"Grant me Night... or Blücher!"

 

Title: "Grant me Night... or Blücher!"
Price: $0 free with a purchase or buy The Waterloo PBG Pack from ATO
Series: Pocket Battle game #29
Designer: Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphics Designer: Mark Mahaffey
Publisher: LPS, Inc
Published Date: 2022

A little history:  The absolute essential ingredient for a French victory at Waterloo was for the Prussians not to arrive, as the Prussian assault on this village of Plancenoit was the single biggest factor that cost the French a victory at Waterloo.

Up until now Wellington was on the back foot and would have been beaten without Blucher's army. In the second stage of the battle, the Duke said: "Give me night or give me Blücher"*.  The Duke got his wish, finally the green uniformed Prussians and their allies arrived in the afternoon.

To halt the Prussians Napoleon first dispatched Lobau's corps, and two cavalry divisions, and then part of his Imperial Guard. Napoleon's force available for attacking Wellington was instantly reduced by over 10,000 men. Napoleon had started this day with an infantry reserve of 36 infantry battalions, keeping Plancenoit cost him 25 of them. Only 8 battalions of fresh troops were committed to the last attack on Wellington's ridge, of these only 5 were in the front line.

For the main battle, which had yet to begin in earnest, Napoleon had less men than Wellington. If Plancenoit was lost, the battle was lost, if the battle was lost, so was the campaign and with it the Emperor's throne."(Adkin pp 381-382, 390-391, Adkin - "Waterloo Companion)".

*Note: the actual quote is "give me night or give me Blücher", a prayer during Battle of Waterloo at about 5.45 pm on 18 June. Book reference is "The Military Maxims of Napoleon by Napoleon Bonaparte" by David G. Chandler and William E. Cairnes on page 143.  Though alternate wording may have been "Night or the Prussians must come", as quoted by David Howarth, "Waterloo: Day of Battle" on  page 162.  I tend to go by  Dr. Chandler's writings. 

Subject:  This pbg concerns the actions of Napoleon's attack against the Prussian's at Plancenoit.

Abbreviations used:  inf = Infantry, arty = artillery, AF = Attack Factor, DF = Defense Factor, PBG = Pocket Battle Game, MP = Movement Points, CD = Card Draw, ACT = Activations, "Allies" = Prussians & Silesians, mp = movement point, bldgs = buildings, GT = game turn, counters = units, "d" or 1d6 = six sided die, ">" = greater than, "<" = less than, ">" greater than or equal to, "<" less than or equal to math symbols.

Scale:  A quick guesstimate, if I may, considering that the infantry units can fire up to 1 hex away,  a hex is aprx 100 yards with the units representing battalions. Why only 1 hex? The area is actually a mess, with gullies, small hills, brush, farm fields, town, etc.  But, this is really not important.

Complexity:  Introductory!!!

Description of Play:  Either player draws a card (CD). The color and type of card allows one player to activate up to 3 units. Once activated, the unit can either move one hex or preform fire combat or flip a unit over from a reduce state to full strength. When the joker is drawn, the game turn is over.  Reshuffle the deck, advance the turn counter and play up to 5 complete game turns.  

Note: I am assuming that anyone who plays these games, at least takes them to a print shop and blow up the back side of the game incase of 1 or 2 things - 1) to have the rules in a more readable format and 2) to have a copy of any terrain aid (as in this pbg).  One can't pick up the game to double check while playing!

Components and Physical Quality: The game comes as on a standard size 4" x 6" postcard. The card is very nice and can take a lot of plays.  Printing is very good. The rules along with a small player's aid listing the terrain with it's corresponding card modifiers and unit breakdown are on the backside with the game map on the front.  Counters need to be cut out for playing.

Counters:  The game has 17 counters. Prussians have 9 (7 inf, 1 arty, and 1 leader (von Muffling)) counters and the French have 7 (6 inf, and 1 arty) counters and 1 game turn marker. Allies are green and use the "red" cards and French are blue and use the "black" cards.

Note: There is no difference in the game between the Young Guard or Old Guard except the AF and DF. There is a difference between the Prussians and the Silesian Rifles (SR) as von Muffling cannot stack with the SR.

Rather than write down all the rules, here they are.  Pretty self explanatory. There may be a couple of areas that might need clarification, these are the following:

1) To be able to use the arty units in support (+1 CD modifier) (either French or Prussian) does require 1 activation for the use of.  If arty is used and the combat CD is either an "even" or a Face card, the arty support marker is no longer available for that turn. It will be available again starting on the next turn.  Hmmm, do I use the arty for this attack or do I save it for later?

