Scott DiBerardino  - Jun 20, 2008 7:15 am (#23119 Total: 23272)  
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. -- Napoleon 	 

ON THE TABLE last night... ALBION 20 from Victory Point Games.

ALBION is the latest in the NAPOLEONIC 20 series designed by Joe
Miranda. These are corps-level operational games with no more than a
dozen pieces on a side, but with plenty of meaty choices regarding
maneuver and tempo. Rules for each side's morale are key, and provide
many opportunities for bold tactics or untimely disaster. Random event
cards round out the package, providing additional replayability. 

ALBION posits a Franco-Spanish naval breakout in 1805 that allows
Napoleon to go ahead with his invasion of England. A pregame sequence
gives both sides an opportunity to spend their precious morale to
accelerate reinforcements, so the hard decisions about pacing begin
before turn 1 does. 

After that, it's about cracking the Dover garrison and/or establishing a
good base port, and securing the road to London. Of course, breaking the
opponent's army works as well. Meanwhile, through random events, naval
battles rage in the Channel and drive the rate of French reinforcements,
as well as providing the possibility of an English counterinvasion. 

Our game saw the French land in Deal with only one additional corps
before the British call a start to the game. Confusion about landing
orders causes traffic jams almost immediately, and the Kent corps is
able to stymie the initial attacks along the Stour. The French are slow
to send enough troops to take well-fortified Dover and a series of
standoffs delay the resolution of that contest. 

A successful French run of the channel allows Deal to be upgraded, and
French reinforcement begin pouring in. The British do form a line, but
French attacks are able to steadily push them back throughout the second
day. An initial British morale advantage begins to evaporate under
random events (although very few units are routed by French attacks, so
the situation could be worse). 

By the third day, Dover falls and French troops swing along the road to
Ashford. The British fall back towards the Stour, holding a line from
Lympne to Canterbury. Dense fog at the end of the second day delayed
French maneuvers a bit, but some forced marching and commitment of the
Guard keep the pressure on in the south. The French have been driven
hard by their commanders and morale is low on both sides, but a final
series of attacks on the third afternoon break the line and morale of
the English army, and the rout is on. 

Final score: France 1, Britain 0. 

Another cracking good game. This series has resulted in fantastically
dramatic and fun games in every instance. Play time was more like 150
than 50 minutes, but still worth every second. I heartily recommend
ALBION and it's NAP20 brethren.