"Look, Sarge, No Charts: Napoleonics" at Cold Wars

Buck Surdu ran two well received "Look, Sarge, No Charts: Napoleonics" games at Cold Wars this past Friday. The first was:

F-256 - Look, Napoleon, It's the Austrians
Fri. 9:00 AM, 4 hrs, 6 players
GM: Buck Surdu and HAWKS
Napoleonic 10mm, Rules: Look Sarge, No Charts: Napoleonic
Wars
A French corps must push past Austrians as they try to reach the
Danube. Come for this sneak preview of the soon-to-be released
Look, Sarge, No Charts: Napoleonic Wars rules. There are no
chart cards to clutter the table. Fight the game, not the rules.
Younger gamers welcome with a PARTICIPATING adult. Rules
will be taught.


I was lucky enough to get a spot as one of the French commanders, and had a great time. This game was a preview game of the upcoming "Look,Sarge, No Charts: Napoleonics" rules, in which each pair of 1.5" x 1.5" stands equals a battalion, and gamers command divisions.


We were tasked with securing a road which the Austrians were trying to sever. It was a hard fought engagement as both sides maneuvered to reach their objective.


On the French left flank, the Austrians pushed hard to breakthrough the French.

Austrian Cavalry manages to work around the French right flank, and hits a column of infantry moving up the road.

Gamemaster Buck Surdu explains a fine point of the rules to some of the players.

The Austrian generals advance their units, pressing the beleaguered French line from all directions.

An overview of the battle as the French try to stabilize their right flank and regain control of the road.

The innovative system allows players to quickly resolve movement and combat without chart cards cluttering up the table and slowing down the game. All the information needed is given on a small label at the back of the base and a few special dice.

The French cavalry makes an appearance and manages break an Austrian square.

In the end, the French were unable to keep the road clear of the enemy, and the Austrians were declared the victors.

That afternoon , Buck ran a second game using the "LSNC: Napoleonic" rules:

F-257 - Look, Napoleon, It's the Russians - Theme
Game
Fri. 2:00 PM, 3 hrs, 5 players
GM: Buck Surdu and HAWKS
Napoleonic 10mm, Rules: Look Sarge, No Charts: Napoleonic
Wars
A French corps is able to bring a Russian rear guard to battle as the
French juggernaut pushes toward Moscow. Come for this sneak
preview of the soon-to-be released Look, Sarge, No Charts:
Napoleonic Wars rules. There are no chart cards to clutter the
table. Fight the game, not the rules.
Younger gamers welcome with a PARTICIPATING adult. Rules
will be taught.

In this game, each side was tasked with securing two of the three bridges which spanned a fordable river which ran down the center of the table.

Once again, the action was fast and furious with both sides maneuvering for an advantage.

In the end the French were able to obtain their objectives.

Both games went really well, and many of the players were eager to know when the rules would become available.