2) All terrain costs 1 mp to enter, but terrain does have a attack CD modifier of -1 CD with a possible  DR check, except clear.  The DR check is for units in stone bldgs - if attacking a unit in a stone bldg hex and it is hit, another DR is needed to see if they are affected - on a 3 or less, the unit is not affected and on a 4 or better, they are hit and reduced or if reduced, eliminated.  (those European stone bldgs are strong stuff). 

Roads do not have an effect on game play and there are no Zones of Control.  Fire combat range for inf units is 1 hex. For arty, add a +1 to the combat CD and can be used anywhere on the map.

And you may notice in the rules under "combat", it is stated "All infantry and cavalry units have a fire range of 1 hex."  What?!? 😲 What cavalry?  There are no cavalry units in the game. Well, knowing ATO, they probably have some type of add-on planned for the game in a future issue of Against The Odds, magazine.  Sneaky little devils.  

Play-Balance:  It looks and plays like another finely balance PBG.  It can go either way for Prussians or for the French, especially if von Muffling is killed early. 

In reality, it was a horrific bloody battle that could have gone either way. 

Summary:  I like this little pbg.  It is fun, has a few great new rules that can be added to other Napoleon pbgs such as flipping a reduce unit back to full strength with an added DR on whether is successful or not, or attacking a unit in a stone bldg with it's added DR frustrations.  

I do hope you will grab this little game and play it. If so, let me know what you think about it, as I am interested in hearing how you do with either side.

And sorry, it has taken me so long to get out this review. As it is said in Rocky Horror's "Time Warp" - "time is fleeting", life has been challenging lately, but it is getting better.  I hope to get out more reviews on different other type of games.  

Thanks for reading!

-ab 

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information. Also, this is my opinion, right or wrong.

Barring the Gate: The battle for Château d'Hougoumont

"Closing the gates at Hougoumont by Robert Gibb 1903"

 

Yes, another small pocket game, Against the Odds Pocket Battle Game #27 "Barring the Gate: The Battle for Château d'Hougoumont", the French morning assault on the fortified position of the Château d'Hougoumont, Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815.

The fighting at Hougoumont has often been characterized as a diversionary attack to draw in Wellington's reserves which escalated into an all-day battle and drew in French reserves instead.

In fact there is a good case to believe that both Napoleon and Wellington thought that holding Hougoumont was key to winning the battle. Hougoumont was a part of the battlefield that Napoleon could see clearly, and he continued to direct resources towards it and its surroundings all afternoon (33 battalions in all, 14,000 troops).

Similarly, though the house never contained a large number of troops, Wellington devoted 21 battalions (12,000 troops) over the course of the afternoon in keeping the hollow way open to allow fresh troops and ammunition to reach the buildings. He moved several artillery batteries from his hard-pressed center to support Hougoumont, and later stated that "the success of the battle turned upon closing the gates at Hougoumont". (wiki/battle of Waterloo)

Title: Barring the Gate: The Battle for Château d'Hougoumont
Price: $0 free with a purchase or buy The Waterloo PBG Pack from ATO
Series: ATO PBG #27
Designer: Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphics Designer: Mark Mahaffey
Publisher: LPS, Inc
Published Date: 2021

Subject:  This pbg concerns the morning French assault on the Hougoumont. 

Abbreviations used:  inf = Infantry, arty = artillery, AF = Attack Factor, DF = Defense Factor, PBG = Pocket Battle Game, MP = Movement Points, CD = Card Draw, ACT = Activations, "Allies" = Prussians & Silesians, mp = movement point, bldgs = buildings, ASA = Assault Staging Area, GT = game turn, counters = units, "d" or 1d6 = six sided die, ">" = greater than, "<" = less than, ">" greater than or equal to, "<" less than or equal to math symbols.

Scale:  A guesstimate if I may, considering that the infantry units can fire up to 2 hexes away (-1 when attacking 2 hexes),  a hex is aprx 100 yards with the units representing battalions.  But, this is really not important. 

Complexity:  Introductory!!!

Description of Play:  Either player draws a card (CD). The color and type of card allows one player to activate up to 1 to 3 units. Once activated, depending on the card, the unit can either move one hex or preform fire combat or flip a unit over from a reduce state to full strength. 
 

The die is used by either player during their attack to see if hits against an opposing unit is effective. Roll 1D6. If the DR is < units DF, the unit is not reduce. If the DR is > units DF, it is flipped or eliminated if already flipped.

