Victory at Waterloo
Victory at Waterloo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
How to Set Up the Game
Before going any further you should check that you have a two-piece game board plus a set of push out cardboard playing pieces as well as this rules booklet. Do not break out the playing pieces yet, first take the two halves of the game board and place them together to form a map showing the area immediately south of the village of WATERLOO. Compass bearings are given on each half to help you here.
The map contains eight types of terrain which have a direct effect on game play. These effects will be made clear to you as you read through the rules but first you should be sure that you can recognise the terrain. To do this look at the Terrain Effects details at the east edge of the map where you will see a picture of each terrain type. Ignore the movement cost, combat effect and notes boxes, these will be useful to you during play only when you have read right through the rules. You will find a number of tracks on the north and south edges of the playing board, these are used to record the passage of time and to show the state of each army's morale, details of how to use these are given elsewhere in the rules. A final comment on the map, you will see that an hexagonal pattern has been printed on it, this is used to show where units are on the map and is important for movement and combat as will be shown later.
You are now ready to set the armies up on the map. Decide who will control the French, that player sits at the south edge of the map and the Coalition player, who controls the British and Prussian armies, sits at the north edge. Look at the cardboard playing pieces. These are called counters and they are used to represent the units which fought on the day (unit counters) or as markers which are moved up and down the loss tracks and game turn record track during game play. You will note that the unit counters are coloured differently to show who they belong to, blue for the French, red for the British and green for the Prussians. Each army has three types of unit and the pictures shown on the counter will tell you what these are:
- Infantry
- Cavalry
- Artillery
The number on the front of a unit counter shows its combat strength which you will need to know about later. Keep any blank counters as spares.
The French player sets up his army first - he should push out all his unit counters and place them face down on the table. On the back of each counter he will find a reference letter and number which tells him where that unit starts the game. Select any unit and note the letter on it, you will find the same letter appears at the bottom of the hexes on the south edge of the map; this is the hex row that the unit is placed in. The number that follows the letter on the counter tells you how many hexes in from the south of the board you should count to find the exact starting place for that unit. e.g. the French infantry unit with the reference P3 starts the game in the hex immediately south of the town 'La Belle Alliance'.
Once all the French units are set up, the Coalition player places his British army on the map in a similar fashion except that he counts his hexes in from the north edge. Thus the unit that starts off in 'La Haye Sainte' will have a reference of P7. Next he places his Prussian units on boxes 3, 5 or 6 of the game turn record track located at the north edge of the map depending on the number shown on the back of each counter. This tells him which game turn each individual unit comes onto the map during play. Prussian units come into play as reinforcements - details of this are given later. Make sure all your unit counters are now turned face up.
Next place the 'French Game Losses' marker on box '3' of the French Loss Track (south map edge) and the 'British Game Losses' and 'Prussian Game Losses' markers on the '0' box of their respective Loss Tracks (north map edge). Then put the game turn marker on box '1' of the Game Turn Record Track. Put the counters marked 'French Turn Losses', 'British Turn Losses' and 'Prussian Turn Losses' on one side then put all other counters into the game box. These play no part in the Basic Game. Now you are ready to move and attack your opponent.
How to Play
Victory at Waterloo is played in game turns during which each player moves his units and attacks in an attempt to destroy opposing units and capture important places. A typical game turn would consist of the following actions - first the French player moves his units then he attacks British and Prussian units which are next to his own. The Coalition player then moves his units, after which he attacks adjacent French units.
When both players have moved and attacked that game turn is complete and the Coalition player moves the game turn marker one box to the right to indicate the start of a new game turn.
Repeat these steps until one side routs or until game turn 10 has been completed.
How to Move
In reality, a Napoleonic army would move and fight together and to reflect this a player is allowed to move ALL of his units during a game turn before making any attacks. An exception to this is where a unit starts the game turn next to an enemy unit, then it is considered to be engaged in combat and may not move.
Each unit type is given a movement allowance which reflects its mobility. The allowances for all nationalities are: Cavalry 6, Infantry 4, Artillery 3.
