Wallace-a-thon: Waterloo

[shannon_a]

Alright, one more Wallace game played: Waterloo.

I'm going to be writing a full review of this one, for publication in 13 days, but the short review is, "It's a wargame." The slightly longer review is, "It's a clever wargame."

I can certainly see the Wallacian influence in this one, because his like for accurate depiction of history has been taken and put through the roof. The different ways in which infantry and cavalry work is really great, especially if you're used to games where cavalry = infantry + faster.

There are a couple of other clever mechanics too, related to the uncertainty of how much time you'll get before your opponent can respond and the way in which wounded units are abstracted.

I think the game's biggest challenge is that a serious war game won't appeal to many Eurogamers (though I'll say I had a fine time; the game length of 3-4 hours would usually put it beyond my playing, but Joe & I talked about maybe playing it again in a month or so) while a war game with wooden meeples won't appeal to many war gamers. They're nicer than chits or blocks, mind you, I've just already seen a bit of grognardery about the meeples, both on the internet and in person.

Comments

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I'm torn! Do I buy it because I have every Wallace game ever made, practically, or do I not, because it's actually quite unlikely that I'll find any regular play of a two-player Napoleonic wargame of any kind (and I still haven't played Perikles)? Gah!

[avlawn.livejournal.com]

You want the amusing wargamer comment here? I read the rules, taught it to my regular opponent and we finished the game in under two hours (including teach).


admittedly, I am not a slow player, and we are both agressive players, so the game ended just as the prussians were arriving.