Note: If you have played TSP's pbg #5, "A Hard Pounding" or ATO's "La Garde Recule" #10, then you will know how to play this one.  

Components and Physical Quality:  The game comes as a standard size 4" x 6" postcard cardboard. The card is very nice and can take a lot of plays.  Printing is very good. The rules along with a small player's aid listing the terrain with it's corresponding card modifiers and unit breakdown are on the backside with the game map on the front.  Counters need to be cut out for playing.

Counters:  The game only has 15 counters. Allies have 7 infantry unit counters that start the game. The French have 8 counters with 6 starting the game in the ASA and 2 units starting in the ASA at the start of the 3rd Assault Period and one Assault marker. Allied units are red (British) with black lettering and the French are blue with white lettering.  

 
Note: There are no differences between Guard units and regular line (foot) infantry.

Game Map:  For such a small game map it is well design. I can see why LPS, Inc uses Mark as their GD.  

Player added Component:  Players will need to provide a normal deck of cards and 1 D6.  

Card Deck setup:   Shuffle a standard card deck with 1 Joker,  A CD is perform with the French using black cards and Allies using red cards.  An activation allows a unit to either move or perform fire combat.

Each type of card does the following:

• An even CD allows up to two units to activate.  
• An odd CD allows up to three units to activate. 
• A face card CD allows one unit to activate or to flip one unit from reduced to full strength.
  
• An Ace is treated as a one for combat or odd for activation.
• For combat when a face card is drawn, it is an automatic "miss".
• The Joker signals the end of the game turn when it is drawn for either activation or combat resolution, unless it is drawn before both sides have activated units. In this case, bury it and continue play until the end of the deck.

Note: Of course, High Flying Dice Games has their own card set for this game. Click on the jpg to the right to go to the card sets.  And no, it is the not the same for La Garde, recule.  Basically each of the 4 pbg in this series all use different card setups. 

Solitaire Playability (Scale 1 to 10):  This is like A Hard Pounding.  I give it a 7.  It can be played as solitaire, as just about any game can. 

Versions/Scenarios:  Only one version, no extra rules or scenarios.

Setup Time:  Once everything is cut out, what, maybe 3 mins for setup? It will take longer to shuffle the card deck.

Playing Time:  This one is quick.  My games last 30 to 45 mins if that long. Maybe 45 mins to 1 hour to learn the game the first time, but after?

Rules:  The rules are simple and flow nicely from the various areas of "Setup" to "Play" to "Combat" and to "Reinforcements".  After looking over and playing this little game, I found these rules to be very logical, concise, and can see why all 3 PBGs on Waterloo plays so well. Most important - NO ZONES OF CONTROL and combat is voluntary. 

Addenda:  "none" as I can't find any.

Description of Play:  Play is very easy, almost as if the designer was using a formula that he perfected in the past, sweet. This game has the following:

• Setup:
• 7 British units setup in any light red or medium green coloured hexes. 
• 6 French units (6th and 9th Divisions) setup in the bluish ASA area.
• No stacking
• Play:
• A card draw (CD) activates units for either moving 1 hex or fire combat.
• It doesn't matter who draws the card, as it is the color and type of card that  depicts which unit(s) are activated.
• Combat:
• Units may fire up to 2 hexes away.
• Infantry have a -2 CD modifier if firing at a non-adjacent hex.
• Terrain on combat
• Wooded or Orchard terrain has a -1 CD modifier.
• Chateau has a -2 CD and a DR check (see above under "Description of Play").
  
• No firing thru other units, Chateau, or woods, but can fire into such hexes.
• To perform a combat resolution, the attacker picks out the lucky defending target.
• a CD is performed (any color or suite is used), adding this to the AF. 
• Subtract the DF and hex terrain and/or range.
• Face cards are an outright miss. 
• A hit is scored on the defender if the final modified value is greater ">"than the target units DF. 
• If the unit was full strength, it is flipped over to it's reduced side. 
• If the unit was reduced from before, it is eliminated and removed from play.
• If the modified value is less than or equal to " < " the target's DF:  No Effect.
• Reinforcements:
• Only the French receives reinforcements. 2 French units (5th Division) enter at the start of the 3rd Assault Period.

Game Length:  The game lasts up to 6 turns of card deck shuffles. The French immediately wins if there are no British units left in both Chateau hexes. The British wins the game if the French fail to achieve victory by the end of the last turn.

Special Unit Counter:  There are no special counters. 

That's it, pretty much everything one would want to know about this game. 

Play-Balance:  This pbg, imho, is finely balance as any pbg. Out of the 20 or so games played, the Allies won 55%, with the French winning 45%. 

