1870: Grand Tactical Rules for the Franco-Prussian War

Grand Tactical Rules for the mid-19th century Europe wars of transition

1870 covers the Franco-Prussian War. The rules were designed specifically to accommodate the many large-scale engagements of this important war - from a few divisions to several corps per side. The intention was to enable gamers to recreate very large battles without getting bogged down in extraneous details more appropriate for regimental-size skirmishes -- indeed, the normal command per player in most games is a corps or two: two to six infantry divisions. Extensive morale and fire modifiers, multiple movement and fire opportunities, and national or troop type nuances have therefore been kept to a minimum in the interest of finishing a reasonably faithful approximation of a large historical battle in an afternoon. A half-scale variant of the basic rules enabled smaller engagements to be fought simply by doubling the number of stands per unit in 1870.

Besides the rules, 80 percent of the booklet is devoted to detailed historical notes, background information, orders of battle, and an extensive annotated bibliography which provide ample reference material for custom designing additional campaigns or battles Fourteen exhaustively-researched historical battle scenarios are included in the book; these cover both the Imperial and Republican phases of the war. Enabling gamers to accurately recreate the wars' most interesting battles. Each scenario also includes "what if" variants positing historically plausible alternative missions or forces.

The book is extensively illustrated in color throughout, and contain ample diagrams and examples of play, formation diagrams, and game board photographs to help the gamer understanding the nuances of formations, maneuvers, and tactics, as well as visually differentiating the three different playing scales available.

Later expanded by 1859. This book consists of two parts: "1859" and "1864". "1859" depicts the Second Italian War of Independence between Austria and France/Sardinia. Same scale as "1870", though the 'Double Scale' in 1870 is renamed 'Half Scale' here. 7 scenarios. "1864" depicts the Second Schleswig War between Denmark and Austria/Prussia. New Quarter Scale is introduced and used in 2 of the 7 scenarios (the remaining scenarios are at Half Scale).

Summary "cheat sheets" are included with both books.