La Grande Guerre: Western European Field Battles, 1700-1763

La Grande Guerre is a miniatures wargame designed for entire large battles of the age of Continental linear warfare during the 18th Century.

The rules abstract details the brigade level into combat factors and modifiers. When brigade bases contact one another, the infantry/cavalry combat system combines all actions troops took within musket range of one another, including skirmishing, musketry, and charges, while artillery can also fight at a distance Simple but accurate mechanics allow players to concentrate on command decisions and the direction of troops, including grand tactical movement of reserves, rather than wade through the minutia of battle or numerous or complicated rules.

Players usually take the role of wing commanders, directing a few divisions, each of several brigades.
Many battles, such as Rossbach, can be played with one player per side. The game rewards historical formations and tactics, while allowing more gifted commanders to innovate within the capabilities of forces during the wars of Spanish and Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years War (in Europe). This game inflicts battlefield friction on the execution of command decisions. Each nation’s troop types have historical characteristics that place them in the proper balance with the other forces of their era.

These thoroughly playtested rules are written primarily for the Seven Years War, but have an intrinsic module for the War of Spanish Succession, with just enough adjustments to cover the differences in tactics and operation while keeping most of the same basic rules. Further expansions may cover the Great Northern War.

If players want to fight all of an 18th Century battle, rather than with some battalions or want to worry more about deployment, concentration of force, combined arms, and the commitment of reserves rather than where might skirmishers be, or when to change from column to line, La Grande Guerre is the game to play.

Sequence of Play:

1. Determine initiative.
2. The army with initiative moves each brigade or battery until all selected units have moved.
3. Resolve all active player combats. Conduct general risk tests.
4. The reacting side moves.
5. Resolve all combat for the reactive side. Conduct general risk tests.
6. Check for victory conditions. Proceed to next cycle.

–Description from the publisher