Not sure what heading to use:  I had two full paragraphs on possible strategies but you know, the game is small enough that you, "yes, you laddie", can come up with your own. Besides my non-ability to win very many of the games as the French disqualifies me from offering advice. :D  However, if I may suggest that you get all 3 (now 4) of these little Battle of Waterloo pocket battle games, it will be worth it. 

Summary:  This is the 3rd pbg on the Battle of Waterloo.  There are many books written on this battle.  I have ten big thick books myself from the quint-essential bible on Napoleon "The Campaigns of Napoleon" by Dr Chandler to Scotty Bowden's masterpiece "Waterloo" and all in between.  Also, I have all the Osprey books on the various units of this battle, including several French books on uniforms and tactics (these are out of print) and the pride of my art prints collection - the old Heritage Miniature set of all the uniforms at the Battle of Waterloo. 

 

There are literately dozens of websites not only on Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo, but on the different regiments, battalions, brigades, and other leaders. 

 

This time period is covered more than the Roman Empire or Germany versus Soviet Union.  Games are very numerous too.  For example, I have 15 board games, three sets of miniature rules, and the seven pocket games. Though most tend to take hours (and hours and hours and...) to play, these little pocket battle games take only 45 mins or less. A bargain these little games are and the price is right too.    

 

A web site that I with all sincerity recommend, is "The Napoleon Series".  Napoleonic history galore. And there is also "The Waterloo Association" that one can join.

 

And I see that I went to much greater game detail than what I want to do these days.  This may be the last....

-ab

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information. And I apologize, but this review may contain references to graphics that are no longer on this blog. Long story, but it was Google who removed them.

[edited Sept 19 2023 - Added newly found painting and corrected a few things]

La Garde recule!

Yes, another small pocket game, Against the Odds' Pocket Battle Game #10 "La Garde recule! Attack at Waterloo" the retreat of the Imperial Guard, the final French attack at Waterloo, 18 June 1815.

Title: La Garde recule! Attack at Waterloo
Price: $0 free with a purchase or buy The Waterloo PBG Pack from ATO
Series: Pocket Battle game #10
Designer: Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphics Designer: Mark Mahaffey
Publisher: LPS, Inc
Published Date: 2011

Subject:  This pbg concerns the last actions of Napoleon's Guards in the final French attack on the Allied center. 

Abbreviations used:  AF = Attack Factor, DF = Defense Factor, MP = Movement Points, CD = Card Draw, ACT = Activations, PBG = Pocket Battle Game, "Allies" = British and Dutch, "French" = Old, Middle and Young Guard,  " > " is the Greater Than math symbol.

Scale:  A quick guesstimate, if I may, considering that the infantry units can fire up to 2 hexes away,  a hex is aprx 100 yards with the units representing battalions.  But, this is really not important. 

Complexity:  Introductory!!!

Description of Play:  Either player draws a card (CD). The color and type of card allows one player to activate up to 3 units. Once activated, the unit can either move one hex or preform fire combat or flip a unit over from a reduce state to full strength.

Note: If you have played TSP's pocket battle game #5, "A Hard Pounding", then you will know how to play this one. Differences is no French Arty marker or Major Baring, but the Allies do have the "Duke", himself and all cards are used in the deck, no 9 or 10 cards pulled. 

Components and Physical Quality:  The game comes as a standard size 4" x 6" postcard cardboard. The card is very nice and can take a lot of plays.  Printing is very good. The rules along with a small player's aid listing the terrain with it's corresponding card modifiers and unit breakdown are on the backside with the game map on the front.  Counters need to be cut out for playing.

Counters:  The game only has 17 counters. Allies have ten (9 infantry units and 1 Duke of Wellington leader) counters and the French have six and one game turn marker. Allied units are red (British) or green (Dutch) with black lettering and the French are blue with white lettering.  

 
Note: There are no differences between Guard units and regular line (foot) infantry.

Game Map:  For such a small game map it is well design. I can see why LPS, Inc uses Mark as their GD.  

Player added Component:  Players will need to provide a normal deck of cards.  

Card Deck setup:   Shuffle a standard card deck with 1 Joker,  A CD is perform with the French using black cards and Allies using red cards.  An activation allows a unit to either move or perform fire combat.

