Bailén 1808: La primera derrota de Napoleón Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• The Board
• The Counters
  • Unit Types in Detail
• Dice
  • Incomplete Hexagons and Hex Capacity
• Game Development
• Who Wins the Game?
• Game Setup
• Sequence of Play
  • Determine Initiative
  • Execute the Turn
• Movement of Troops
  • Terrain Effects During Movement
  • Movement Effects for Combat
  • Recovery of Disorganized Units
• Reaction Artillery of the Inactive Player
• Combat
  • Only in Melee Combat
  • Only in Ranged Combat with Artillery
• Resolving a Combat
• Counters with Special Effects
• Reinforcements
• Optional Rules
  • Combined Attacks
  • Cover
  • Protection Against Cavalry
  • Roads
  • Swiss Troops in Battle
  • Stifling Heat
• The "NAC History Joker" Card
• Design Notes

Game Components

Each copy of Bailén 1808 includes:

• A hard cardboard board with the real geographical configuration of the area where the Battle of Bailén took place.
• Two sheets of die-cut counters.
• Plastic bags to store the counters once punched out of their sprues.
• Six NAC dice (six-sided), in 2 colors (3 dice for each player).
• This rulebook.
• A history book.
• A NAC History Joker card.
• Two reference sheets and historical deployment sheet for each side.

The Board

The board is a map of the Spanish region where Bailén is located, with the configuration it had in 1808 and in which the fighting took place.

Various types of hexes and terrain features are distinguished, some of which have an impact on the rules:

• Building: a grouped cluster of houses in Bailén, or farms scattered across the map.
• Royal Road (Camino Real): thick light-brown line.
• Roads (Caminos): thin brown lines (these only have an effect if you use their optional rule).
• River: thick blue line.
• Olive groves: represented by wooded areas of grouped trees.
• Hills: represented by darker shades of brown.
• Other elements such as wheat fields and minor vegetation that have no impact on the game.

Along one edge of the board is also the round track.

The Counters

The blue and white counters represent the French army, while the red and yellow counters represent the Spanish army. Each army is made up of the following unit types:

French Army (67)

1. Leaders (4)
2. Elite infantry (10)
3. Line infantry (22)
4. Artillery (7)
5. Horse artillery (6)
6. Cuirassiers (3)
7. Regular cavalry (11)
8. Light cavalry (4)

Spanish Army (81)

1. Leaders (4)
2. Elite infantry (10)
3. Line infantry (23)
4. Volunteer militias (11)
5. Artillery (4)
6. Horse artillery (10)
7. Regular cavalry (14)
8. Light cavalry (4)
9. Water carrier (1)

All counters have 6 typical characteristics that make them different from one another, although they vary from counter to counter:

• Name: the historical name of the combat unit. For more detail about unit naming, see the end of the history book.
• Unit type: artillery, infantry, cavalry, leader, or special. Represented by an illustration.
• Combat factor: the unit's operational capacity to fight, whether in melee or firing at range (only artillery). Some troops can attack multiple times in the same turn (indicated by two lines next to this factor).
• Movement factor: the space, in hexagons, that each counter is capable of traveling at most on its turn, in any direction. Each counter has available as many movement points as its movement factor.
• Defense factor: the number to beat in combat to defeat the defender, eliminating or disorganizing it. Represents how good the unit is at repelling enemy attacks.
• Range: all units can, at minimum, fight at adjacent range, but artillery pieces can also do so at greater distance, indicated by this factor.

Each counter in the game also has 2 sides: its front side, where all its attributes are shown, is its organized side. When the rules indicate, they must be flipped to their other side, called disorganized. A disorganized unit cannot move or attack, but it will still use its defense factor if attacked. Disorganized units can either reorganize again (by flipping back over) or end up permanently eliminated.

Unit Types in Detail

Leaders: both sides have 4 unique leader counters used to command units under their authority when activating movements. They also serve to fight like any other troop, to give combat modifiers to their units, and to reorganize disorganized units. They have a unique and exclusive factor called the command factor (represented by a star symbol).

Volunteer militia infantry: only the Spanish have this type of infantry, representing armed civilians with little military training. They have a single attack per turn with low effectiveness (value 2) and average defense (value 6).

Line infantry: both sides have it. They have a single attack with better effectiveness than volunteers (value 3) and the same defense (value 6).

