Age of Bonaparte: Battle of Leipzig (1813) with Cards

Last night saw the first trial club game of my Napoleonic card wargame, Age of Bonaparte, which I designed and wrote during the first 2020 lockdown. The scenario was the first day of the Battle of Leipzig (1813).

Rob, James (new player), and Noel played on the French side, tasked with holding Leipzig AND inflicting more casualties than their opponents: Mal (Austrians), Phil (Russians), Theo (new player – with a mixed Austrian and Russian force) and Doug (Prussians) – who had to EITHER take the town, OR inflict more casualties. The French had half the amount of artillery and only a third of the cavalry of their opponents.

Using cards I had produced on MS Word and a grid with ‘2d’ terrain was my answer to the ‘portable wargame’ concept, as well as being easier and cheaper to make than painted

miniatures. Cards also allow the concealment of troops, adding more drama to the game.

Despite some holes in the rules (what are flank lines, again?), we managed to play several turns on a 10×6 foot grided mat from Deep Cut Studios, with minimal teething problems, and generally had an enjoyable evening’s play.

In future I may tweak the rules, and have already produced alternative sample cards for World War Two and the Samurai period. The cards have been designed to eschew data and numerical values to allow any set of rules to be used with them, as well as a grid or no grid.

On the night, the French managed to hold Leipzig, but the Allies inflicted 16 more casualties, so they narrowly won the game.

Thanks to all for coming, and we hope to see James and Theo again sometime soon.