Each type of card does the following:

• An even CD allows up to two units to activate.  
• An odd CD allows up to three units to activate. 
• A face card CD allows one unit to activate or to flip one unit from reduced to full strength. 
• An ace is treated as a one for combat or odd for activation.
• For combat when a face card is drawn, it is an automatic "miss", exception is Duke of Wellington, as he can be eliminated on a CD of a black ace or king. See "Special Unit Counter" below).
• The Joker signals the end of the game turn when it is drawn for either activation or combat resolution, unless it is drawn before both sides have activated units. In this case, bury it and continue play until the end of the deck.

Note: Of course, High Flying Dice Games, has their own card set for this game. Cost is $8 plus postage. Click on the .jpg to the right.

Solitaire Playability (Scale 1 to 10):  This is like A Hard Pounding.  I give it a 7.  It can be played as solitaire, as just about any game can. 

Versions/Scenarios:  Only one version, no extra rules or scenarios.

Setup Time:  Once everything is cut out, what, maybe 3 mins for setup? It will take longer to shuffle the card deck.

Playing Time:  This one is quick.  My games last 30 to 45 mins if that long. Maybe 45 mins to 1 hour to learn the game the first time, but after?

Rules: The rules are simple and flow nicely from the various areas of "Setup" to "Play" to "Combat" and to "Reinforcements".  After looking over and playing this little game, I found these rules to be very logical, concise, and can see why "A Hard Pounding (TSP's pbg #5) plays so well. Most important - NO ZONES OF CONTROL and combat is voluntary.  No stacking except for the Duke.

Addenda:  "none" as I can't find any.

Description of Play:  Play is very easy, almost as if the designer was using a formula that he perfected in the past, sweet. This game has the following:

• Setup:
• Six Allied units setup on the red diamonds, and three units on any "R". 
• Two "1st wave" French units on any blue diamond.
• No stacking, except if the Lord Wellington counter is used as an allied reinforcement.
• Play:
• A card draw (CD) activates units for either moving 1 hex or fire combat.
• It doesn't matter who draws the card, as it is the color and type of card that  depicts which unit(s) are activated.
• Combat:
• Units may fire up to 2 hexes away.
• Infantry have a -2 CD modifier if firing at a non-adjacent hex.
• Allied Artillery firing at a French unit in an adjacent hex has a +1 CD modifier.
• Allies "Lord Wellington" adds +1 CD modifier for attacking and +1 DF for any Allied unit he is stacked with.
• Terrain on combat
• Hill terrain has a +1 CD modifier against clear terrain.
• Units in woods have a -1 CD. 
• No firing thru other units, hills, woods, but can fire into such hexes.
• To perform a combat resolution, the attacker picks out the lucky defending target.
• a CD is performed (any color or suite is used), adding this to the AF. 
• Subtract the DF and hex terrain and/or range.
• Face cards are an outright miss (exception: the Duke of Wellington is killed if the unit he is stacked with has a combat CD of black Ace or King)
• A hit is scored on the defender if the final modified value is greater than the target units DF. 
• If the unit was full strength, it is flipped over to it's reduced side. 
• If the unit was reduced from before, it is eliminated and removed from play.
• If the modified value is equal to or less than " < " the target's DF:  No Effect.
• Reinforcements:
• Only the French receives reinforcements. 
• There is a number on the lower right side that indicates the earliest turn the French reinforcement can arrive. They can always enter on later game turns.

Game Length:  The game last up to 5 turns of card deck shuffles. Victory is dependent on the French securing their victory conditions - either eliminate all Allied units or exit three non-reduced units (or four units if one of them is reduced) along the north edge of the game map. Otherwise the Allies win.

Special Unit Counter:  There is one special unit, the Duke himself, "Wellington". He enters the game on game turn 2 by spending any red CD and placed on any allied unit.  Once in play, he cannot exit the game. He doesn't have to enter the game. He has to be stacked with an Allied unit at all times. And confers a +1 to a CD and +1 to the DF to the unit that he is stacked with. 

If the unit the Duke is stacked with is eliminated, the Duke is moved to another unit. If all Allied units are eliminated, the Duke of Wellington is captured and the game ends in a French victory.  If the Duke is eliminated on a card draw of a black ace or king for combat, there is no adverse effect for the Allied player.

That's it, pretty much everything one would want to know about this game. 

Play-Balance:  This pbg, imho, is finely balance as "A Hard Pounding". Out of the 20 or so games played, the Allies won 60%, with the French winning 40%.  Now some may say "well, thats not balance", but think about it, did the French really have a chance with such few battalions of the Guards attacking?  

