C&C Napoleonics - Thoughts on adaptations.

Having played three games of C&C Napoleonics from the base game, I am about to move onto the Spanish Army expansion. However, I have been thinking how the board and blocks could be used for other rule sets, and still be playable on my small table.

The components can, in my opinion, be used for other Napoleonic rule sets. I could do away with the board and use a battle mat, but any hills or ridges would cause problems with the blocks sliding down the slopes or simply toppling over. I could of course lay them flat, but it is just not as pleasing to the eye, well not in my opinion.

I have been goofing around with the board and blocks and came up with these initial ideas for unit representation and firing, using the provided hex board.

Taking the 'Blucher' rule set, here we have a corps, consisting of three brigades of infantry with an attached battery of artillery. They have been in action and I have used micro-dice to track their elan.
The left most infantry brigade is still at full elan of six. The next brigade has lost one elan, and is down to five. The brigade on the right of the line has really suffered, and is down to just three elan. The die behind the foot artillery, denotes that it has fired once so far.
The board is uncluttered and by using the micro-dice, we can see the current state of each unit.

Let us jump up a step. The exact same corps, but now represented by two blocks, again the micro-dice record the current stats for each unit. The extra block does make the corp look a bit more substantial and in the 'March Attack' rules, two blocks would be sufficient. I probably should not have added an extra block for the artillery as one block signifies a full battery of six to eight guns.

The final step, once again the same corps, only now each block equates to one point of elan. We can quickly and easily see that the left most infantry battalion is still at full strength, next door is at five, and the right most (oops, missing a block) should have three blocks. As elan is lost, remove a block. The artillery has fired one of its six shots. The corps really does now look impressive and not a dice in sight.

Using hexes as opposed to inches or centimetres, has its advantages and disadvantages. The obvious advantages are no measuring needed, no arguments as to how far movement or firing is. A downside is it is less precise and you have to use a degree of common sense for line of sight and movement of troops.

In this example our corps is firing at an unfortunate Portuguese Line regiment. In 'Blucher' volley fire is just one base width, whilst skirmish fire is two base widths. With hexes we have another problem, when units get up close and personal into melee. So I have put down yellow discs to show the frontal hexes that are eligible for melee. If an enemy unit is in an adjacent hex then you are bayonet to bayonet, no shooting!
The left most French line has fired at skirmish range, follow the red arrow through the melee hex, the red dice with one pip is at volley range, and the red dice with two pips is at skirmish range. The same with the other two units of line infantry, following the arrows and the blue and yellow dice respectively.

The artillery is firing at an enemy line regiment at max range, for me on this board, five hexes seems sensible. Follow the yellow dice in ascending order to the target, the red disc under the die with two pips shows the range of canister. Of course the cannonball isn't negotiating a slalom course on its way to the target, that's where the common sense must be applied, as it also would, with any intervening terrain.

Well that's my thoughts, not perfect by any means, but I think I could get a good game using it.