Elite infantry (grenadiers, guard infantry, etc.): both sides have this type of unit. They are the best infantry units in the game, representing elite units with combat experience. Their firepower is 2 attacks per turn (value 3), and their defense is higher than the rest of the infantry (value 7), making them more reliable, stable, and harder to disorganize or eliminate in battle.

Light cavalry: both sides have it. They are fast, but with a lower attack than other cavalry units. They only have 1 attack (Spanish units have advantages in pursuit, as we will see later).

Regular cavalry: both sides have it. They are a little slower than light cavalry, but have a higher combat factor.

Cuirassiers: only the French side has this type of troop. In attack, they are equivalent to regular cavalry, but they have better defense.

Artillery: Spanish forces have long-range artillery pieces (a range of 18), and they also make 2 attacks per turn with a combat factor of 3. They are truly powerful, and their positioning can make a big difference.

Spanish and French troops have pieces with range 12 and 2 attacks per turn, though with an attack factor of 2. The French alone also have lighter pieces with range 8 and a single attack per turn.

Horse artillery: these are artillery pieces identical in game terms to foot artillery, except that when moving they have greater movement capacity and better resist pursuit combats.

All counters also have a colored mark in their upper-left corner that matches the color mark of their leader. This represents the units that belong to a particular leader's formation.

Dice

Dice are used to resolve combats and represent the luck factor present in every battle. The die used is a special six-sided NAC die for eliminating units.

Each player has 3 dice to speed up rolls. A result of "6" is the one that shows the NAC logo, and it is the best possible result.

Incomplete Hexagons and Hex Capacity

Incomplete hexagons without a numeric reference are not part of the battlefield, and counters cannot enter them.

Each hexagon can hold only a single counter at any time.

Game Development

The game takes place over rounds. Each round consists of one turn per player, which includes movement, the opponent's reaction, full resolution of combats, and reorganization of units for both contenders. One player takes a turn, then the other player takes their turn, and then play proceeds to the next round.

The game length is 15 rounds, each equivalent to 1 hour of real battle time. It begins at 05:00 in the morning (round 1) and lasts until round 15, which begins at 19:00 in the evening.

Each time a complete round is finished, the round marker advances one space on the round track.

A complete game of Bailén 1808 will take approximately 2 hours of actual playing time, including the 22 minutes it takes to start playing from when you open the game box.

Strategic victory conditions (see next page): France wins if it has at least 5 units in the star-marked hexagons (outlined in blue in the image) and if the Spanish side has no units in Bailén (outlined in red in this image).

Who Wins the Game?

There are 2 ways to win this battle: by the enemy's surrender or thanks to a strategic victory.

Victory by enemy surrender: victory in Bailén 1808 goes to whoever achieves the enemy's surrender. A player is forced to surrender when their rival has more than double the counters on the board than they do. (for example, if the French have 27 counters on the board, the Spanish will surrender if they are left with 13 counters or fewer).

A player also surrenders immediately if they lose all of their leader counters.

If round 15 arrives and neither player has achieved the enemy's surrender, whoever has a greater number of counters on the board achieves a partial victory. (you have not achieved total victory, but at least your army has subdued the rival).

Strategic victory: France wins if it manages to take control of Bailén and the Royal Road that crosses the town before the end of the game in round 15. Victory will go to the Spanish if this does not happen.

Taking control: the French player must have a minimum of 5 counters of their army, not belonging to Vedel's formation (aquamarine color), in the hexagons of the stretch that connects the Royal Road right at its entrance to Bailén with the edge of the board in the direction of La Carolina-Despeñaperros-Madrid. To make it easier to locate, that stretch has its hexagons marked with a star.

In addition, the Spanish player must not have any counter of their army in those hexagons or in the town of Bailén. You can check which exact hexagons correspond to the town of Bailén in the example shown on the previous page. To make it easier to locate, the hexagons that comprise the town of Bailén are outlined with a white line.

Example: France has five units in the Royal Road's victory hexagons, but one of them belongs to Vedel's formation and, in addition, a Spanish unit is still holding out in Bailén, so the strategic victory requirements are not met. The game continues.

Game Setup

Place the board in the center of the table. Each player sits facing the other with the board in between.

Each player takes all the troop counters for their side and a set of 3 dice of the color they choose. Separate the troops according to the formation they belong to.

Place the round marker on space R1 (round 1) of the round track, corresponding to 5:00 in the morning.

Now it is time to deploy the troops. The French troops' deployment zone is all the hexagons on the side of the board where the stream is, and whose reference number is underlined.

