General information

The battle of Waterloo in 1815 was the climactic battle of the Napoleonic wars. An allied army under Wellington stood firm against continued assaults of the French army under Napoleon, counting down the clock to the arrival of the Prussian army under Blucher.

Since that battle, people have often questioned "Why can't I wargame Waterloo on a mobile device?" Well, now you can - as long as you have an Android device.

Napoleonics: Waterloo recreates the battle of Waterloo at the same scale as the already released Napoleonics: Quatre Bras.

The map is the Waterloo battlefield divided into regions, each of which is about 500m across. The map will be familiar to those who have played the boardgames Napoleon's Triumph, or Bonaparte at Marengo - units can be positioned in the centre, or deployed facing an adjacent region.

Each unit represents a brigade. There are 3 types of units, Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery. Cavalry are further subdivided by type (Cuirassiers, Lancers, Hussars, etc.), as are artillery (Field or Horse). Infantry move 2, cavalry move 3. Field artillery can either move 1 or fire (range of 3 - with chance of hitting affected by line of sight, range, terrain, target formation). Horse artillery fires (range 2) or moves 2, or moves 1 and fires, but only range 1.

Units are deployed as column, line or square, each of which has their own advantages or disadvantages. In addition, you cannot move all your forces at once, but must activate them as the game progresses.

The game can be played as 2 player hotseat, or else as either side against the computer AI. Victory is determined by capture of objectives and also strength and unit losses. Several variations allow you to tailor a game to your interests:

Fog of war - can be on or off.
Limit rallies - units cannot regain their full strength once they have been injured.
Change number of activations per turn - independently for either side.
Change when the Prussians arrive - have them arriving historically, early, late, never(!), or randomise when they arrive.

Hal reinforcements: Wellington had reserves within marching distance at the town of Hal. He never called on them, but could have done.

Voila, ici Grouchy! French Marshall Grouchy fought his own battle against some of the Prussian army at Ligny on the same day as Waterloo. He had the option to march to Waterloo instead and this option adds his entire wing arriving as reinforcements.

The game can be saved at any point and last actions can be undone using the back button (this can also be disabled, if playing hotseat). At the end of the game, you have the option to either continue playing (night never falls!) or else review the battlefield at your leisure.

NB - large screen phone/tablet better