Simulation Game
Command and Colors: Napoleonics
Battles of Napoleonic Wars, 1805 – 1815

The Commands and Colors Napoleonics is a GMT game designed by Richard Borg, which allowed me to be in command and re-fight epic battles of the Napoleonic era. Fifteen Napoleonic Battles France vs. England and it was released in 2010. In addition, it was my first game related with historical period. I had the opportunity to play this game with my cousin Suzy against one another in a Napoleonic setting. It still plays fast, so we played both sides of a battle to find out a winner. I spend more time setting up then playing. It took us, most of the day to get through everything and the dice, which need to be stickered too to be ready for play. Units are made of 2, 3 or 4 figures, they move and attack based on cards, which most often are broken into sectional attack. Figures are eliminated due to hits, and when a whole unit is removed the other side gains a victory point. However, the first thing I noticed was the weight of this game; this is a very heavy box. That’s because Commands & Colors: Napoleonics designer uses wooden blocks. Six sheets of handsomely illustrated unit stickers need to be peeled off and applied to the blocks—three sizes of blocks and stickers, large rectangles for artillery and leaders, large squares for cavalry, and small squares for infantry. The map board is solid, the cards are of a good paper stock and everything is of GMT expected quality. In this manner, we begin the game with a number of command cards, usually five or six cards. Each card gave us specific instructions on how many units we can move and what part of the field they are in. There was an attack center card that let us move and fight with any three units in the Center.
To begin with, forget the basic infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Artillery alone is broken into foot artillery, horse artillery, and horse guard artillery. There are nine different infantry types and four different cavalry types spread across three different nationalities, each with its own tactical abilities. However, I could realize, the main antagonists, the British on red blocks and the French on blue blocks, and the Portuguese army on their brown blocks. Each side (France and Britain / Portugal) gets their own player aid card. In each scenario of the game victory is determined by winning a certain number of victory banners. I win a victory banner each time that I eliminated an opposing unit from my cousin, and in some scenarios occupying a certain space on the map count towards my victory banner total for as long as I hold it. Victory happens instantly, once I have mine final one, I won. This game was a different, excited and new experience for me. My cousin and I really enjoyed the game and would ordinarily suggest to our friends to play this game and try the same experience, which is to be in the command of many battles. I'm still working on how best to approach this game. For some reasons, in some parts of the game, it seemed hard to figure out how to get the units in without the adverse reaction that normally follows directly afterward and to followed all the rules. At the moment I play Napoleonics very carefully, I respond to situations as they arise. I look forward to learning the game and tried to improve the strategies over time. Command and Colors: Napoleonics builds on the strength of the commands and colors authority. For that reason, I thought that I would arrive to this game already knowing the basics of how to play but it was completely contrary at beginning it was more difficult than I thought. Learning the steps, rules of and details of this system or this game will be fun and helpful for me because I will be an expert player and it will facilitate or will be easy for new players who want o share the same experience with me. I feel that where this game really shines is that the infantry square, cavalry reform rules provide better the similarities of the period of those battles. As much fun as I've had with the commands and colors system to date, Commands & Colors: Napolelonics is my favorite so far. I'll be playing many games of this, to spend my free time and to know better about the history of that period of time.