OVERVIEW
Napoleon at War was SPI's free introductory wargame, designed to teach the basis of IGO-UGO, Zones of Control (ZOC), combat ratios and how to effectively attack (CRT), and the effects of terrain (TEC). The rules are simple and clear, the pieces and board uncluttered, the game plays quickly, and both sides have a reasonable chance to win - it is a surprisingly excellent (but not flawless) game. Let's delve into the details

PHYSICAL COMPONENTS
The map is a representation of the area in Belgium south of Brussels, at a scale of about 400 metres per hex. The terrain is basically clear, woods (impassable) and towns (doubled defense). The map is about half the size of a normal SPI game. The counters have 3 colours: blue (French) red (English) and Dark Blue (Prussians), and contain a unit symbol (cavalry, infantry or artillery), a combat strength, and a movement allowance.

THE FORCES AND THE SITUATION
Napoleon has 21 cavalry/infantry units to the British 14, and 13 artillery factors to the British 8, so it looks like a 3:2 advantage in manpower and forces. Unfortunately, Napoleon's infantry/cavalry forces only add up to 10 more factors than the British, so their average unit strength is lower. Add this to the fact that the British are getting reinforcements on turn 2, and that the French have to attack, and Napoleon's life is hard. The French player has to use his unit quantity advantage to pin down the English and maneuver with his free units, to get flank attacks and combat surround situations. The drawback with this approach is that the pinning troops are then quite vulnerable.

If the Allies eliminate 40 factors of French troops before they lose the same, they win. For the French to win, they must demoralize the Allies by eliminating 40 strength points (before they lose 40) AND then exit 7 units off the north map edge, all in only 10 turns. Achieving the first goal, and not the second, is a draw.

HOW IT PLAYS
Casualties are usually forced by surrounding an enemy with ZOC's and then forcing a retreat. A 2:1 attack has a 5/6 chance of achieving this result, while a 3:1 will always work. A 1:1 is 50/50 Attacker/Defender retreats, so you don't want to rely on them. Since all adjacent units must attack, frequently you use a 1-point cavalry unit to attack 12 points of enemy infantry, so that you can achieve local superiority in the neighbouring combat, and hopefully kill off a higher-factored unit. What complicates this is when you get above 1:1 you can sometimes get an inopportune Exchange result, where you both lose.

Typical games see a lot of shifting forces around, throwing pieces willy-nilly trying to get an advantage. The results are bloody, and the game is often determined by the 4th turn. I play it on Hexwars, and I lost my first five games as I learned the system and the strategy, but since then I am batting .500 - 3 wins, 3 losses and a draw as the French, 3 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw as the Allies. You can't ask for fairer than that

HISTORY
Is it historical? Cannons in melee, no line-of-sight problems, no differentiation between infantry and cavalry roles, no command control, swift flank maneuvers, no supply concerns or a need to keep a battle line, no square, column or line decisions - probably not. But, like Napoleon historically did, you can attack piecemeal, then do a frontal assault, then see the Prussians coming and throw in the Guards, and then see you army demoralize and run away, and achieve a historical outcome - a French loss. I think if Napoleon had know about Blucher earlier, he would have fought the battle differently. We know about Blucher, so WE can make different choices. It's historical enough for me.

SUMMARY
This is a quick game, with chances for both sides, that abstracts almost every detail, while still somewhat resembling Waterloo. Unless you have three days and a lot of space to play Wellington's Victory, it would be hard to find a game on the battle that works any better.