158:. Each area on the map has several approaches and a reserve area. One army must block all of the approaches to an area to deny the enemy the ability to force them out. If, for example, the Austrians have covered all the approaches to an area, then the French are forced into a frontal assault, where casualties for both sides are determined dicelessly by odds ratio. If, however, the Austrians have left one or more approaches to an area open, then the French can use these approaches to enter the area, and if the French can link up several units in several approaches, they then can force the Austrians to retreat with casualties.
266:, where old elements are combined in new ways, is indisputable. But claiming them to be a new system is a bit ingenuous." Kula also was not a fan of the map divided into irregular areas, which he found confusing. Kula concluded by saying that he expected board wargames to "work a certain way", and the time spent learning a completely new system was time not spent playing the game. "
243:." Geryk also noted the simplicity of the rules, commenting that the game "plays simply and quickly enough that parents can play it with children who want to learn about history, yet the solid design provides a challenge for even the most experienced players." Geryk concluded, "With the current drought of good PC war games, it's surprising how far board games have come."
239:, which simulates the pre-Austerlitz French victory over the Austrians in a way tabletop gamers likely haven't seen before." Geryk liked the gameplay, saying, "The ingenious mechanics involve units in the form of long colored blocks, with simple, yet clever, positioning rules for ease of play, all while making the game took like an exhibit on the
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While wargaming in the 1980s, Rachel
Simmons became disillusioned with designing hex grid wargames, feeling that the hex pattern caused "fundamental shortcomings and limitations that I just couldn't overcome." Simmons waited more than twenty years before designing another game that would use an area
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In early 1800, Napoleon
Bonaparte, the First Consul of France, was fighting for his political life and needed a strong victory in his Italian campaign against Austria. Seeking to besiege an Austrian army defending Alessandria on 14 June 1800, Bonaparte instead was surprised when Austrian general
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is a relatively short two-player board wargame in which one player controls French forces signified by thin blue rectangular wooden blocks, while the other player controls
Austrian forces, which are red blocks. The design of the blocks comes from the 19th-century German wargame called
235:, Bruce Geryk wrote to his computer gaming audience, "If you remember what it felt like to line up hundreds of little cardboard chits and lose yourself in an imagined historical world (and if you have friends to play with), you absolutely cannot miss Simmons Games'
151:. The unit information and strength of each block is only printed on one side, which is not visible to the opponent until revealed by combat. If a unit takes casualties, then the original wooden block is replaced by a new block reflecting the unit's lower strength.
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map that produced long thin lines of armies, a look that became "the most important consideration in the design process." Simmons also wanted to design a much shorter game, ideally about 90 minutes in length. The result was
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Each player is limited to moving three groups of pieces overland each turn. However, units moving along a road are not subject to this limitation. However, no more than three units can touch the same road segment in a turn.
250:, John Kula, a player of hex grid wargames for 35 years, was dismissive of claims that the game was a new system, calling such claims "snake oil"; he saw it as simply a mish-mash of block wargaming from
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sent his army out of the city on a sortie against the French. For a time, the
Austrians drove the French back and threatened to overcome them, until a French relief force under
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Each side starts the game with a pool of morale points (17 for the French, 16 for the
Austrians). An army loses a morale point for each point of damage it takes.
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Also featured on the map are eight
Victory Point locations, marked on one edge of the map furthest from the Austrian army. These are color-coded red, blue and green.
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The
Austrian player wins by occupying 2 of the 8 Victory Point locations marked at the back edge of the map, as long as the two locations are different colors.
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fails for me on these two accounts, especially as I get the sense that I wouldn’t end up playing it much. Your mileage may vary."
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If one army has morale points left at the end of the game, and the other side does not, then the side with intact morale wins.
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arrived in the afternoon and tilted the balance in favor of the French. Desaix was killed in the battle.
362:(2016). "Goal-Driven Design and Napoleon's Triumph". In Harrigan, Pat; Kirschenbaum, Matthew G. (eds.).
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If both armies have morale points left, or both armies have no morale points left then:
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Simmons would use the same games system in developing the much larger games
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366:. Cambridge Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 202–203.
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Cover featuring artwork of 19th-century French artist
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154:The map is divided into areas rather than using a
262:. "To give the designer due, the creativity of
285:for "Best Pre-World War II Boardgame of 2005."
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337:Geryk, Bruce (June 2006). "Line of Attack".
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390:Kula, John (2007). "Bonaparte at Marengo".
364:Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming
206:, and published by Simmons Games in 2005.
186:The French player wins by preventing this.
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16:Napoleonic board wargame published in 2005
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443:Cultural depictions of Napoleon
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116:War of the Second Coalition
110:in 2005 that simulates the
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309:The Battle of Marengo 1800
283:Charles S. Roberts Awards
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307:Hollins, David (2000).
423:on Simmons Games' site
218:The Guns of Gettysburg
339:Computer Gaming World
311:. Osprey Publishing.
232:Computer Gaming World
453:Works about Napoleon
421:Bonaparte at Marengo
410:Bonaparte at Marengo
279:Bonaparte at Merengo
268:Bonaparte at Marengo
264:Bonaparte at Marengo
237:Bonaparte at Marengo
200:Bonaparte at Marengo
144:Bonaparte at Marengo
99:Bonaparte at Marengo
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193:Publication history
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212:Napoleon's Triumph
172:Victory conditions
129:Michael von Melas
112:Battle of Marengo
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215:(2007) and
139:Description
114:during the
432:Categories
392:Simulacrum
294:References
248:Simulacrum
149:Kriegspiel
122:Background
52:Publishers
259:Diplomacy
225:Reception
118:in 1800.
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221:(2013).
156:hex grid
90:Strategy
73:2 hours
62:Players
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281:won a
274:Awards
86:Skills
78:Chance
289:Notes
368:ISBN
313:ISBN
81:Some
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
