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Post by tim on Dec 30, 2015 12:51:51 GMT
Has anybody played 'Field Commander: Napoleon' by DVG? It's a solo boardgame and I thought it might make a basis for a solo campaign but going to the tabletop to fight the actual battles. Any info greatfully accepted.
Tim
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Post by bruce on Dec 30, 2015 20:25:44 GMT
Very Interesting possibility Tim, I went to the website and also Boardgeek to check it out. it looks like the battle sequences in the campaigns are short and perfunctory, which means that a tabletop miniatures replacement might be welcome. Only drawback to trying it is the price, $100, so I hope somebody already has it and can give us the story. Bruce
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Post by tim on Dec 30, 2015 22:28:22 GMT
Thanks for the input Bruce. I can get it in UK for about £60 which is probably the first time I have come across a game from your side of the pond being (slightly)cheaper here!!
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Post by bruce on Dec 30, 2015 23:21:00 GMT
No such luck, Tim! The pound is worth about $1.50, so we pay around the same. But if it's good, then the price will not bother me too much, been looking for a campaign mechanism that improves a bit on Blucher. Bruce
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Post by bruce on Dec 31, 2015 14:19:06 GMT
Here's a link to a pretty detailed review, including pics and game mechanics, which may help. Bruce link
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Post by tim on Dec 31, 2015 16:07:40 GMT
Thanks Bruce but that link comes straight back to this thread. Tim
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Post by bruce on Jan 1, 2016 3:18:23 GMT
Yikes! I will try again. link Okay, its working, sorry about that! Bruce
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Post by tim on Jan 1, 2016 9:24:07 GMT
Thanks for that Bruce, very interesting!
Tim
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Post by bruce on Jan 3, 2016 23:54:25 GMT
So, here's a link to youtube (I hope), whereby you can watch someone review these rules and play through them so you get a look at the materials and the mechanics. link But I cannot find much reference to someone using miniatures and other rules for the battle phase. The game really does look great and seems to play well. There are some details which may need to be worked out re: supply points. The seven campaign maps also provide a handy OOB roster with counters for each unit, an easy outline to follow so you can label your forces for battles.
Next step for me is to contact the author and see who else might be doing this or thinking about it. The game looks too good not to pursue it a bit more. Bruce
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Post by bruce on Jan 9, 2016 3:25:29 GMT
I wrote to Dan Verssen of DVG to ask about using miniatures, what he thought, was anyone doing it - no answer so far. I like this idea a lot, just need some more feedback. Bruce
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Post by bruce on Jan 12, 2016 19:16:09 GMT
link Here is a link to a PDF download of the actual rules. I have not gone thru them yet, but maybe they can help you get the feel of this game, which has gotten good to great reviews in the last few years. As it is a solo game, this makes it kind of a rare bird. The current reprint seems to be selling out at online retailers, and you can find a slightly better price than at DVG. I have seen it for as little as $75 (a bit under 50 pounds) including shipping here in the US. Bruce
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Post by tim on Jan 12, 2016 22:34:59 GMT
Thanks for that Bruce. I will have a look through them and I will have to buy the game before it goes 'rare' and only available on Ebay at silly prices. It will have to wait a few weeks tho, I just splashed out on a beast of a new PC that will be the cutting edge of technology for about 6 weeks Tim
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Post by bruce on Feb 4, 2016 16:57:13 GMT
Well, as usual, I just went ahead and bought FCN like the rule obsessed crazy dude I am it even though I am still paying holiday bills
So.... first of all, the components are really nice. The seven campaign maps represent one or more years from 1796 on, very nice to look at. The counters are very numerous, there are sets for each year, representing the units and nations of the period. I have just played through one game for 1796. As a game, and as a solo game especially, it seems quite good so far. I highly recommend the Youtube tutorials from Marco and the Nuts and Bolts guy - I understood the rules much better after spending an hour or so watching these and got started pretty easily. By the way, there appear to be a good 20,000 viewers or so for these videos, a testament to this game's popularity.
Now for the miniatures part. One of Verssen's assistants did reply to my e-mail, but just told us to go for it, no info. The campaign part is no problem.I think the battle part can be done, and done pretty well with any rules, but with some modifications related to FCN that will take some time to figure and try out.
Both sides depend on Battle Plans for the battle part of the game. These plans may be part of a scenario, or purchased by you (Napoleon) with your supply points. Supplies also help you garrison or fortify places, recruit replacements. Battle Plans are drawn from a cup for the enemy AI. In addition there are default plans for any units that don't get their plans with supplies. (You get supply points through the scenarios, or by capturing various objectives on the campaign map.) The Battle Plans work pretty well, they are simple but implement in an interesting and fun way, and are generic enough to work with different rule sets. I think some things will have to change - for example, the Sweep battle plan lets you get your cavalry in behind the enemy and causes major impact, too easy to grab this plan and raise havoc.
The mods will likely revolve around the supply points and their acquisition and use for miniature units. The units will need to be set up to represent the counters used on the campaign map, I think they are division sized. The battle plan system may need to be tweaked. I think it will work for an interesting and easy to use AI and the campaign part of this game is excellent. So its a work in progress.
This is a game rather than a simulation, and its a lot of fun just to play as it is. I have not seen a lot of solo games, but this one is top notch. Will keep you posted. Bruce
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Post by tim on Feb 4, 2016 18:07:24 GMT
Thanks Bruce, will get a copy after recovering from buying a new super beast of a computer
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