• At Ligny, Napoleon used 19 Infantry btns (11 btns of Guards and 8 btns of Gerard's Corps), with 28 squadrons cavalry (4 squadrons. of Guard Cavalry and 24 squadrons of Cuirassiers) to break thru the Allies line and was successful.
• At Waterloo on the western wing against the British (inc KGL) and Dutch, only 16 Infantry btns (8 btns of Guards and 8 btns of Donzelot's division), with 3-5 squadrons of cavalry (1-2 squadrons of Guard and 2-3 squadrons of Cuirassiers was used).  This was not enough. 
• And on the eastern wing, fighting the Prussians in Plancenoit, 10 btns of Guards and 9 btns of Mouton's Corps with no cavalry was used and again, this was not enough.

In the battle, when the Guards broke thru the first line, they were spent, but the follow up Guard btns were almost as spent and just didn't have the men or stamina to carry the attack. Not enough men assign to the task at hand shows that fighting on two fronts is a solid and loud "Non!". And was Napoleon's biggest fear. 

Which begs the question, "what if Napoleon had a B-52 at the Battle of Waterloo?"

Not sure what heading to use:  I had two full paragraphs on possible strategies but you know, the game is small enough enough, you can come up with your own. Besides my non-ability not to win many of the games as the French disqualifies me from offering advice. :D 

Summary:  This is a sister pbg to "A Hard Pounding Fight", the battle for La Haye Sainte.  There are many books written on the Battle of Waterloo. I have ten myself from the quint-essential bible on Napoleon "The Campaigns of Napoleon" by Dr Chandler to Scotty Bowden's masterpiece "Waterloo" and all in between. There are literately dozens of websites not only on Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo, but on the different regiments, battalions, brigades, and other leaders. This time period is covered more than the Roman Empire or Germany versus Soviet Union.  Games are very numerous too.  For example, I have 15 board games, three sets of miniature rules, and the six pocket games. Though most tend to take hours (and hours and hours, and...) to play, these little pocket battle games take only 45 mins or less. A bargain these are and the price is right too.   

It would be nice to see a six pbg series that all joined up on the Battle of Waterloo, like the four pbg games on Leipzig 1813 and using that scale. 

 

I kept my line above as I got my wish - four different smaller battles in one large one (Waterloo). If one looks at the 4 different areas that Paul  made as PBGs, then one can see the entire battle.  

Now that is something....

-ab

This blog is considered to be a living blog. Changes will be made to it as needed to clarify, correct errors or update with new information. And I apologize, but this review may contain references to graphics that are no longer on this blog. Long story, but it was Google who removed them.

"A Hard Pounding Fight: The Battle for La Haye Sainte"

Yes, another small pocket game, this time it is Turning Point Simulations Pocket Battle Game #5 on the battle of La Haye Sainte during the Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815.

Title:  "A Hard Pounding Fight: The Battle for La Haye Sainte"
Price:  $ Free with an order or buy The Waterloo PBG Pack from ATO
Designer:  Paul Rohrbaugh
Graphics Designer:  Mark Mahaffey
Publisher: LPS, Inc 2019

Subject: This PBG concerns the fight for the small walled farmhouse that was very crucial to the battle of Waterloo as it was in the center of the battlefield. Both Napoleon and Wellington made mistakes about this farmhouse during the battle. Napoleon failed to supply enough men to take the farmhouse earlier in the day and Wellington did not realize the importance of the farmhouse until almost too late. 

Abbreviations used:  AF = Attack Factor, DF = Defense Factor,  MP = Movement Points, CD = Card Draw, ACT = Activations, PBG = Pocket Battle Game, "Allies" = British and KGL, FAm = French Artillery marker, and last the " > " is the Greater Than math symbol. 

Scale:  Honestly, this is not important for this game. But a quick guesstimate, if I may, considering that the infantry units can fire up to 2 hexes away, and they are using muskets (French), with the Allies using the Baker rifle, one could say that a hex is aprx 100 to 150 yards with the units representing from companies to possibly battalions.  But this is really not important.  Also note, no Cavalry.  Though the Allies do have the horse battery, commanded by Lt Col "Sir" Hew Dalrymple Ross on that fateful day. 

Complexity:  Introductory!!!

Description of Play:  Either player draws a card (CD). The color and type of card allows one player to activate up to 3 units. Once activated, the unit can either move 1 hex or preform fire combat or flip a unit over from a reduce state to full strength. 

Note: If  you have played ATO's pocket battle game #10 "La Garde, recule!", then you will know pretty much how to play this one.

Components and Physical Quality:  Standard 4" x 6" postcard cardboard that LPS, Inc uses. Printing is very good. The rules along with a small player's aid listing the terrain with it's corresponding card modifiers and unit breakdown are on the backside with the game map on the front. Counters need to be cut out for playing. 

