Therefore this is not just a review of a set of rules!  So what do we have under the cover, splendidly illustrated with British infantry and rifles defending against assaulting French infantry?  Well the first half of the book is a fairly standard set of simple rules for the Napoleonic period  These cover what you would expect; movement, formations, artillery, cavalry, firing and morale etc  The rules are split into the basics and then there are advanced rules further in which cover amongst other things rockets, grand batteries and blowing up bridges!  I have to say that the rules themselves are fairly straightforward and not exactly innovative – they very much suit the beginner or perhaps an experienced gamer seeking a simpler (wargaming) life.  I would think you could be getting started after only a couple of hours reading!

However these rules should not be judged just on their own merits but as part of a package. And this is where I cannot praise this particular package too highly.    If you have someone who is interested in the wars of Napoleon and wants to get started quickly, well point them in this direction. 

In the book’s second half we have a guide on painting figures by a certain Kevin Dallimore, who is one of the best!  So you’ll know how to paint your figures properly! Then we have a set of brief histories of the various campaigns of the period, interspersed with army lists. These cover the Peninsula, the subsequent Invasion of South West France, the Austrian Campaign of 1809, the 1812 campaign in Russian, the War of Liberation, the 1814 Campaign and the earlier campaigns against the Austrians and Prussians and the armies of France, Britain, Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and allow for the various alliances between these nations.  The Portuguese are included in the various British Peninsular lists

The lists themselves are well set out and armies are easy to put together.  The lists also contain special rules to bring out unique aspects of different nations armies.  For example the indiscipline of British cavalry or the larger than normal size of Austrian infantry units.   But you also get very brief descriptions of the typical troops in these armies, their uniforms (both full dress and on campaign) and the various types of cavalry present in these armies.  So enough to get you started (and so a complete novice knows the difference between a Hussar and a Chevaux Leger when buying their 1^st army!) but also very much whetting the appetite for someone to set off and do their own research.

The only downside is that the armies of the Italian Kingdoms, Poland, Sweden and Spain are conspicuous by their absence.  But that is a minor quibble and I would think with a bit of research you can field these armies using one of the supplied lists as a template.

Finally there are the illustrations and photographs.    There are numerous full colour pieces of art by Knotel.  You either like his style or not, but I think these were well chosen as they are supremely atmospheric.  As for the photographs, well lavishly supplied is a huge understatement.  You have full colour photos of 25mm miniatures on nearly every page!  Either single figures, group shots or full on battle scenes.  Some of the shots are eye candy (and nothing wrong with that I must say) but many are used to illustrate a point or show what a troop type actually looked like in the descriptions of the armies I mentioned earlier.    Also there are several black and white contemporary pictures of personalities and maps.

So highly recommended as a package – the only extra things you’ll need to start gaming are a tape measure, some dice and some wargames terrain.  Oh yes and some figures.  If you already have a collection these rules are compatible with any basing really and if not you can get a good game with only a few miniature battalions so you don’t have to paint the Grande Armee before you can play!

The whole book is priced at £20.00 and available from Wargames Foundry.  At that price and with all it contains this represents great value for money!