now to be clear, I am talking about what comes in the 'regular', seems a pity to use that word, game box. I was lucky enough to get some of the special items from Mr. Walentin like the mounted map and the special dice. These only added to the magnificence of the ensemble.

 

 Unfortunately, my descriptions and the pictures do not do the game components justice. However, I will list off what comes in the box to the best of my ability. 

 So, let us start off with the map. As mentioned, it comes in two pieces. The size is a little over 22" X 34". I remember that we were supposed to change over to the metric system in the early 1970s, but I digress. It is simply a real wonder of an understated style. It is designed to show a landscape draped in winter and in this it succeeds admirably.

 Next up are the counters. Many games have huge amounts of counters. Usually, these counters are on the small size and rather hard to read, but not with all games. These come in around 5/8". This size is quite sufficient for most people to be able to see the pertinent information. They also have a small picture of the different Marshals and Generals, and they use what we have come to call the NATO symbols. The game places a lot of emphasis on command and control of the different units, as it should in a Napoleonic battle. So, being able to read the different Corps and division numbers is very necessary. The actual game units only take up two and 3/4 of the countersheets. The other 7 1/4 are the counters used in gameplay. The counters also come prerounded. I know this puts a damper on those of you who revel in piles of cut off pieces of counters. There are two types of alternative counters. The first is a set of alternative Marshal and General counters which have a flag instead of a small portrait. The other are 'Pollard" markers to show unit loss of strength. The game has regular loss counters of one number on each. The "Pollard" ones have four numbers on each side of the counter, and you put the correct number toward the front of the counter. Each counter also has a line or a column side. The game also comes with small wooden cubes to keep track of the different parts of the game. These are all uniform and do not have flash or bits of wood hanging off the ends.

  The Rulebook and the Scenarios, Notes, & History Booklet come in magazine type style. They are both in full color. The Rulebook does come with examples of the rules and play. The Rulebook comes in at 33 pages and the other at 19. The size of the lettering could be a little larger. However, the size of the Rulebook would then become a bit unwieldly. It comes with two large colorful foldout Orders of Battle, one for each side. The two identical Player Aids are made of the same material as a mounted map. All of the charts and tables needed to play are on them. You also get two foldouts to keep track of orders etc. These are also made of the same material as a mounted map. It also comes with two Tally Sticks, (more on them later), along with four custom dice. The entire game, except the map, is a bloom of color like a Napoleonic battle should be. 

 Strangely, for a game this size, the designer attempted to make it as easy as possible to play and remember the rules, without the constant checking and cross referencing that is needed in some game systems. The game is listed as a 5/10 on the complexity scale and the game length is listed as 180 minutes. This time is naturally based on knowing the rules and system and not for complete tyros. For a large game like this that is pretty amazing. The amount of counter clutter on the map has been cut down to as small as it can be. Mr. Walentin was trying to design a game series that would involve the player and be historical and yet still be extremely playable. I believe he has succeeded admirably in his assignment to himself. You get all the flavor of a Napoleonic battle without all the fluff and added rules that other systems use. 

 The gameplay is the very meat and potatoes of our chosen hobby. There are many beautiful games that gather dust on numerous shelves because of coming up short in this aspect. This game, and series, will not be one of them. The weather is also a large part of the rules and indeed that of the battle. Augereau's Corps staggered toward the Russian lines in a snow whiteout and was almost destroyed by the Russian cannon. This led to one of the most magnificent feats of the entire Napoleonic Wars. Murat led forward 10,000 French horseman who cut their way through the Russian Army and then repeated the process on the way back. The tableau has been used by numerous painters of the Napoleonic Wars.

 The game is won or lost by the amount of each army's fatigue points. As usual, you lose fatigue points for eliminated units, commanders, and the loss of objectives. However, you also lose fatigue points for each order that you issue. The way that fatigue is kept track of is also different. Instead of just having an army fatigue number that if you hit or go under, your side loses. The black and gray cubes are used to keep track of it. Essentially you have a stock of cubes at the beginning of the battle and scenario. You can win or lose them according to the rules above. When one side loses all of its cubes it has lost the battle. You can play with the historical weather, or you can roll a die to see what it is that turn. Now onto the Tally Sticks. Instead of having to find a bone or possibly a slide rule these are just included to help the player keep track of the army fatigue points etc. that are used in the game. These are a small but elegant addition to the game.

 I am going to break another one of my review rules now. That would make two in this month. While I will not mention the actual price, I can tell you that it is way below what a lot of other companies would charge for a game this size and is designed so well. There are so many outlets for buying games that I feel that it is not to the grognards' advantage to mention just one price. I do understand that it is best to send the money straight to the companies. However, some companies do sell their games to outlets that sell them for as low as the KickStarter prices. The grognard community as a whole is an older group. A lot of us are on fixed incomes and the 'younger' ones are dealing with college tuition for their children and many other things. In this day and age every penny counts.

 Please take a look at the other games that Sound of Drums has released and also take a look at the ones forthcoming. In their Battles of Napoleon Series, the next game is the Battle of Quatre? bras. That one, like Eylau, is a battle that could have gone either way.

 Robert Peterson

Eylau 1807 Battles of Napoleon Volume I

Sound of Drums

My review of Hellas: History of the Ancient Seas I:

Hellas: History of the Ancient Seas I by Sound of Drums - A Wargamers Needful Things