--------------------------------------------------------------------------- C O N S I M C O N N E C T I O N S "THE internet resource for consim news" Premiere Issue #1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6/------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAME REVIEW: T H E S I X D A Y S O F G L O R Y by Robert Lindsay Published by: CLASH OF ARMS GAMES Price: $36.00 mailto:clashofarm@aol.com http://www.manzana.com/kranz/consim/coa View the game components online at: http://www.manzana.com/kranz/consim/coa/6days.bf.html Get the Web-Grognard game support material at: http://grognard.com/title0.html#127 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION Few designers have devoted themselves to one subject with the dedication of Kevin Zucker on Napoleon. It began with NAPOLEON'S LAST BATTLES from SPI, (now in it's third incarnation by Decision Games) and NAPOLEON AT LEIPZIG (also in it's third printing by CoA) and winding through his NaB series published over 20 years by four separate companies, which in itself must set a record (OSG, AH, VG, CoA, and OSG again). Now he has created a new game system for a series of battles fought in mid February 1814, known as THE SIX DAYS OF GLORY. BACKGROUND The historical situation of the SIX DAYS is very interesting. Napoleon with the Young and Old Guard, Grouchy's Cav and Marmont Corps sneak up on two large forces of Prussians and Russians lead by Blucher and Sacken. In a classic example of the use of the central position, Napoleon bashes Sacken first and then Blucher and sends both forces reeling off-map by game's end. But while Napoleon achieved a 4:1 edge in losses (16,000 to 4,000) neither Blucher nor Sacken's force was totally defeated, and eventually the overwhelming Allied strength wore Napoleon down, resulting in his abdication one month later. COMPONENTS Physically, SIX DAYS OF GLORY (hereafter, SIX DAYS) is the best graphic treatment a Kevin Zucker game has yet received. Rick Barber's 34" x 22" map is both beautiful and functional, and gives a feel for campaigning in snowy weather of February 1814 in northern France. The 280 counters (more than half are markers, the rest are battalions through weak divisions of infantry, cavalry, artillery, leaders and supply wagons) are again both functional and beautiful, done also by Rick Barber in the style that made his work on the La Battaille series so famous. Despite the advances in computer graphics used by GMT and others, CoA has demonstrated once again that they are without peer in the presentation of a game. GAME SCALE The game uses a new time scale and system since to simulate this since using the NAPOLEON AT LEIPZIG (NaL) system (480 meters per hex, 1 hour per turn) would create too large a game and NAPOLEON AT BAY (NaB) already (both editions) has a Six Days scenario which itself lasts but three turns (2 miles per hex, 2 days per turn). The new scale here is 1700 meters per hex, 6 hours per daylight turn (plus one non-combat night turn per day). This places the scale almost exactly in between NaB and NaL. This means you don't get stuck with the one-shot battle die roll of the NaB system, nor do you get the evolving battle of NaL. How does this system work? Basically it is a blend of the NaL and NaB systems, with chunks of rules lifted from each system. SEQUENCE OF PLAY The sequence of play goes as follows, with a special limited movement (no combat) and supply check turn at night: 1. Reorganization 2. Command 3. Movement 4. Combat The Reorganization Phase is lifted straight from the NaL system. During this phase, commanders of damaged corps can reorganize units of their command eliminated the previous day if they are far enough away from the enemy. A catch to this is that if a commander does reorganize, he cannot be used to command his corps. This basically takes the corps out of any offensive combat action for at least one of the two daylight turns. Reorganization cannot be performed at night, so it is best not to reorganized unless a corps has suffered significant losses. Since a corps that has become demoralized by too many losses has a 1-in-3 chance of permanently losing units during reorganization, it becomes a delicate balancing act on when to pull a corps out of line. COMMAND The command system is adapted from NaL with some modifications. Like NaL, both sides have commanders that can put corps leaders into command (within command distance, now modified by terrain) who then give command to the units of their corps within command distance. Corps leaders outside of a Commanders range may roll for initiative to put their corps into command. If this fails or the units are either independent units, or out of range of commanders or their corps leader, the individual units may each roll for initiative. Units in command through a commander or their corps leader may move, enter EZOCs and advance after combat. Units in command through their own initiative