The Spanish army's deployment zone is all the hexagons on the side of the board where Bailén is, whose number is underlined, but note that each of these hexagons has a letter associated with the formation of the general who can deploy their troops there: V, R, C. Sometimes, there may be hexagons that even have two letters.

Spanish generals and deployment hexagons:

• V = Venegas
• R = Reding
• C = Coupigny

The Spanish player begins by deploying the troops assigned to general Venegas's formation in the hexagons they wish, as long as they show a "V". Afterward, the French deploy their three formations corresponding to Dupont, Fresia, and Barbou, in the hexagons they choose, among those underlined. Finally, the Spanish player finishes with the formations assigned to generals Reding and Coupigny, in the hexagons they choose, according to the initials "R" and "C".

Keep in mind that Castaños's and Vedel's formations stay off the map, waiting to arrive as reinforcements later on.

Historical note: when both armies met on the battlefield, the French were advancing in the direction of Despeñaperros and had a vague notion of the Spanish troops they would encounter along the way. In fact, the French troops encountered a vanguard commanded by Venegas, who quickly withdrew to occupy the Spanish right flank. The French did not expect to encounter the troops commanded by Teodoro Reding and by Coupigny.

To represent this, the Spanish player deploys Venegas and his formation first, since they had knowledge of them from the initial encounter just before the battle; then all the French are placed; and finally the Spanish player places the units of the other two formations that the French encountered unexpectedly along their way.

Deployment zones for each side are shown on the deployment reference map. If you prefer to play with the historical configuration, place the troops according to the reference sheet instead.

Sequence of Play

Each round of the game does the following:

Determine Initiative

At the start of each round, each player rolls one die and adds 1 point for each leader they still have on the board.

The player with the higher modified score chooses which of the 2 players takes the initiative and will play their turn first in that round. In case of a tie, initiative for this round passes to the player who did not have it in the previous round.

Execute the Turn

While you are executing your turn, you are considered the active player. Your rival is the inactive player. On their turn, each player takes the following steps, in this order:

1. Possible arrival of reinforcements for the active player. Roll the die as indicated for the possible arrival of reinforcements for their side. This only happens starting round 9 for general Castaños (Spanish) and round 11 for general Vedel (French). Each side has its own reinforcement arrival rules, explained later. Until round 9 this first step is ignored every round.
2. Movement of the active player's units. Decide which leader you want to activate. Roll one die and add 6 points to the result obtained. That is the total number of units you may move this round. At least half must belong to the formation of the leader you activated.
3. Recovery of disorganized units. Recover the disorganized units of your side that are not in an enemy Zone of Control (from now on, Zone of Control will be shown as ZoC, explained below).
4. Reaction artillery of the inactive rival. The inactive rival's artillery fires. This is a response attack during the rival's turn.
5. Combat resolution. Roll one die, add 4, and that total is the number of units you can fight with (regardless of formation).
6. Cavalry pursuit. Up to 2 cavalry units may pursue and attack disorganized enemy units or artillery pieces.
7. Reorganization of units by the active player's leaders. Each leader counter reorganizes 1 unit of its formation within command range.

Next player: performs the same steps described above. Once both players have completed their turn, play moves to the next round.

Movement of Troops

Each turn, players may move a limited number of their own counters. They must declare which leader in play they are activating. By default you may move up to 6 counters + the result of one die roll (for a possible total of 7 to 12 counters) during the movement phase.

Of the total counters you move, at least half of them must be units of the formation of the leader you activated (i.e., of their color). The rest may be units of any of the other leaders, as you wish.

• You are not obligated to move all possible counters. You may even move none at all.
• Each counter can move in any direction and is not obligated to spend all its movement. As it moves, movement points are spent. Some terrain features consume more or fewer movement points per hexagon than others.
• Each hexagon on the board can only be occupied by one counter.
• A counter may pass over another counter of its own side, but never over an enemy counter.
• Disorganized units cannot move (that's why they have no movement factor on their disorganized side).

Example: the Spanish player activates Venegas. With a roll of 3, they may move 9 units. At least 5 of these units must belong to Venegas's formation. They choose to activate the units outlined with a green line.