Look at the east map edge now, here you will find boxes headed 'Movement Costs': the numbers inside these boxes show you the amount of movement allowance used up to enter every type of terrain on the map. Each time a unit moves into a hex it must deduct the 'Movement Cost' for that terrain type from its allowance before proceeding. As soon as a unit has used up its full allowance or moves next to an enemy unit it MUST stop. Familiarise yourself with the movement costs and the notes relating to movement then play through the following example to get some practice at moving. The units are shown in their correct positions at the start of the game - read all hex references from the French side of the board. Further notes on movement can be found after this example.
Example (diagram): The French player decides to launch a limited offensive on his right. The Cavalry on K3 is sent to threaten a stream crossing between Fichermont and Ohain. To do this, it is moved to J4, I4, H5 and H6, taking 1 off its Movement Allowance for each hex entered. The balance of its allowance is used to move into the woods on H7 at the cost of 2. The Infantry on L4 moves to L5 to attack Papelotte from the south supported by Artillery moving up from M3 to M5. A diversionary attack is launched by Infantry advancing from N3 to N6. These units have advanced across open terrain deducting 1 from their Movement Allowance for each hex entered. Their movement is halted by the presence of British units even though their full Movement Allowance has not been used up. As a precaution against enemy harassment, the Infantry on L3 moves K2, J3, I3, up the trail to H4 covering the French right flank. Finally, the Cavalry in position at M2 is sent to scout in the rear. It moves into Placenoit at the cost of 1 then on to K2 where it crosses the stream to J2. This move costs 2 to enter the hex plus a further 2 for crossing the stream reducing its Movement Allowance to 0. The rest of the French army holds position and awaits further developments. Leave these units in their new positions, they will be used to illustrate combat later in the rules.
Movement Notes
Every unit starts each game turn with its full Movement Allowance available to it, with the exception of the Prussian turn 3 reinforcements which are dealt with later in the rules. Once a unit stops moving any unused portion of its allowance is lost.
A unit adjacent to an enemy unit is considered to be in combat and may not move.
A unit not engaged in combat need not move if the owning player wants it to hold position.
Units may move to adjacent hexes in any direction they choose.
There must be no more than one unit in any single hex when a player has finished moving all his units.
Units may not move off the map.
A unit moving down a road pays the Road Movement costs only: it ignores all other terrain costs. The same applies to a unit moving down a trail except that it pays the Trail Movement cost.
The cost to cross a stream is paid in addition to the Movement cost for entering the adjacent hex. There is no Movement cost to cross a stream when using a bridge.
A unit entering a hex which contains woods must pay the woods Movement cost regardless of other terrain shown in the hex unless it is travelling along a road or trail.
How to Attack
When a player has finished moving he MUST attack all enemy units that are next to his own. There are two exceptions to this rule: a '1 strength' Infantry unit in a Chateau is not forced to attack, the same applies to ANY unit in a town. Such units are considered to be occupying strong points and in a position to hold fast and let the enemy come to them.
To determine the results of his attacks, a player must follow a specific procedure: more detailed information is given directly below:
- Select the attack
- Determine the attack superiority
- Apply terrain benefits
- Roll a die to get the 'Final Score'
- Consult the Attack table and apply the result
Step 1 Tell your opponent when you are attacking him and with what units.
Step 2 On the front of every unit counter there is a bold white number: this is the unit's combat strength. Add together the combat strengths of all the attacking units then subtract the defenders combat strength, the resulting number is the attack superiority.
Step 3 Look at the east edge of the mapboard and locate the terrain type occupied by the defender: to the right of this you will find a box headed 'Combat Effect'. Any number shown should be taken off the attack superiority arrived at in (2) : this is your adjusted combat superiority.
Step 4 To allow for the fortunes of war, a die is now brought into play. Roll one six-sided die and add the result to your adjusted combat superiority: these two figures added together give you your final score.
Step 5 Look at the Attack Results table that appears below each compass on the map. Find the final score you just reached and apply the result shown to the right of that score before going on to the next attack. Repeat these steps until all your attacks have been resolved.