may move and enter EZOCs, but not advance after combat. Otherwise units may not move at all, as in the NaB system. MOVEMENT Movement is a departure from both the NaB and NaL systems. The biggest difference lies in a formation called Road March, which give the advantage of allowing movement on main roads at 1/2 MP per hex, but it takes 1 MP to leave road movement, and there is no stacking allowed, which accurately creates the long marching columns so often seem in Napoleonic paintings (such as the one on the cover). Speaking of stacking, it's two combat units per hex unless the corps leader is there, in which case the entire corps can stack together. In conjunction with the Road March rule, this does give a good feel for the amount of time it takes to position a corps from a road march formation to a concentrated, combat-ready position. In addition, there are separate movement costs for artillery and bridging trains/supply wagons reflecting their inferior movement capabilities. Zones of Control are very "sticky". The only way to exit ZOCs is at night, or by retreating/eliminating the enemy unit(s) exerting them. ZOC also mandates combat (as in both NaL and NaB). A feature adapted from the NaB system is the repulse option, by which overwhelming moving force can move a defender out of the way without stopping for combat. COMBAT The game uses hidden strength for both sides. Units only reveal their strength at the start of the combat phase or during a repulse attempt. National flag counters are provided to cover the strengths of units, although I question if it would not have been better to simply backprint the units with their flag and have a separate counter for the reduced strength side of units. Combat is very bloody in this system. The CRT give at least a 1-in-3 chance of exchange or elimination at all ratio levels, often as much as a 50 percent likelihood. The reason for the high casualty rating is that each turn represents 6 NaL turns, so Kevin Zucker represents the trap-and-destroy effect of NaL combat this way. CoA also upped the lethality of the table over Zucker's original CRT. There is a Combined Arms shift including modifications for chateaus/wall towns, but fortunately not nearly as dire as the one found in NaL. Several leaders provide bonuses to combat (Napoleon is a one column shift and Blucher doubles the attack strength of any single unit, reflecting his hussar-like mentality). In addition, their are special rules for the Old Guard. As in NaL, it's bad for morale if the Old Guard infantry retreat. On the other side of the coin, the Guard is not affected by exchanges on attack or defense! (the rules say "The Guard dies but does not exchange"). Needless to say, the Old Guard stacked with Napoleon is a very strong force in combat to contend with, but it can be killed via a surrounded retreat result, and a Ar result (possible at 2-1 odds) can be a devastating blow to the morale of the French. Another interesting rule is that leaders do not retreat with combat units. They must first undergo a leader loss check (a 1 in 6 chance of not surviving). This makes putting together those large corps-size stacks much more dangerous. On the other hand, a leader stacked with his troops can advance two units after combat instead of just one (another rule taken from NaL). Fortresses and Chateaus cancel defender retreat results and relieve the defender from the need to attack adjacent units, but can be eliminated through exchange or eliminated results (this was a problem in NaL, but with a 1-in-3 chance of a exchange at 1-1 odds, as opposed to NaL's 4-1). Suffering bad luck, a force can be tied up all day against a Fortress or chateau, which seems reasonable. SPECIAL UNITS There are two special support unit types; bridge trains and baggage trains. Only the Coalition Player has bridge trains, which are used to quickly bridge rivers and streams. Baggage Trains are used for supply purposes. During each nightly turn both sides must be able to trace a supply line of 14 hexes to either a supply source (marked on the map), or to a baggage train. These special units must be handled delicately as they have a strength of zero, along with a hefty VP penalty for baggage trains. They can only be ordered to move by a Commander, and can easily prove to be a real nuisance in tying up road march traffic. This of course, is exactly what they did true to history, so these rules are welcomed additions. The most interesting new unit type is the Vedette unit. These represent single regiments of light cavalry used for scouting and screening purposes. They have a strength of 1/2 and a movement of 9, making them the fastest units in the game. Assuming they are not surrounded, they can always retreat before combat (even from other vedettes). Unless eliminated while surrounded, they are always available for reorganization, and they have a 50 percent chance of moving on their own initiative. The