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Showing posts from December, 2025

1814... Napoleon activates berserker mode

Today I played a game of 1814: Empire's End , a 2p wargame designed by Eric Walters. During his career in the army,  the designer applied conflict simulation as a teaching tool in the Marine Corps and the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division within the Institute for Defense Analyses. You can read an interview about this approach HERE . This accumulated experience tells in the game. The rules are very simple (it takes 15 mins. to learn them), but conceptually and without unnecessary die-rolls they show a deep understanding of the important factors in Napoleonic warfare: supply lines. stragglers, forced marches, bypassing fortresses when time is a factor, etc.. In short, with just 16 counters and a letter size map, it is one of the most elegant designs about the period one can play. As a bonus, admirers of Napoleon's strategical brilliance playing the french side get to unleash his characteristic one-two punch-and-move maneuvers.             ...