Napoleon was designed by Tom Dalgliesh, Lance Gutteridge, and Ron Gibson. This is the third edition, and it was published in 1992 by Columbia Games. Napoleon is owned and copyrighted by Columbia Games, and we present it as a Vassal mod with their permission. Please visit the Columbia website at http://www.columbia.games.com/. You can find there the latest rules and a forum to answer your questions. They sell a whole line of block games, and if you enjoy this one, you owe it to them to buy a real copy! This Vassal mod was created by Stan Hilinski in March 2006.
If you right-click on any unit or marker, you will get a menu just for that piece. Some markers can be flipped over to a reverse side.
In most block games, your blocks are standing on edge, and only you can see their faces. In a Vassal module, they are facedown when on edge and faceup when they are exposed. When you start a game, Vassal does not automatically assign units to you or your opponent. Instead, you take ownership when you turn blocks facedown. Ownership is linked to your Vassal password, so choose a password (file/preferences) before you begin. Then turn all your blocks facedown by pressing a button on the buttonbar You will always be able to see the faces of blocks you own even when facedown. Do not turn down your opponent's pieces because you will then own them too.
By default, when you flip a piece facedown, your opponent will be able to still move it, but he will not be able to turn it faceup because you own it. This is fine in real-time play, but it can be a burden in email play. You may allow your opponent to turn your blocks faceup by selecting File/Preferences/General and checking the box "Opponents can unmask my pieces." Both players should do this. It does compromise security, but it is very convenient when playing by email.
If you play by email, each turn you create a log, which is a snapshot of the current game plus each move you make that turn. You email your log to your opponent as an attachment. When you receive a log, you load into into Vassal (File/Load Game), and then you step through your opponent's moves. You then turn on your log (File/Begin Logfile) and do your turn. When finished, you save your log to email to your opponent (File/End Logfile).
When you start a new game, the first thing you must do is to choose a password. Next, select File / New Game and then choose a side. If you are playing a two-player game, one player should choose the French, and the other should choose either the Allies. Press the appropriate "flip" buttons on the right side of the toolbar. This turns your units face down, and you will see them with a dark border and a light colored boxes in the corners, but your opponent will see solid-color squares. Your buttons will only flip down your faceup blocks, so you can use it at any time on the main map. If you are playing a three-player game, one player chooses Allies_Britain and another Allies_Prussia. Then press your proper flip button. Do not press your partner's flip button because you then take control of his blocks.
Hold your cursor over any button on the buttonbar for a brief explanation of its use. Briefly, some of the buttons are:
The world button temporarily removes units off the board so you can see the terrain beneath.
The tombstone button opens a window that holds eliminated blocks.
The chart button shows a chart of important game information.
The two colored buttons on the right side are used for solitaire play. Each one hides the blocks of one side. You must choose "solo" as your side to enable both buttons.
The markers window contains various markers you may find useful.
Some have a reverse side, which you can expose with a right mouse click.
Use the numbered battle markers to mark battle areas.
Use the red 1-4 markers to temporarily mark hits.
Use the red and blue buttons to mark control of roads and towns.
The blocks start in their historical locations, but you may move them as described in the optional setup. If you play with the historical setup, you might find it easier at start to temporarily spread out extra-large stacks to a battle board.
This game supports solitaire play. You must start a scenario as the "solo" player. Then you can use the "hide" buttons on the buttonbar to hide either side's units. The buttons will not operate unless you choose the "solo" side. Likewise, the flip buttons are disabled in solo play.
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There are three battleboards, so you may run more than one battle at a time. To run a battle, put a battle marker on the battle area and move all units to the battle board. Each battleboard has markers to track battle progress. If you need more, drag them from the Markers window.
Drag the yellow battle marker to the gameboard town to mark where the battle is fought.
The four red dots may be used to temporarily mark hits. You can clone each one to make more.
Use the targets to indicate the current firing unit and target.
Each player must flip his units faceup before the battle starts unless each player enables the masking option in the File/Preferences menu. Remember that your units are facedown if they has a dark border around them and a light colored box in the top corner. It's easy to forget! As always, do not turn enemy units facedown.
Use a right-click command on a unit to take casualties or to kill it. There are also right-click commands to form square and to disrupt a unit. Both are toggles.
When combat is done, move the units back to the board or to the tombstone window. You may store the battle marker in the battleboard window.