Counters: The game only has 17 counters. Allies have eight and the French the same number and one game turn marker. Allied units are red with black lettering and the French are blue with white lettering. 

Game Map:  With the various shades of greens and browns used, my daughter said it looked surreal like a soft water colour painting, which means she likes it. I will take her word for it. On the game map are the setup and entry points for the units and the reinforcements, the terrain of  the walled farm house and the important "sand pit".  The game map also has the game turn track (down the left side for the French and the right side for the Allies).   

Player added Component:  Players will need a deck of cards, that is all that has to be provided.

Card Deck setup:   The card deck is setup with all 9's and 10's being removed and one Joker added to the deck. A CD is perform with the French using black cards and Allies using red cards.  An activation allows a unit to either move or perform fire combat. Each type of card does the following:

• An even card allows up to two units to activate.
• An odd card allows up to three units to activate.
• Face card allows any one unit to activate or to flip one unit from reduced to full strength.  And a black face card for the French allows (starting on game turn two) the French Artillery marker to be used in addition to moving 1 unit or flipping a reduce unit to full strength. 
• An ace is treated as a one or odd.
• For combat when a face card is drawn, it is an automatic "miss", exception is Major Baring. He can be eliminated on a black ace or king. See "Special Unit Counters" below).
• The Joker signals the end of the game turn when it is drawn for either activation or combat resolution, unless it is drawn before both sides have activated units. In this case, bury it and continue play until the end of the deck.

Note: Of course, High Flying Dice Games, has their own card set for this game, silly person for asking. Cost is $8 plus postage. Contact HFDG for further information.   Click here to go to HFDG for more info

Solitaire Playability (Scale 1 to 10):  This is like the Five for Fighting series of PBGs. I give it a 7 playing the French as the Allies can stay put and bring up more units to keep La Haye Sainte and the sand pit from falling to the French. Or play the French and take Haye Sainte from the KGL!

Versions/Scenarios:  Only one version, no extra rules or scenarios. At least not yet. I have learned one thing about LPS, Inc, they usually have something up their sleeves in regards as an extra "Black Swan" type add-on for their subscribers (including the PBGs) via their ATO magazine.  And no, not their armees!  

Maybe this includes the three "Low Ammo" counters included on the die-cut counters sheet, along with the KIA message on the back of Major Baring's counter? And it does make me wonder too.   However, for now, it is a mystery and shall remain as such until reveal sometime in the future by Steve, the LPS, Inc publisher.  

Setup Time:  Once everything is cut out, what, maybe 3 mins for setup? It will take longer to shuffle the card deck.

Playing Time:  This one is quick.  My games last 30 to 45 mins if that long. Maybe 45 mins to 1 hour to learn the game the first time, but after?

Rules:  The rules are simple and flow nicely from the various areas of "Setup" to "Play" to "Combat" and to "Reinforcements". This is imho, a very well written set of rules. I found these rules to be very logical, concise, and short.  Most important - NO ZONES OF CONTROL and combat is voluntary.  Oops, sorry, just not having a ZOC excites me to no end!  No stacking except for Major Baring. More on him, later.

Addenda:  There is a tiny bit of addenda and here it is:

• Under the Reinforcements section. It is mentioned that the French Artillery marker comes into play starting game turn "3".  Wrong, as it is turn "2" just as it says on the counter.  Easy fix, just "wite-out" and write in a "2".
• Just a misspelling - Under Combat, 3 line, should be (but not through).
  
• Infantry attacking 2 hexes away (non-adjacent) have a -2 CD modifier.
• The Allied artillery unit, "Ross", when attacking adjacent French units has a +1 CD. 
• Just as for the wrong turn entry for the FAm (above), wite-out the mistakes and correct with a pen.

Note: Canister and Grape shot does hurt!

There might be more addenda or not, however, I don't believe there will be. The above will help keep those pesky French at bay.