Terrain Effects During Movement

The terrain illustrated on the game board has an important impact on troop movement. The movement factor of the counters indicates how many movement points that counter has each time you move it. Generally each hexagon you move into consumes 1 movement point, but there are important exceptions:

• Royal Road: movements made along the Royal Road, following its path, only cost ½ movement point per hexagon. If the movement is made through a hexagon that also crosses another terrain feature that penalizes movement (such as a building hexagon), then the cost is 1 point.
• Hills, river, and buildings: entering a hexagon of any of these terrain features costs 2 movement points per hexagon (with the exception already mentioned above for Bailén and the Royal Road).
• Olive grove: Only for cavalry or horse artillery units, entering an olive grove hexagon costs 2 movement points. The rest of the counters have no penalty.
• Other terrain features: other hexagons show illustrations of wheat fields, scrub, and undergrowth or loose trees. These do not affect troop movement in any way; they are purely decorative elements.

Example: Spanish line infantry has 4 movement points, but if it makes its full movement along the Royal Road following its path, it can travel up to 8 hexagons.

Example: French light cavalry spends 2 movement points entering the town, another 2 to enter the hill, 1 more to descend to open terrain, and another 2 to enter the olive grove. They would have 1 more movement point to spend, but they decide to stay there.

Example: Spanish militiamen cross through wheat fields and loose trees, but this does not affect their movement.

Movement Effects for Combat

Artillery units that move cannot fight this turn, which means they cannot enter an enemy ZoC.

On the other hand, if a counter that is moving enters the Zone of Control of an enemy counter, it must stop its movement immediately. You can leave an enemy ZoC normally at no additional cost if you started the turn there, but the moment you enter a new hexagon of enemy ZoC you must stop your movement.

• A counter that enters an enemy ZoC is obligated to stop and cannot continue moving that same turn.
• A counter that has at least 2 enemy counters in its ZoC loses its ability to exert control over the other 4 hexagons surrounding it for the purpose of stopping movement.

Zone of Control (ZoC) of counters: the zone of control of a counter is the six hexagons surrounding the hexagon where the counter is located. Generally, a counter cannot pass through the zone of control of an enemy unit.

Example A: the Spanish unit must stop its movement upon entering the enemy unit's ZoC. Example B: the two French cavalry units cancel out the ZoC of the Spanish militiamen, and the French infantry troop can move through those hexagons.

Recovery of Disorganized Units

After you have made your movements, it is time to recover disorganized units: flip back to their organized side all your disorganized counters that are not in an enemy ZoC.

Remember: disorganized units have no movement or combat factor, so they cannot move or attack until they are reorganized again (they can defend themselves from the rival's attacks using the defense factor shown on their disorganized side).

Example: unit A reorganizes, but unit B cannot, since it is in the ZoC of an enemy unit.

Reaction Artillery of the Inactive Player

Unlike the other phases of the turn, this phase is carried out only by the inactive player as a reaction to the rival's movements and reorganization.

After the active player has completed their movement and unit recovery phase, the inactive player has the option to use their artillery against the active player's units that are within their range and Line of Sight (see below).

These attacks are resolved as a normal combat and can be a ranged attack or a melee attack (if they have undisorganized enemy units adjacent, they must fight against these and not at range).

All artillery units that meet the requirements may fight, at range or in melee, as applicable. If an artillery unit has the capacity to fire more than once, it can do so against the same unit or different units.

No movement of any kind is allowed for artillery pieces that fight now.

The fact that the inactive player's artillery fights has no impact or effect whatsoever once the turn comes around to the player who is now using their artillery.

Example: after the Spanish movement and reorganization, those 3 French artillery pieces can carry out reaction fire. Artillery A will fight in melee against the adjacent enemy. The other 2 artillery pieces will fire at range.

Combat

After the rival's reaction artillery phase takes place, the active player may fight with the units of their choice, up to the limit of the number of attacking units allowed in that game turn.

There are two types of combat, but they are resolved the same way except for a few particulars: melee (when counters are adjacent to the counter they are fighting), or ranged. Only artillery pieces can fire at range.

Up to 4 units + the result of a die roll may be activated to fight (5 to 10 counters). A specific leader is not necessary to activate units for combat; you can activate whichever ones you want as long as you meet the requirements.

• Counters have no facing, so they can fight in any direction.
• Activate counters one at a time and resolve each combat completely before activating another counter. Each counter can only be activated to fight once per round.
• Some counters can carry out more than one attack with a single activation, such as elite infantry and some artillery pieces. To reflect this, you will see that those counters visually have 2 lines on their combat factor. When firing with these counters, you can do so against the same enemy unit or against different units, but you must decide before rolling the die.
• A unit that is in an enemy ZoC can only attack units in whose ZoC it is located.
• Troops that are disorganized cannot fight (although they can defend themselves if attacked).