An explanation of how to apply the results is given below but first let us run through an example of how to resolve attacks. Go back to the units moved in our earlier example: you will recall that an Infantry unit was moved up to L5 to attack the defenders in Papelotte with the support of the Artillery on M5, tell the British that this is your first attack (Step 1). Next, add their combat strengths together and you get a figure of 5 from which you must deduct the defending unit's strength of 1, that gives a combat superiority of +4 (Step 2). Look at the combat effects of a town and you will find that a further 1 must be deducted to give an adjusted combat superiority of +3 (Step 3). A die is now rolled and the result is added to the +3 to give the final score (Step 4). A roll of 1 would give a final score of +4 which means the attacker must retreat or exchange losses, any other die roll would give a final score of +5 or greater and would result in a defender retreat (Step 5). The 2 strength Infantry unit must now carry through its diversionary attack against the British on M6 and N7. Take the defenders' strength of 3 from the attackers' strength of 2 and you will find the attacker has a combat superiority of -1. Adjust for the ridge hex occupied by one of the defending units and you get an adjusted superiority of -2. A die roll of 1 would give a final score of -1 which means the attacker exchanges or retreats, any other die roll gives a result of from 0 to +4 which means the attacker must retreat. The option to choose an exchange result lies with the attacker and only if he throws a 1 on the die during step 4, bringing his final score to the -1 to +4 range. Leave all the units where they are. Read briefly through the next section then move on to the example to see how the above attacks worked out.
How to Apply the Attack Results
- Attacker destroyed - remove all the involved attacking units from the board.
- Attacker retreats - move all the involved attacking units back to an adjacent hex.
- Defender retreats - move all the involved defending units back to an adjacent hex.
- Defender destroyed - remove all the involved defending units from the board.
IMPORTANT: Units that are forced to retreat into a hex that is occupied by or next to an enemy unit are destroyed immediately.
- Exchange - remove all the involved defending units from the board. The attacker must now remove one or more of his involved units whose combined combat strengths must be at least equal to those of the defenders where possible.
Whenever a hex is left empty after a retreat or a removal it may be occupied by one victorious unit, attacker or defender. This represents the ability of a unit to pursue a defeated enemy and should be used to capture important places or cut off possible routes of retreat for units that have still to be attacked.
To illustrate these points more clearly, let's go back to the attack set up around Papelotte. You will recall that the French on N6 were attacking two British units at an adjusted combat superiority of -2. On a die roll of 1 the French could choose to exchange losses, in which case both British units would be removed from the game as would the French attacker. In this instance, the attacker would lose only the one unit which has a combat strength of 2 whilst the defender would lose two with a combined combat strength of 3, a good exchange for the Frenchman. For the purpose of this example, we will assume that the French chose to retreat, they pull back to N5 which is the only adjacent hex that is not next to or occupied by an enemy unit. The British artillery on M6 now advance into N6.
The attack on Papelotte could also have left the French with the choice of retreating or accepting an exchange. If the capture of the town was important enough to justify the losses the French would remove one of their units, presumably the infantry, and the British would remove their unit. The French artillery would then move into Papelotte. Let's assume, however, that the French decide to retreat, the artillery must pull back to M4. Since no more than one unit may occupy a hex, the infantry cannot retreat into M4, it must go back to L4 or K4. They choose L4 and the British decide not to occupy L5.
We can now show how to cut off routes of retreat by moving and attacking with a few British units. Continue to read the hex references from the French side of the board. Move the British J7 to K3, L6 to K4, M8 to L5, N7 to M5 and S6 to O5. The units on M5 and L5 attack the French on M4, they get an attack result of 'defender retreats' and the French player moves his artillery back to M3. The British player advances his cavalry from L5 to M4. The British now attack N5 from O5 and N6 and get another 'defender retreats'. All the hexes adjacent to the defending unit are occupied by or next to an attacker and the French infantry are considered destroyed. Remove them from the game and advance the British infantry from O5 to N5. The British now put in their last attack as L4 but their luck has run out: they get an 'attacker retreats' result and pull back from K3 to J4 and K4 to K5. The French choose not to advance.
In the next game turn the French player decides to put in a limited counter-attack. He moves the Old Guard from O2 to N4 to attack into N5. Although he could support this attack by moving another unit into O4 he fails to do so, he then proceeds to miss out on the chance to cut off the British on N4 by attacking them before capturing N5. He attacks the cavalry on M4 and forces a retreat. The only hex the cavalry can pull back into is already occupied by a friendly unit. The occupant is pushed back to an adjacent hex to allow the retreating unit to move into M5, push him back to Papelotte and advance the French infantry L4 to M4. The Old Guard on N4 now attacks N5 and gets a 'defender retreats' result. The British must not push back their unit in N6 as there is an empty adjacent hex available at O5. Move the defending unit back to there but do not advance the French unit.
