Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

I’ am finding it hard to get anyone below the Marshal rank to play Jena 533 game turn is it because of a lack of interests or is the game to slow. In one year I have only had one Allied taker.

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

Hi Cliff,

Tomasz and I have been playing the 'Russians are Coming' scenario for exactly a year now and we are not even up to the 300th turn (about 240 I think). We're playing it out of interest to see what difference the Russians make.

Its been slow due to the size of the game and slow reinforcements, both of us have really been non aggressive up to this stage, more manuevoure, waiting for forces to arrive and setting up for a big battle. That was partly by design and partly the way the game progressed. We have had a good turn around rate of at least 3-5 turns a week.



Col Mike Ellwood
Konig Regt
1 Bde, 22 Div
VII Saxon Corps, ADR

I feel that the old time of 15min turns kept the long games moving I'm on turn 245 in three month's but I was up to more with Gen Moss in the old game before the change maybe I sould try the long games in 15min turns and the short in 10min turns. My only question is would anyone be intressed in the old turns 15min and how would I get the old down loads? I see that its a comment to do this long game.

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

Mike - that is a mature way to play the game. Lots of folks are looking for action right away. Its not wise as the Allies to get into a battle with the rearguard troops. Maybe a delaying action or two.

Its tough for both sides:

1. Stacking no longer completely aids the Allies as it did before. The French can put together a stack that can match their two battalion stacks.

2. French have to fight through the bottleneck areas. And loads of great Allied cavalry.

3. Prussians always could use more infantry. They are a cavalry heavy army which can hurt them at times.

4. Prussians own the gun battles. While they dont have always own the range battle in-close they rule the day because of more numerous guns.

Cliff - you might try the shorter campaign scenario with someone. Its much shorter than the longer game. Look for the campaign called "Scharnhorst's Campaign Plan - Alternate Version" - its only 160 turns.

Colonel Bill Peters
Armee du Rhin - V Corps, Cavalerie du V Corps, 20ème légère Brigade de Cavalerie, 13ème Hussar Regiment
HPS Napoleonic Scenario Designer (Eckmuhl, Wagram, Jena-Auerstaedt and ... more to come)

Bill Jena is awesome - next game please[:D][:D]

General de Brigade Knox
Baron de l'Empire
2e Regiment Gardes d'Honneur (the regaled pheasants)
La Jeune Garde
CO. 1er Brigade, III Division Cavalerie Legere, III Corps Armee du Nord
http://www.aspire.co.nz/colinknoxnwc.htm

Monsieur that was great advice but I think that this is a great game an its just what the French would face in Spain the enemy hiding in every pass and the battles are small that is the 533 move game, the Prussian running till they set you up in a trap much like Spain. My question was that the old game moved quicker how can I get the old down load maybe more would be interested in the faster moving game.

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

I liked Jena until the latest patch changed French morale from C to B for practically all line infantry. Not sure why an Allied player would be interested in the title with that change. Haven't played it since, but that's my choice. The game was probably the best HPS had put out up until that point. Just my opinion.

Jeff Mathes
Colonel
3. Ligne Regiment
1. Brigade 16. Division
V Corps
L'Armée du Rhin

Cliff - there never was a 15 min. version of the long scenario.

But there is a 15 min version of the scenario NOW since the last update. Here is the title you are looking for:

#15_00a_3. The Russians are Coming!

Its 390 turns. Units move as per NRC/Waterloo.

Colonel Bill Peters
Armee du Rhin - V Corps, Cavalerie du V Corps, 20ème légère Brigade de Cavalerie, 13ème Hussar Regiment
HPS Napoleonic Scenario Designer (Eckmuhl, Wagram, Jena-Auerstaedt and ... more to come)

Oh my error guess I'm in the wrong game it was the Russian are coming with Andy. I still like it esp when i get a big surprise that it tacks every thing in you to get out of. Like the motto goes "beaten but not defeated".