Example: with a roll of 3, the Spanish player activates 7 units to fight. They can choose from units of any formation.

Cavalry A can only attack the adjacent French infantry. Artillery B can fire up to 2 times each at any of the marked troops that are in Line of Sight and Range (B2 cannot fire at the elite infantry at 2425 because Barbou blocks its Line of Sight).

Infantry C cannot be activated to fight because they are disorganized.

Example: the Spanish artillery unit is in the ZoC of the French infantry, so it cannot attack any other unit.

Only in Melee Combat

Tactical Retreat: enemy units that are not disorganized and have a movement factor greater than that of the attacking unit(s) may retreat two hexagons from the attacker and avoid a melee combat attack, as long as the hexagon they retreat to is empty and is not in an enemy Zone of Control. If such a move is not possible, the tactical retreat is not allowed.

If this retreat is carried out, the retreating unit flips to its disorganized side. The intended melee combat attack is lost, but the unit is considered activated.

This retreat is very useful for trying to minimize casualties and to provoke the rival into spending combat activations.

Example of tactical retreat: the Spanish militiamen at C attack, but since the cavalry's movement is greater, it performs a tactical retreat to avoid receiving the attack. It could not retreat to the hexagon in the ZoC of the other militiaman hidden in the olive grove.

Only in Ranged Combat with Artillery

Line of Sight: you cannot fire with artillery pieces at targets that have between the firing piece and the target unit...

• enemy units,
• town hexagons,
• olive grove hexagons,
• hill hexagons,

...as these block Line of Sight (LoS from now on). Friendly units do not block your LoS.

Line of Sight is calculated without counting the hexagon of the attacking piece and the hexagon of the target unit; only the hexagons along its path have an effect.

To trace the line of sight, simply check whether, from the center of the starting hexagon to the center of the ending hexagon, there is any element that blocks the LoS.

Example: artillery piece A can reach enemy unit 2 because friendly units do not block LoS. It cannot see the infantry at 3 due to the hill. Artillery piece B, with a range of up to 18, cannot reach the French troops at 1, 2, or 3 because hills or the olive grove block its LoS. It can bombard the French cavalry at 4 that just retreated.

Resolving a Combat

Melee combat procedure: during combat, the attacking unit's combat factor is added to a die roll. If the sum is greater than the target unit's defense factor, then:

• If it exceeds it by only 1 point, the defending unit flips to its disorganized side and, additionally, and only if the attack was melee, must retreat two hexagons, moving away from the attacker to an empty hexagon that is not in the ZoC of another enemy unit.
• If it exceeds it by 2 or more points, then the defending unit is eliminated outright and returned to the game box.
• Any other result has no effect.

VERY IMPORTANT: a disorganized unit that, due to a combat result, would become disorganized again, is eliminated instead.

Advance after combat: if a defending unit is eliminated or retreats, one of your non-artillery units that was adjacent to that enemy counter may move for free to the hexagon where the defending unit was. If the unit that moves into that hexagon had not previously been activated for combat and is not in an enemy ZoC, then it may be activated now and initiate a melee combat against another enemy unit that is now adjacent.

Retreats: all retreats are carried out by moving the defending unit 2 hexagons away from the attacking unit; it must move to an empty hexagon that is not in the ZoC of another enemy unit or occupied by an enemy unit, and always moving as far away as possible from the attacking unit. The retreating unit may do so by passing over a friendly unit to reach an empty hexagon that meets the above condition.

Retreating across terrain features such as towns or hills is allowed without any penalty.

If the retreat is not possible, the unit obligated to retreat is eliminated immediately.

Example: Spanish infantry attacks French infantry and rolls a 5 on the die. The 5 added to the combat factor of 3 results in 8, exceeding the enemy defense by 2 points. The French unit is eliminated from the game.

Example: the Spanish militia that was also adjacent now advances into the empty hexagon and, since it ends up adjacent to the French cavalry, could activate to attack it.

Example: here the French defense is only exceeded by 1, so it must retreat 2 hexagons and end up disorganized. It decides to do so as shown, passing over the allied cavalry. It cannot retreat to the hexagons marked with an X because they are in enemy ZoC. The attacking Spanish infantry could now advance into the empty hexagon, but since it has already been activated for this combat, it could not attack the French cavalry.

Counters with Special Effects

LEADERS: leader counters have their own factors, but they also have an additional factor called the command factor. This value is 5 for all of them and is represented by a star visible near their portrait.