Play:  Play is very easy, almost as if the designer was using a formula that he perfected 20 years ago. :D  Sweet. This game has the following:

• Setup:
• No stacking, except for Major Baring.
• Play:
• a card draw activates units for either moving 1 hex or fire combat.
• and it doesn't matter who draws the card, as it is the color and type of card that depicts which unit(s) go.
• Combat:
• Units may fire up to 2 hexes away. 
• Inf have a -2 CD modifier if firing at an non-adjacent hex.
• Allied Arty (Ross) if firing at a French unit in an adjacent hex has a +1 CD modifier.
• French Arty marker adds +1 CD modifier to ALL French attacks for the turn.
• Allies Major Baring adds +1 CD modifier for attacking and +1 DF for any Allied unit he is stacked with. 
• Sandpit and Hill terrain have a -1 CD modifier.
• No firing thru other units, hills or La Haye Sainte, but can fire into such hexes.
• To perform a combat resolution, the attacker picks out the lucky defending target.
• A CD is performed, adding the card number to the AF of the firing unit. 
• Face cards are an outright miss (exception Major Baring and a black Ace or King, which eliminates him) 
• Ace is equal to 1.
• Subtract the target's DF and any CD modifiers for range or terrain the defender is in. 
• A hit is scored on the defender if the final modified value is greater than the target units DF. If the unit was full strength, it is flipped over to it's reduced side. If the unit was reduced from before, it is eliminated and removed from play.
• If the modified value is equal to or less than " < " the target's DF = No Effect. 
• Reinforcements:
• Only the French receives reinforcements. There is a number on the lower right side that indicates the earliest turn the French reinforcement can arrive. They can always enter on later game turns. French units also have a arrival hex that they enter on.
• The French Artillery marker enters play on turn 2, when a black face card is drawn. It will stay in use the entire turn and removed at the end of the turn. It can come back during the next turn when another black face card is drawn. 
• Game Length:
• The game last up to 5 turns of card deck shuffles. Victory is dependent on the French securing their victory conditions - all 3 hexes of La Haye Sainte and the Sand Pit being free of Allied units. Otherwise the Allies win.

Special Unit Counters:  There are two special units, the French Artillery marker (FAm) and  Major Baring. Each will affect the combat CD for their respected side.

• The FAm has been talked about to death above. Basically, I believe it represents Napoleon's "Grand Battery" of over 63+ artillery pieces he had at Waterloo. 

• Major Baring is the Allies special unit. He must always be in one of the three hexes that comprise La Haye Sainte.  He cannot leave them.  He confers a +1 CD to any unit he is stacked with when it fires and a +1 DF to the unit he is stacked with when defending. If the hex Major Baring occupies is fired upon, he is eliminated on a CD of either a black Ace or black King. Also, if there are no Allied units in one of the 3 hexes of La Haye Sainte, Major Baring is eliminated on any CD when fired upon.

That is it.  Pretty much everything one would want to know about this game.  

Play-Balance: The game is well, pretty darn even. Remarkable.   

Summary:  This is a "sister" pbg game to "La Garde, recule". There is only one difference and that is in the setup of the cards used for the card draw.  This game shows how well the pocket battle game series are coming along. I believe that Paul just keeps honing his designer skills on each game he comes out with. Whether it is a big game like Vicksburg or a small pocket battle game like this one, his games just seem to get better.

It's the little things about these games, that Paul is including, such how in this case, the Grand Battery is depicted and used.  Also, how Major Baring rallied and held his troops together to be a thorn in the side of the French (+1 CD and +1 DF). He started with aprx 400 men and by the time he was able to leave, he was down to aprx 42 men. (He would have won the MoH if he was an American for his actions at La Haye Sainte). 

Graphic Designer Mark is showing good progress in his art skills, too. I still believe his graphic design on "Five for Fighting" series of PBGs is the cat's meow, especially the counters.

This game is fun. It is not a walk over for the French and can go either way, down to the end of game turn 5. The French have a tough job ahead of them to clear out all 4 hexes, the three of La Haye Sainte and the sand pit for victory by the end of turn 5.  But it can be done.  Wise use and a little luck with getting that French Artillery marker will make it a whole lot easier than without. 

The Allies have to be careful not to let the French chew up too many of their units in the walled farm house. Major Baring is the key here, as he was in the real battle. Watch out that you don't leave him by his lonesome, as he will surely perish.

It is said that Wellington was not the hero he has been made out to be for winning Waterloo. Considering that British troops only comprised about 35% of his forces and more than 65% of his troops spoke some type of German, that it is actually Germans who won this battle. I know that there were several important small battles that comprised the entire battle field (I was able to visit most back in the early 80's when stationed in West Germany), at least to me and a few others, the battle for La Haye Sainte has always been the most important. It was the center of the battlefield. If Napoleon had held it before the Prussians arrived on the field, he would have been able to take the Allied center.  As it was, the King's German Legion commanded by Major Baring held the farm long enough to keep that from being a reality.

All in all, good gaming to you. I hope you will grab this little game and play it. If so, let me know what you think about it, as I am interested in hearing how you fare.
-ab


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