It is the British player's turn to move and attack now. He moves his units J4 to L3, L6 to L4, O5 to L5 and N6 to O5. He now attacks successfully into M3. The French artillery retreats to N3 but the British player forgets to follow up thus missing the chance to cut off the infantry on M4. The British attack into M4 and are again successful, the French retreat from M4 to N4 pushing the Old Guard back into N3 and the artillery in N3 is pushed back to N2 to make room for the Guard. It is possible to set off a series of push backs throughout an army in this way. The British player decides not to occupy the vacated hex and his victorious units hold their positions.
Notes on How to Attack and to Apply Results
Attacks may be made against adjacent units only.
A unit may attack only once per game turn.
A unit may attack into two or more hexes in a single attack.
A unit may be attacked only once per game turn.
There is no limit to the number of units that can combine their combat strengths to attack into a single hex. British and Prussian units may fight together in this way.
During step (2) an attack superiority of +7 or greater is treated as +6.
During step (2) an attack superiority of -6 or worse is treated as -5.
Only 1 strength Infantry units get the combat effects benefits for occupying a Chateau.
1 strength Infantry units occupying a Chateau may ignore 'defender retreats' results when being attacked.
If a unit chooses to attack out of a town it must attack all adjacent enemy units that are not being attacked by other friendly units. The same applies to attacks made out of a Chateau.
Only British units get the Combat effects benefits when defending on a ridge and then only if the attacking units do not occupy a ridge hex.
Units defending behind a stream get the -1 benefit only if ALL the units attacking it are on the other side of the stream.
All terrain occupied by a defender during a single attack is taken into account during step (3). Thus, if a French unit on J2 attacked a British unit on J3, it would suffer a -1 for the stream, -1 for the woods and a further -1 for attacking up a ridge.
When two or more units are being attacked in a single combat, only one defender's hex is taken into account during step (3). The hex used is always the one that gives the most benefits to the defender. Thus, if a French unit on J2 were to attack a British unit on J3 and another on I2 during a single attack, the defender would get the -3 benefit for hex J3 but nothing for I2.
If two or more hexes are vacated as a result of combat the winner decides which one to occupy.
Retreats and advances do not count as normal movement and do not count against a unit's movement allowance.
Where there is a choice of hexes to retreat into, you should always move into the one with the lowest movement cost. If the hexes have the same movement cost the retreating player is free to choose which he will move into.
Units forced to retreat off the map edge are destroyed.
A unit may retreat into a hex occupied by a friendly unit if there is no other path of retreat available to it. When this happens the occupant is pushed back into an adjacent hex. It may in turn push back other units to make the retreat possible.
A unit may not be pushed back into a hex that is next to or occupied by an enemy unit. If such a situation were to arise the unit that got the original retreat result is treated as destroyed.
How to Use the Loss Tracks
In any battle, the morale of your army is important: if your losses are light and you are not losing important ground, your morale should remain high: if you are inflicting heavy losses on your enemy and capturing objectives that are important to him then his morale will drop. Eventually his men will lose the will to fight and flee from the battlefield.
To show the effects of morale in Victory at Waterloo you record the loss of men and the capture of objectives on the loss tracks.
When setting up the game you will recall that we put three markers to one side, these were:
- French Turn Losses
- British Turn Losses
- Prussian Turn Losses
Place the first marker on box '3' of the French Loss Track, the second on box '0' of the British Track and the third on box '0' of the Prussian Track.
Every time a unit is destroyed, the owning player must move his army's 'Turn Losses' marker along it's Loss Track. The number of boxes moved depends on the combat strength of the destroyed unit. If the strength is '1', move the marker one box to the right, if '2', then move it two boxes to the right and so on. Note that the Game Losses markers are not moved in this way.
When the French capture an objective the British 'Turn Losses' marker is moved to the right on its Loss Track. The number shown in brackets after an objective tells you how far to move. Hougomont would be 2 boxes, La Haye Sainte 3, etc.