During combat: leaders grant a +1 point modifier to the attack rolls of all units of their formation that fight in melee within their command range, that is, that are 5 hexagons or less from their leader.

Reorganization of units: at the end of the turn each leader can reorganize 1 of their own formation's units within their command range, even if it is in an enemy ZoC. The disorganized counter is flipped to its organized side.

ARTILLERY: these counters have the important characteristic of being able to bombard at long range on every player turn and to fire reaction shots on the opposing player's turn, as indicated in the sequence of play. When firing, if the artillery has adjacent enemy units, it may only fire against one of those adjacent units. When firing at range, if they hit an enemy and disorganize it, the disorganized unit does not retreat as would happen if the combat were melee. It stays where it is.

When combat is conducted using only artillery firing at range against organized units other than enemy artillery, the amount by which the defense is exceeded is irrelevant: it always causes the target counter to become disorganized (it is not eliminated directly even if it exceeds its defense by 2 or more points). Note, however, that some artillery may fire twice against the same target, and a disorganized unit that becomes disorganized again is eliminated.

CAVALRY PURSUIT: after combat resolution, the active player may, with up to 2 cavalry units that are not in an enemy ZoC, move and pursue disorganized enemy units to fight them. They can also perform this pursuit movement to fight enemy artillery units even if not disorganized.

It does not matter whether the cavalry units you want to use to pursue have been activated for movement or combat in previous phases. You can choose any cavalry unit in this phase, as long as it is not in an enemy ZoC.

With this movement they must reach the pursued unit and attack it. When moving them, remember to apply any effect that affects movement (terrain, enemy ZoC...).

If the pursued unit is a disorganized artillery unit, and it is not horse artillery, the unit is eliminated directly without needing to roll the die.

Spanish Garrochistas and Lanceros: the 4 Spanish light cavalry units (Garrochistas and Lanceros) have a +1 on pursuit combat rolls.

Reinforcements

Arrival via enemy rear areas: starting from rounds 9 and 11, Spanish and French reinforcements may arrive, respectively. Arrival is not guaranteed, which means players will not know for certain when their reinforcements arrive.

• Starting round 9, the Spanish player rolls one die at the start of their turn, and if they get a 6, reinforcements arrive under the command of Castaños.
• Starting round 11, the French player rolls one die at the start of their turn, and if they get a 5-6, reinforcements arrive under the command of Vedel.

Each round after their possible entry round, the player adds an additional +1 per turn to their roll. This way it is possible for reinforcements to arrive for both sides, but without certainty as to exactly when they arrive.

Spanish reinforcements: Castaños and the units of his formation enter play via the Royal Road on the east side of the board, which connects to Andújar-Córdoba-Sevilla. Hexagon number 3001 counts as the first hexagon, and from there each unit enters spending its movement points. Resolve each unit's entry completely before moving to the next.

French reinforcements: Vedel and the units of his formation enter play via the Royal Road on the west side of the board, which connects to La Carolina-Despeñaperros-Madrid. Hexagon number 3035 counts as the first hexagon, and from there each unit enters spending its movement points. Resolve each unit's entry completely before moving to the next.

Reinforcements, as you can see, enter via the enemy's rear area.

All movement rules apply for introducing reinforcements into play.

Example: we are in round 12 and the Spanish player rolls a die. They roll a 3, but since they add +3 (because 3 rounds have passed from round 9 to round 12), they get a total of 6, and the Spanish reinforcements under Castaños's command finally arrive.

Example: after a successful roll, Vedel's French reinforcements enter, one at a time, through hexagon 3035, respecting all movement rules.

Optional Rules

Use whichever ones you like, or all of the optional rules detailed below. The choice should be agreed upon by both players at the start of the game. These rules add a bit more complexity to the game, and if you have no experience, it's better not to use them in your first game.

Combined Attacks

Two units at most can join together and attack together, in a combined fashion, to maximize the chances of inflicting damage on the rival. Both units are activated to fight.

• In a combined attack, a second unit can join an attack by another unit that is going to fight, but it only adds +1 to the final result, regardless of its combat factor. No more than two units can carry out a combined attack against a particular enemy unit, and the attack can be melee, ranged, or a combination of both.
• Units that can fire 2 shots are not considered a combined attack; rather, each shot is independent. Therefore, a combined attack always involves 2 attacking units.
• For 2 units to participate in a combined attack, both must be capable of attacking the enemy counter (in melee, they must be adjacent to that enemy; when firing, they must have range and LoS).