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

Andreas Naujoks and I are into turn 140 or so of the 588 turn and I wish I had known about the shorter version, but this one is still a blast.

I have waltzed into a couple of Andreas classic traps (lost almost all of V Corps) but am still pushing North, albeit more carefully now that I know about his Robin Hood tactics !

I've got room on my plate for one more, if someone wants to try the 15 minute turn version of the Russians are Coming.

Maréchal John Mitchell
Grande Duc de Rivoli et Comte de Bordeaux
Commandant Division Infanterie; La Veille Garde
105e Regiment d' Infantrie Ligne,
2e Brigade, 1er Division Infanterie,
I Corp, AdN

Monsieur I thank all of the French have fallen into the same trap my V is holding on to a string and the I Corps was humbled! This is the perfect game for Spain and the best training for it.

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

Jeff - in answer to your comments on the morale grades - Jena had a ton of extra officers for the French making them one morale grade higher on the average thus the update did make them a notch better I must admit.

Take away the officers and you end up with B rated units and one leader per brigade to influence one stack to be a A rated stack.

Since most of the French brigades run from 2-6 bns. this would make it a bit more realistic.

This army had the best morale of any that Napoleon fielded and I include Waterloo in this count thus I really feel along with others that 5 is correct.

Thus if the extra leaders (regimental by the way) could be removed from the game it would probably balance out better.

What we had before the update was too many routs by the French. I would bring up a bn. (C morale - no leader stacked with it) and it would take off for the rear after losing 10 men. I really felt that this was unrealistic so hence the increase.

So what really needs to be done is to dig through every scenario in the game starting with the stock scenarios and remove the extra leaders. Not an easy task btw as if they are reinforcements you have to remove them by hand in a text editor or reintroduce the entire reinforcement group unit by unit.

A simple way would be to build a UNIX script that looks for only the extra leaders by unit code but the problem with that is that the reinforcement groups have a number which is for the number of units in the group.

Like I said - not an easy job to be honest.

But frankly Jena will be the last time that I use the regimental leaders in the mix. For all future games I plan on just using a brigade commander as the lowest officer in a formation. Thus one leader per brigade.

If I can figure out a quick/easy way to remove the extra leaders in all of the scenarios I will do it. I find them annoying to have around after playing the big scenarios several times ...

Colonel Bill Peters
Armee du Rhin - V Corps, Cavalerie du V Corps, 20ème légère Brigade de Cavalerie, 13ème Hussar Regiment
HPS Napoleonic Scenario Designer (Eckmuhl, Wagram, Jena-Auerstaedt and ... more to come)

Monsieur I was talking to an Austrian General he was telling me that he playing the Prussians was in two games one were he ran fror 240 turns what a game. Can you see Spain French running for 240 turns !

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

Jeff - another point in defense of the morale ratings ... Paco and his teammate just won a game of Jena and he was playing as the Allies.

Contact him about how to play the Allies and win. It might cost you a few meals ... [:D]

Colonel Bill Peters
Armee du Rhin - V Corps, Cavalerie du V Corps, 20ème légère Brigade de Cavalerie, 13ème Hussar Regiment
HPS Napoleonic Scenario Designer (Eckmuhl, Wagram, Jena-Auerstaedt and ... more to come)

Bill the change to the cavalry multiplier also weakened the Prussians. Why was that done? I think the 5x was great for all sides. There are many accounts that a sqd was equal to a btn in melee power. Indeed superior most often.

In table top we always fought in sqd's and if a currisser sqd caught a btn in line especially in the flank its a massacre. Which is pretty true to most accounts I have read.

I agree the morale and stacking are a subjective debate but this one seems less so. Not criticising just interested in the reasoning.

cheers
Colin

General de Brigade Knox
Baron de l'Empire
2e Regiment Gardes d'Honneur (the regaled pheasants)
La Jeune Garde
CO. 1er Brigade, III Division Cavalerie Legere, III Corps Armee du Nord
http://www.aspire.co.nz/colinknoxnwc.htm