The French objectives in the game are the towns of Merbe-Braine (2), Le Mesnil (2), Mt. St. Jean (3) and Vieux Amis (3) plus Hougomont (2) and La Haye Sainte (3). Note that the Prussians are not affected when the French capture an objective.
When a British or Prussian unit captures a Coalition objective, the French marker is moved up its Loss Track in the same way. The Coalition objectives are Mon Plaisir (2), La Belle Alliance (3), Placenoit (4), Fichermont (2) and La Haye Sainte (3).
If you recapture an enemy objective, move your marker to the left on your Loss Track. Again, you look at the number shown in brackets to find out how many boxes to move.
To capture or recapture an objective, your unit must move into the hex that contains it. You do not need to leave the unit there, simply move into the hex move away as long as doing so does not break any game rules.
A unit may capture or recapture an objective by advancing onto the hex after an attack.
La Haye Sainte
You will note that this Chateau is an objective for both the French and Coalition players. This means that its capture and recapture will have a seesaw effect on each side's morale. If the French capture it, their marker goes 3 boxes to the left because they have 'Recaptured' a Coalition objective and the British marker moves 3 boxes to the right, because the French have 'Captured' one of their own objectives. If a Coalition unit takes La Haye Sainte back from the French, the British marker will move 3 to the left and the French 3 to the right. This is the only place on the map which is an objective for both sides. The British are considered to have captured La Haye Sainte at the start of the game, this is reflected by the position of the French markers on the Loss Track.
Demoralisation and Disintegration
Units that are demoralised are considered to be capable of attacking and defending but who are not sufficiently motivated to follow up any success they might have.
A disintegrated unit consists of men who are rapidly losing their enthusiasm for the fight. They will defend themselves against an aggressor and attack enemy units next to them but they will not voluntarily move into contact.
At the end of each game turn place your 'Game Losses' marker on top of your 'Turn Losses' marker. This records the state of your army's morale for the next game turn. If the British start any game turn with their marker on or to the right of the box marked 'demoralisation', none of your units may advance after a successful attack during that turn. If you start a turn with your marker on or to the right of the box marked 'disintegration', none of your units may move next to any French unit for the rest of the game. British units already adjacent to French units must stay and fight. The British Loss Markers may never be moved back down the track once they have reached or passed the 'disintegration' box.
Note: the scan prints this passage from the British point of view only ("If the British start any game turn..."); transcribed as printed.
Prussian Reinforcements
On game turn 3, 5 and 6, the Coalition player is reinforced by parts of the Prussian army. These units come on at any time during the Coalition movement and they may be used to attack any French units they move adjacent to. The Cavalry that arrive on turn 3 have a movement allowance of 3 for that turn only after which they may use their full allowance of 6. All other Prussian reinforcements may use their full Movement Allowance on the turn of entry.
Prussian Reinforcements may enter the game on any of the seven hexes next to the green band on the east edge of the map. They must pay normal movement costs to move onto the first and subsequent hexes entered.
How to Win
If at any time your opponent's 'Turn Losses' marker reaches or passes the rout box on his track, you immediately win a Strategic Victory. If the French and British rout at the same time, the Coalition player has gained a Tactical Victory. If neither side has routed by the end of game turn 10, check the state of each army's morale on the Loss Tracks. Find the line on the table below that reflects the morale situation and you will see who has won. For instance, if the French were not demoralised, the British were demoralised but not disintegrated and the Prussians were demoralised, line 4 would tell you that the French had scored a Tactical Victory.
| French Demoralised | British Demoralised | British Disintegrated | Prussian Demoralised | Victory Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NO | NO | NO | NO | Coalition Tactical |
| NO | NO | NO | YES | Coalition Tactical |
| NO | YES | NO | NO | Coalition Tactical |
| NO | YES | NO | YES | French Tactical |
| NO | YES | YES | NO | French Strategic |
Now that you know how to move, attack and win, set your armies up again as described in the beginning of the booklet and play through a few moves until you get the feel of the game. Don't worry if you make a few bad moves, it's the only way to learn. Once you have mastered the Basic Game try out the optional rules that follow.
Optional Rules
Towns
Only Infantry and Artillery get any combat effect benefits when occupying a town. Cavalry in a town must attack any adjacent enemy units.