Example: the Spanish infantry and the artillery activate to fight together. Since the infantry is more powerful, the best way to optimize the attack is for the artillery to be the one supporting and giving a +1. The die is rolled and a 4 comes up, which added to the infantry's combat factor of 3, plus 1 for the artillery's combined attack, makes 8, eliminating the French troop. Afterward, since the artillery has another attack available and has been activated, it fires alone against the cavalry, now using its own combat factor of 2. Roll the die and get a 6, for a total of 8! But since it is artillery firing alone against non-artillery units, the cavalry only becomes disorganized and is not eliminated directly. Had it fired against the French artillery, it would have eliminated it with that 8.

Combined Attacks with Artillery Support

Artillery units that attack alone or in combination with another artillery unit, as an attack exclusively at range (whether combined or not), cannot eliminate enemy units other than artillery that were not already disorganized, and any elimination result is instead treated as a disorganization result (with its accompanying retreat if it was a melee combat).

If the attack is joint with an infantry or cavalry unit, then you apply the result normally.

In the case of artillery that has 2 attacks, they can decide to concentrate it on the same unit or fire at range at 2 different ones. If they concentrate fire on the same unit, you can roll the dice together and the first result that exceeds the defender's defense disorganizes it, while if a second result also exceeds it, then the unit is eliminated directly.

Cover

When a counter is on a hill or building hexagon, it adds 1 to its defense factor. This represents the additional cover that these terrain features provide. For example, the infantry shown would have a defense factor of 7 while on hexagons of that type.

Protection Against Cavalry

Infantry troops that are in an olive grove cannot be attacked by cavalry units, either in normal combat or in pursuit. This represents the difficulty of pursuing and riding on horseback through wooded terrain.

Example: French cavalry cannot attack the adjacent Spanish infantry because it is protected by the olive grove.

Roads

On the map you will see that in addition to the Royal Road there are some thinner brown lines representing minor roads. A unit that makes its entire movement following the path of a road adds +1 to its movement factor.

Example: this way, infantry would have 5 movement points via road instead of 4.

Swiss Troops in Battle

Both sides had Swiss mercenaries fighting in their ranks. These counters are easily identified by their Swiss name shown in their designation, as well as by the flag at the bottom of their counter. For all purposes they are like any other infantry troop, but if you use this rule, keep the following in mind.

They had a code among themselves that they respected: it consisted of not fighting one another. Therefore, it is not possible to attack other enemy Swiss units with your own Swiss units.

Swiss desertions on the French side: if a Spanish Swiss unit is placed at a maximum distance of 2 hexagons from a French Swiss unit, the Spanish player makes a roll to see if the French Swiss unit deserts and leaves the battle. This is not considered an attack and does not activate the unit; it is something you can do for free.

Procedure: at the start of the combat resolution phase, roll one die for each French Swiss unit that is within a maximum of 2 hexagons of a Spanish Swiss unit of your own. With a result of 5 or 6, the targeted French Swiss unit deserts and is removed from the map.

Only one roll per unit per round is possible (that is, even if a single French Swiss unit is within distance of 2 Spanish units, only one desertion roll is allowed for that unit).

Example: the two French Swiss units are at least 2 hexagons from a Spanish Swiss unit. Right at the start of the combat phase, a die is rolled for each French unit. Unit B rolls a 5, so it deserts. Unit A, with a 4, stays.

Stifling Heat

In the course of the battle, the high summer temperatures of Andalusia under the full sun took a toll on the units' exhaustion, especially during the midday hours. The Spanish had a continuous supply of water provided by the citizens of Bailén, and especially by the women who kept the troops continuously supplied with water to ease the heat.

María Bellido was emblematic for her prominent role, and so a counter of her represents the water carriers. The French did not have this advantage, and their troops suffered much greater fatigue due to the heat.

To represent this, during the hottest rounds of the day (R8 to R13 – covering the time span from 12:00 to 17:00, and identified by the sun icon), stifling heat will have effects on the movement and reorganization of disorganized units. During those hours:

• Units, regardless of the means by which they attempt to reorganize, need to roll a 4, 5, or 6 on a die roll. Each unit rolls separately.
• Units subtract 1 point from their movement factor.

Spanish water carriers (María Bellido): at the start of their movement phase in each of the hot rounds, the Spanish player rolls a die to try to place María Bellido's counter on the map, in an empty hexagon adjacent to a leader.

