After six years in design and
development, the hottest strategy game yet produced on the Napoleonic
era is ready now for your enjoyment. Having a simple-to-learn
strategic system (with a short rulebook), The Napoleonic Wars
can be played in an evening (occasionally twice), as the cards
and Diplomatic Track make for tough decision-making in the face
of everchanging enemy threats. Set in 1805 Europe, you must weigh the strategic dilemmas facing the two alliances in mortal conflict. Napoleon's France enjoys a suberb army, central position, superior leadership and a useful, if not powerful, ally in Spain, but faces three foes. Napoleon must beware Britain's seapower and wealth, Austria's threatening position, and Russia's reinforcing hordes. In the wings, Prussia, Turkey, and Sweden teeter on the brink of war, begging inducements to join either side. Even lowly Denmark's fleet can upset the balance of power. In The Napoleonic Wars, GMT Games brings you a fast-paced, tension-filled, card-driven wargame with a point-to-point movement system that pushes the envelop in a new direction for a pivotal period of history. Rooted soundly in Mark Herman's award-winning We The People system, The Napoleonic Wars provides refinements that allow two-to-five players to play an exciting game requiring two to ten hours. The majority of your games will easily end in a single evening, thanks to sudden death victory conditions providing variable game lengths that eliminate the "end of the world" phenomenon that plague many games. Often, you'll set 'em up and knock 'em down twice a night, and once in a great while your Campaign game will require two nights of play for the terrific panoramic history to unfold before your eyes. Like similar card-driven games, The Napoleonic Wars provides strategy cards that are played as events or to activate leaders, armies or fleets (by play of command points) to move on the map. Players must constantly weight the value of an event or reaction card against the need for its command points. Command points themselves can be played for a wide variety of activities, making play unpredictable and fresh with each sitting. Uncontrolled powers are governed by a diplomatic track which is also affected by play of command points and events. When fleets or armies collide, battle-related cards may be played and then dice are rolled to resolve the battle and inflict casualties. Even the most brilliant maneuver faces the chance of floundering. Victories may be pyrrhic or sweeping, depending upon whether the retreating army can be cut down by your pursuit, and if the opponent has no card up his sleeve to bail out his beaten army. In The Napoleonic Wars, the card hands of players fluctuate in size from turn to turn dependent upon control of strategic points on the map. Furthermore, each nation (major or minor) receives special home cards that reflect the distinct historical advantages of that power. This yields an imbalance of cards - made more volatile by the temptation to play multiple cards or reaction cards out of turn - that rewards the power with the largest hand at any given moment the ability to interrupt; the opportunity to play out of turn (as long as he doesn't take two impulses in a row). This variable card play results in an everchanging imbalance of cards and uncertainties regarding play order which leads to exciting opportunities and unexpected disasters on the field of battle. The opportunity afforded by a later interrupt will make you think twice about playing a battle-related card when your army may desperately need it. The need to hold command points in reserve must be balanced against the chance to strike quickly before the enemy is prepared. Ultimately, even the winning player finds himself second-guessing his strategic choices and wanting to set up to play again. No wonder the development team has enjoyed more than three years of playtesting this gem; the many strategic options are richly seasoned with tactical choices presented by the events on the cards! While well-suited to tournament play as a two-player game, The Napoleonic Wars really shines as a multi-player experience, where players must negotiate for the collective good of their alliance while pushing their self-interested agenda toward personal victory. Though seemingly the weakest of the five powers, Prussia finds itself in the diplomatic driver seat when both sides come pleading for favor. With greatly different strengths and weaknesses, Britain and Russia make strange bedfellows indeed, with disaster resulting from any falling out over grand strategy. Austria may be at the mercy of others, friend and foe alike, but many a game has seen her rise from the early ashes to grab victory from a collapsing France. Of course, every Napoleon relishes the sight of bickering coalition members across the table, and does whatever it takes to drive a wedge between his enemies. The Diplomatic Track provides an appropriate mechanism for handling non-player states, making The Napoleonic Wars possibly the best three-player wargame in existence. With a map portraying the economic and political situation in Napoleonic Europe, players can try to recreate history, correct historical mistakes, or branch out into unorthodox strategic directions. Why invade Russia, when you can get the Prussians to do the job for you? Don't build a stronger fleet, when you can coopt a nearby neutral one. Launch your sea invasion from an unexpected port. Stretch enemy resources by fostering rebellion in the provinces or inciting foreign wars. Avoid battle and then outflank the enemy. So order The Napoleonic Wars now, and put the strategist in you to the test. Your options are only limited by your vision, a meddlesome enemy's cards, and the hand of fate. Die Deutsche Edition enthält deutsche Regeln, Szenarien und einen deutschen Kartenappendix.
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