Cavalry
To reflect their superior mobility over infantry and artillery, the following benefits may be given to cavalry:
A Cavalry unit that starts its movement phase next to enemy Infantry or Artillery only is not considered to be engaged in combat. It may move using it's full allowance but it may not move next to any enemy unit during that game turn.
A Cavalry unit that is being attacked by Infantry or Artillery only may refuse combat. It may withdraw one hex as if it had suffered a retreat result. The attacker may occupy the vacated hex.
A Cavalry unit that is retreated may move back one or two hexes at the owning player's discretion. Opposing Cavalry involved in the combat may follow up by moving into the first or second vacated hex. Other types may advance one hex only.
Artillery
Napoleonic artillery could be brought into use at a range of 1,000 metres using canister and grapeshot. To allow for this, a player's Artillery that is not adjacent to any enemy unit at the start of his attacks can use it's combat strength to bombard units two hexes away. It may bombard across streams, into and through clear hexes and through unit counters. It may bombard into, but not through, hexes containing a town, chateau or woods. It cannot bombard into or through a ridge hex.
Example (diagram): bombardment ranges for Artillery.
When resolving a bombardment attack use the same procedure as with a normal attack. Defending units get the benefits for occupying a town, chateau or woods hex but not for being behind a stream. Bombarding units ignore 'attacker retreat' or 'attacker destroyed' results and they suffer no ill effects from an 'exchange' although the defender is still destroyed.
A unit may make only one bombardment attack per turn and against only one hex. A bombarding unit may combine their strengths to attack a single hex. A bombarding unit may be used to support normal attacks, simply add its combat factor to that of the other attacking units during step (2).
Bombarding units may make diversionary attacks.
Example (diagram): In the diagram above, the French Artillery bombards a British Cavalry unit. The remaining French units are then left free to attack the British Artillery. Note that the French Cavalry must still attack at least one adjacent unit, the diversionary attack does not free him from that obligation.
Command Control
Historically, it is unlikely that any Commander would commit his army en masse at the start of a battle. The attacking army would probe for weak spots that could be exploited in the hope of breaking through the enemy lines or drawing opposing units out of position. The gradual escalation that would occur can be recreated by limiting the number of units each player can move each turn as follows:
| Game turn | French units may move | British units may move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 & 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 3 & 4 | 7 | 3 |
| 5 & 6 | 9 | 4 |
| 7 | 10 | 5 |
| 8 | 10 | 6 |
| 9 | 10 | 7 |
| 10 | 10 | 8 |
If your army is demoralised or disintegrated at the start of a turn the number of units you may move is dropped by 1. If your opponent's army is in either of these conditions your total is increased by 1. The Prussians are not affected by this rule. Note that no restriction is placed on the number of units that can attack or bombard.
The Old Guard
The Guard units were elite troops which were mainly used to deliver a decisive blow to a weakened enemy or to turn the tide of a battle that was not going well. At Waterloo, the repulse of the Old Guard proved to be the turning point for the French, after that reverse their army lost heart and Wellington gained his victory.
In the game, there is an obvious temptation to make use of the strong Guard units whenever possible, regardless of the state of the battle. To make this a little more risky, you should use this rule. Pick out these five counters from the game box:
- French Demor.
- French Rout
- British Demor.
- British Disinteg.
- Prussian Demor.
Put the first two onto the French Loss Track in boxes 17 and 25 respectively. Put the next two in boxes 12 and 16 on the British Loss Track and the last into the Prussian box 7. Each time that a Guard unit suffers an 'attacker retreats' result move both French markers one box to the left and the Coalition markers one box to the right. You now ignore the shaded boxes printed on the Loss Tracks. The position of the markers is taken into account at the start of each game turn to determine the state of morale in each army. The movement of these markers may enable the British to recover from a state of disintegration in which case their loss markers may be moved down the track once more to take account of any recaptured objectives.
If the French rout marker is moved onto the loss marker at any time, the effect is immediate and the Coalition player wins.
Play Balance
It is possible that two players of unequal skill will face each other across the game board. If the difference is so great that your games are not enjoyable, you can alter the balance of the game by fixing your own morale levels. Simply take the markers used above, plus the British rout marker, and place them on the tracks at a level which you believe will give the desired effect, then ignore the printed shaded boxes.