• 1-2: Coupigny
• 3-4: Venegas
• 5-6: Reding

If one of those leaders has been eliminated and is the one selected by the die roll, the water carrier counter is placed in their spot with Castaños, if he is in the game. Otherwise, place the counter in any building hexagon in Bailén, as long as the French have no counter in the town of Bailén (in which case the water carrier counter is not placed this turn).

María Bellido has a water-carrying range of 10 hexagons, so the Spanish player will ignore all the extreme heat restrictions for units supplied with water.

Example: María Bellido is next to Coupigny in hexagon 2329. Her benefit extends to a range of 10 hexagons. The militiamen, at 1227, are out of range, so they suffer the heat penalty. Obviously, María does not share water with the French.

The "NAC History Joker" Card

In the heat of battle, where every decision can tip the fate of a nation, the "NAC History Joker" represents that decisive instant in which fortune can be defied.

The Spanish player begins the game with this powerful card in hand. Using it allows you to rewrite the fate of a die roll, rolling it again... but all power has a price: after using it, the card will pass to the French player, who will be able to take advantage of that same opportunity.

Choose how you want history to remember this moment:

Strategic Option: Before the arrival of Castaños's reinforcements, the Spanish player can use the card to reroll one of their own rolls, altering the course of events at a critical moment.

But time does not stop. If the card has not been used before Castaños's entry, it will automatically change hands, falling into the French player's possession.

From that moment on, the French player may use it under the same conditions, always before round 12. If they receive it later, there is no room for doubt: they must play it immediately, in that very round.

Once both sides have resorted to this extraordinary resource, the card disappears, like so many lost opportunities in history.

Tempt Fate Option: Here, war becomes a constant game of risk and opportunity.

Every time a player uses the card, they hand it immediately to their rival, creating a continuous flow of tense and calculated decisions.

There are no time limits: the card can be used at any moment. However, each player may only resort to it once per round.

In this mode, the Joker never leaves the battlefield. Luck changes hands... but never disappears.

Design Notes

When the Publisher proposed that I somehow revive the old NAC titles, I quickly said yes. The idea was to preserve the old titles and their spirit in that they were simple games, with few rules, easy to learn and teach, and that could be up and running within minutes thanks to how easy they were to bring to the table and set up (22 minutes is not an arbitrary number; it is exactly the time we measured in numerous tests with inexperienced players who tried it). The idea was also that there would be no need to remember specific rules and that everything would flow easily, and that a game could be played in a little over 2 hours.

With all those ingredients in mind, I set to work rescuing this title, which evokes the feat that it meant for the Spanish to be the first to defeat Napoleonic troops in open field, since that is exactly what the Battle of Bailén was. In the history book that accompanies this one you will find many details and information to learn more about this milestone, which marked a before and after, especially in the morale of the until-then unbeaten French army.

As the designer, I have taken certain liberties that I would like to point out. While historical context has been a priority in the design, there are some elements that had to be adapted.

The map has been distorted a little to create a more open space in the center where combats concentrate, and thereby achieve a more satisfying game experience.

I decided to include the arrival of reinforcements in a way that creates uncertainty for the players, so they never know for sure when they will arrive, just as the actors of the battle truly felt.

Heat was a very relevant factor in the battle, and the fact that the people of Bailén, especially their women — represented by the most charismatic of them all, María Bellido — came to refresh their troops, was decisive during the intense hot hours of the Jaén summer, with temperatures above 40º (if the Russians had their "General Winter," we had our "Sun King." Pure historical poetry if we go back to the times of Louis XIV). Therefore, I added an optional rule where the role played by the water carriers would be represented, benefiting the Spanish troops.

The participation of Swiss mercenary units is also included, along with the desertions that occurred during the battle. Also the courage and daring of the garrochistas from Jerez and Utrera who set off "hunting the Frenchman," routing French infantry and increasing their casualties, though paying with heavy losses of their own for this feat.

Artillery, which was also a key historical actor, has its effect and is represented in the game as the only units that can fire at range. Especially effective were the 4 Spanish 12-pounder pieces.

Also, some rules have been added, courtesy of my friend José Garrido, very simple ones about the effects of terrain. While this was not a key element in this battle (since it took place mostly in open scrubland), this factor has been introduced to provide players with a richer gaming experience.

I hope you enjoy this new Bailén, where players will alternate quick turns of movement and attacks, making the battle a thrilling encounter that will delight both new and veteran players of historical simulation.

Carlos Díaz Narváez