Good Starting Game in the Napoleonic Series?

[pokeytrev]

Hello,
I recently purchased Wellington's Peninsular War because I was impressed with the screenshots, number of scenarios, and number of maps. I mostly play the Panzer Campaigns, so this series is new to me.

I was wondering if WPW is a good starting point for the series? After playing the tutorial scenarios, I immediately got hooked and want to look into purchasing another title in the future. I have heard that Republican Bayonets on the Rhine is a good starting title, and I wanted to get feedback as to whether or not that would be a better starting title, or if they can both be considered good starting points.

WPW has me hooked!

[panzerde]

There are some rules/mechanics changes in this game from earlier games in the series. I suspect these will be added to the earlier games eventually. For now though WPW plays slightly differently than the other games.

Having said that. I'd say the best entry point is with whatever campaign/battle most appeals to you. They're all very good. If you have a particular interest, start there. Eventually you'll end up buying them all, anyway!

[pokeytrev]

There are some rules/mechanics changes in this game from earlier games in the series. I suspect these will be added to the earlier games eventually. For now though WPW plays slightly differently than the other games.

Having said that. I'd say the best entry point is with whatever campaign/battle most appeals to you. They're all very good. If you have a particular interest, start there. Eventually you'll end up buying them all, anyway!

I have never been very interested in the Napoleonic wars or this particular time period, so it's difficult to say what campaigns I am most interested in. It looks like I will need to do a bit of research! In some ways, it's kind of thrilling to go in with a blank slate and the opportunity to learn more.

I am really enticed to try out Republican Bayonets on the Rhine.

[phoenix]

RBR is a fantastic title with some of the best maps in the series, in my opinion, Ditto Marengo. And both peninsular titles. The maps in the earlier titles can be a bit lacking in detail, I think. For me the least interesting map - of those titles I have - is Austerlitz, which is very bare bones. (That said, you can quickly come to appreciate the nuances of the battle of Austerlitz by playing the full battle scenario, which is excellent, so in a way the map isn't critical...) The titles which have larger numbers of company level scenarios often have very nice detailed maps for those scenarios. Bautzen and Waterloo, even Liepzig, for example. The Russian Borodino map has some slight inaccuracies, I fear. (For instance, the position of Gorki in relation to Borodino - it should be slightly north of Borodino, but is drawn as south of Borodino, which distorts the road network somewhat. But maybe these little map things wouldn't bother you.) From a gameplay point of view I don't think it's really worth choosing on the basis of how many AI scenarios there are, as like many others, I've found it a bit silly playing the AI once you compare it to playing a person. It's a pretty basic AI, I think. It's better to play hotseat against yourself if you want to learn the scenario or the history. In the absence of any historical yearning, I would, of course, recommend those titles which I've found most appealing, due to good maps and a wide range of scenarios and scenario sizes. These are WPW, RBR, Marengo, BPW, Bautzen.

[jim pfleck]

I was a playtester on RBR and since release have played a lot of scenarios that I did not test.

It is a great game with a lot of balanced scenarios and every major army of the period. It would be a good entry point into the game.

Marengo is similar-lots of good, balanced medium sized scenarios-it might be one of the best to learn on.

Leipzig has a lot of great medium sized scenarios to learn on also (and some massive ones).

So far I really like Wellington in the Peninsula and I like the changes to the engine.

Marengo, Eckmuhl, and Wellington have a lot of constricted terrain. Leipzig, RBR, Bautzen (this is my favorite title from a historical point of view), Jena, Wagram, and NRC all are pretty wide open in terms of terrain.

My favorite all time games are (in no order) Eckmuhl, Leipzig, Bautzen, Marengo, RBR. I know that many others like Waterloo, NRC, and Austerlitz.

Some games come with more scenarios and battles than others-Leipzig, RBR, Marengo, Wellington, NRC, and Austerlitz have a ton of content.

[nukkxx]

I'm completely new at JTS games (but obviously not hex based wargames) and I picked Waterloo for my first game. Mostly because of my interest in this battle and the context. And I'm enjoying the game a lot ! But my guess is that all JTS Napo games are equally good. My second buy will be Russia, for the same reason.
Maybe you could start to watch some good documentary film about Napoleon's reign to get a better feel of the multiple wars at this time. Understanding that Napoleon was the son of the French revolution and that all European crowns hated him because of that. Especially the Brits who setup several coalitions against France to try to bring back monarchy in France. They eventually won.
Knowing a bit history opens the eyes on this fascinating era and IMO helps to enjoy these great games.

[pokeytrev]

In the past week I purchased Republican Bayonets on the Rhine and Campaign Eylau-Friedland. After trying them, I can say that they all seem like they could be pretty good starting games. So far my favorite has been RBR, but I like the others quite a lot, and now of course I need to get the others sometime. I am thinking of Leipzig next due to the large presence of Prussian armies.

I like nukkxx's suggestion to watch a good documentary; I think that's a great idea. I love watching pieces dedicated to certain periods in time, armies, rulers, etc.

[BigDuke66]

It's always good to go for a game that covers a battle that your are really interested in, that way you can make sure you stick to it even if you have trouble getting into the engine.

As for documentaries, for something quick check out the Napoleonic Wars playlist of Epic History TV:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...sFTt-IV9RY

[pokeytrev]

It's always good to go for a game that covers a battle that your are really interested in, that way you can make sure you stick to it even if you have trouble getting into the engine.

As for documentaries, for something quick check out the Napoleonic Wars playlist of Epic History TV:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...sFTt-IV9RY

Thank you for the advice and the link to the videos! The linked series is very interesting, and I plan on watching them all. Thanks again!