The Worthington, Waterloo Solitaire Book Game just keeps on giving good fun games and by now must have repaid its cover price to me. Having converted it to tabletop via using Warlord Games Epic Scale Napoleonics it has become a big favourite of mine. It is one of those "one hour magic" wargames, creatively fun, not overly taxing but yet satisfying is a non trivial way (see below, the original cover of the book depicts the frantic fighting around Hougoumont):
I present it in the style of a certain Airfix Waterloo Wargame Set (all Red-British, Blue-French and even Black-Prussian [although you would have to add them yourself later from the Airfix product line]) for those of a certain 1970's "as a young kid" age (see below, I remember having one of these in 1975 courtesy of my two older brothers - as a youngster I honestly did not know what to make of it at the time, or how precious it really was):
Meanwhile our Napoleon [
Renko] prepares to meet his Waterloo - note, poker chits represent Napoleons command capability and time, once you have spend all your chits you have no more command capacity or time left, a beautifully elegant system):
Napoleon is taking no chances and the KGL are evicted from Le Haye Saint in brutal fashion (see below, after a desultory few turns of bombardment with the British successfully hiding on the reverse slope d'Erlon's 1st Corp are ordered to attack. A ferocious British Cavalry charge decimates the infantry attack, but the survivors still manage to storm the Sand Pit and take the famous farmhouse at the point of the bayonet [Napoleon had a huge sigh of relief on that one]):
Reilles II Corp was now set upon Hougoumont the key to opening the door to Brussels. Despite taking losses too this savage infantry fight went well for the French (see below, Napoleon took care but spent time in reinforcing both battered Corps from his Reserve [good move as Prussians were starting to appear in the woods on his right flank]. Reformed the French Infantry performed excellent "combined arms" attacks that "broke" poor old Picton):
With time running short it was the turn of the Imperial Guard to help smash the last remaining British and Dutch-Belgian infantry formation on Wellington;s right flank. The Young and the Middle Guard perished in the attempt, but it was the Old Guard who carried the day for Napoleon, with precious little time to spare on the clock - or rather a very small pile of poker chits remained (see below, the British retire [rout] to Brussels, but it was "a close run thing"):
Another great game and Abba will now have to pen alternative lyrics for their song, as (still) Emperor Renko Napoleon reigns!
Note: In the true SCRUM vein of "continuous improvement" (as no wargaming project is ever truly finished) - I think I need to add some pretty national flags per formation. I should also paint the Riflemen units Green instead of Red. I need to substitute a unit of Epic Highlanders into the British line of battle and likewise substitute in some Epic French Imperial Guard units into their line of battle. Perhaps also named movement trays for all the Corps too. All can be done in good time!