downside of vedettes is they are created by disbanding certain light cavalry brigades (the Coalition Forces have two 1-7 cossack brigades that break down into 4 vedettes each. The French have a total of eleven possible vedettes, but would have to break down some of their valuable light cavalry. Vedettes do not block retreat, but if they have a final strength of one, they do count for Combined Arms shift. A very useful trick to do with them is to conduct a Repulse with a single Vedette on a hidden strength stack of enemy forces. This will always fail, but the enemy force must reveal its strength, and the Vedette can retreat before combat (as to avoid the -2 column shift for attacking after a failed repulse), and other forces can be brought up to attack the newly-revealed enemy force. Worth noting: In the campaign game, the French forces can summarily wipe out the exposed Cossack forces, thus depriving the Coalition of any vedettes until the arrival of the Prussian cavalry later in the game. SCENARIOS The game has three scenarios, including a campaign game with a variable start date. The three scenarios focus on the three different battles (Champaubert, Montmirail, and Vauchamps) and are presented as brief, three game turn learning exercises before plunging into the full campaign game. As expected, the campaign game is much more interesting; akin to NAPOLEON'S LAST BATTLES. The fun is watching Nappy scamper all over the map trying to destroy the separate Coalition Forces before they can disengage. The campaign game can be completed with a full day of gaming (6+ hours). PLAYER'S NOTES [Campaign Game only] The French Player has the trickiest position here. The two Coalition forces (Blucher and Sacken) are both scattered and widely separated, and you do not know which force will activate first (both are pinned in place the first few turns of the game until the French Forces close or may be released by a die roll with progressively better chances). Both forces also receive substantial reinforcements fairly quickly (Sacken has York's I Corps, Blucher has Kliest's II Corps). The French Player finds himself in Napoleon's classic central position; having to screen off one force while defeating the other. Time is the French Player's enemy - they must strike decisively. If the Coalition Forces can damage the French screening forces before Napoleon has defeated the other Coalition Force, they can withdraw off the map and claim victory. There are no geographic Victory Conditions other than the Coalition Forces exiting the map, although recent game errata forces them to give battle prior to withdrawing. So after disposing of the Coalition's independent cavalry and Olsufief's tiny X Corps on the first day, the question becomes, "Blucher or Sacken?" Blucher is closer, has the smaller force, and is a better leader, but this effort will make it very difficult to reverse course and catch Sacken and York before they can escape. Sacken has the larger force, his troops more dispersed - with luck, Sacken and York can be defeated in detail. The problem is how much of a force to leave facing Blucher. Too small a force and the aggressive Blucher can crush it and escape off map or appear in the French rear area - too large a force and the French won't have enough brute strength to finish Sacken and York. The Coalition's position is the reverse of the French; they are in a completely reactionary position and will likely spend the first day watching their independent cavalry and Olsufief's Corps become overrun. Sacken and York must quickly unite - together they are a powerful enough force to thwart the French while withdrawing north across the Seine. Blucher's force must wait until Kliest arrives and then attempt to smash the French screening units before Napoleon can return in force. CONCLUSION SIX DAYS is the first game system from Clash of Arms to put their gorgeous Napoleonic artwork into a highly-playable format. There exists some errata available from Web Grognards , somewhat expected for a first game of a new game series. Kevin Zucker promises more designs using this system, and I eagerly await them. - Robert Lindsay mailto:lindsay@RIKER.SPC.NOAA.GOV Editor's Note: Kevin Zucker (OSG) has recently announced the next game of the SIX DAYS game series, 1806. This game simulates the entire campaign leading up to and including Jena and Auerstadt. Here's what the game will include: - Uses the new SIX DAYS OF GLORY System - Set-ups for each day of the campaign, 8 Oct.-14 Oct. - Nine scenarios from meeting engagements to full campaign. - Five of the 9 scenarios can begin on any day-35 situations. - The two 22 x 34" maps were designed by Joe Youst. - 260 Full-color counters created by Rodger MacGowan - Study Folder (24 pgs), Rules Folder (16 pgs); Set-up sheets (8) Refer to the OSG company update for contact information. I'm sure OSG will include full details of this release in a future company update.