Waterloo: Quelle Affaire!
Waterloo: Quelle Affaire! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
Units
The different armies are represented by Units. Each unit corresponds to a division that took part in the Battle of Waterloo.
The French player controls 26 units. The Allied player controls 21 British units (plus three 'garrison' units) and 14 Prussian units.
The front of a unit token carries the following information:
- Corps: a number or letter indicating which corps the unit belongs to. In the example, the unit belongs to the 1st Corps.
- Identifier: distinguishes each division within the same corps. In this case, the 2nd Division of Infantry.
- Type: this drawing represents the type of unit - Infantry, Cavalry, or Artillery.
- Combat Strength: indicates the number of dice the unit rolls in combat.
- Movement: indicates the unit's movement capacity (the number of hexes the unit can cross on open ground).
The back of a unit token represents the same unit at half strength, after it has suffered damage. The only notable differences from the front of the unit token are its combat strength, which is halved (rounded up), and the 'Damage' icon, which immediately identifies the back of the front.
Diagram labels: Corps; Identifier; Type; Combat Strength; Movement; Front of unit; Back of unit; Damage icon; Reduced Combat Strength.
Extremely small divisions have a 'Destroyed' icon (depicting a skull) on their back, because they are immediately destroyed if they suffer damage.
Garrisons
Garrison tokens are unique to the British army and have their own special rules, which will be explained a little later.
General Attack Token
Each player uses one of these two-sided tokens. The front depicts a 'preparation' image, and the back an image of an 'attack launched'. The British General Attack token is shown below.
Diagram labels: General Attack - Preparation (front); General Attack - Attack Launched (back).
Fire! Token
'Fire!' tokens are used to indicate when an artillery unit has made a bombardment attack during the current turn.
Limbered Tokens
'Limbered' tokens are used to mark artillery units when they are being towed by horses or other pack animals.
Army Commanders
Army Commanders are used in conjunction with Commander cards, as explained below. Both faces of the token show the name and portrait of the army commander it represents.
Corps Commanders
Corps Commander tokens are used in conjunction with Commander cards. They are also used in the variant 'The Night Before the Battle', explained later. On the front of the token is the name of the corps commander and the corps he commands at Waterloo; the back shows the symbol of the army to which he belongs.
Scouts
Scout tokens are 'decoy' units used in the variant 'The Night Before the Battle', explained a little later.
Turn Marker
The game also has a token for the turn track: the Turn Marker.
Cards
There are two separate decks of cards for each player - the Commander cards and the Stratagem cards.
Commander Cards are used once per turn, in order to activate units.
Stratagem Cards are used once per game. They represent events and other exceptional moments of bravery, cowardice, genius or incompetence that take place in the heart of a battle.
Diagram labels: Commander card; Stratagem card; Army Commander; Corps Commander.
Setting Up the Game
The players place their units as indicated on the position sheets supplied with the game. As you can see, the Prussian units are left off the board.
Note: the players may choose to play the mini-game 'The Night Before the Battle' in order to vary the initial setup (see page 15).
Then:
- The Allied player removes all Prussian cards (those with a green border) from his Commander and Stratagem cards, and sets them aside, near the Prussian units.
- Each player shuffles his Stratagem cards and places them face down near the board, to form his own 'Stratagem deck'.
- Each player draws the first card from his Stratagem deck and shuffles it in with his Commander cards. He then places them face down near the board, forming his own 'Commander deck'.
- Each player takes his 'General Attack' token and places it in front of him, near the board, on the 'preparation' side.
- Each player draws the first three cards from his Commander deck.
Both players start with a hand of three cards and a 'General Attack - Preparation' token.
You are now ready to play.
The Turn
The game is played in turns. During each turn, the players follow this sequence:
- Move the Turn Marker (and make a roll if indicated on the turn track).
- Prepare the turn.
- Determine Initiative.
- Player A's Round.
- Player B's Round.
- Alternate steps 4 and 5 until both players have finished their turn.
- Check the victory conditions and remove the 'Fire!' tokens from the board.
Let us examine each of these points in detail:
1) Move the Turn Marker
The Turn Marker is moved one space forward - each turn represents approximately one hour of real time. The turn track may or may not indicate special notes for the turn, and will specify whether a roll is needed.
If so, the roll may determine the arrival of Prussian reinforcements (as explained below), or determine whether night falls and ends the battle.
This last test is carried out at the start of turn 11, as indicated on the turn track. The Allied player rolls one die - on a 4+, turn 11 is played and the game ends; on a 3 or less, the game ends immediately, and the victory conditions are checked one last time (as explained below).
2) Prepare the Turn
The initial hand of cards for each turn is made up as indicated in the setup sequence:
- Each player draws the first card from his Stratagem deck, adds it to his Commander cards, and shuffles them to prepare his Commander deck for each turn.
- Each player draws the first three cards from his Commander deck to form his initial hand of three cards.
- Each player turns his General Attack token to the 'preparation' side.
3) Determine Initiative
Each player rolls a die. The player who obtains the highest result wins the initiative for the turn - he may decide which of the two players will be Player A (and start) and Player B for the turn.
4) Player A's Round
When it is his turn, Player A must take one of the following actions:
- play a card from his hand
- play the General Attack token
- refill his hand of cards up to three, by drawing from his Commander deck
- end his turn
5) Player B's Round
When it is his round, Player B must take one of the following actions:
- play a card from his hand
- play the General Attack token
- refill his hand of cards up to three, by drawing from his Commander deck
- end his turn
6) Continue the Turn
Alternate steps 4 and 5 until both players have ended their turn.
You may end your turn at any moment during your round - this allows you to end your turn earlier and keep some cards in your hand.
You may also use all your cards and your General Attack token, in which case your turn ends automatically.
Note that, until the Prussians arrive, the Allied player will always end his turn first, because he will have used all his cards before the French player does.
This gives the French player time before the end of his turn to play several rounds in a row, and thus play several of his cards in an uninterrupted sequence. This is a big advantage, and he will have to use it to the best of his ability if he wants to beat the Allies before the Prussians arrive.
7) Determine the Winner
Check the victory conditions and remove the 'Fire!' tokens.
The players check the victory conditions of the game (as explained in the dedicated section).
Assuming the game has not ended, the players remove the 'Fire!' tokens from artillery units that have them - the smoke has dispersed, the guns have been repositioned, and they are ready to fire again.
Playing a Card
When a player plays a card from his hand (a Commander card or a Stratagem card), he shows it to his opponent and carries out the action indicated on the card. Some cards give you a choice between two actions; in that case you must tell your opponent which option you are going to carry out.
Normally, Commander cards allow you to place the corresponding Commander token on any hex of the board. Then, activate the units on the chosen hex as well as on the six adjacent hexes, and finally move them. Most of the time, you will only be able to activate units belonging to the same Corps as the Commander token you placed. Make sure to keep your Corps as compact as possible when you move your army.
The important difference between the two types of cards in your hand is that Commander cards are recycled at the end of each turn, and will be available again on the next turn, whereas Stratagem cards are used only once per game and are permanently discarded once played.
Example of a Rapid Manoeuvre Stratagem card (diagram).
Rapid Manoeuvre
Certain Stratagem cards carry the notation 'rapid manoeuvre' and may be played for free before the player plays a usual Stratagem or Commander card from his hand. In fact, they may even be played before a player plays his General Attack token instead of a card from his hand.
These cards may be played in any order, allowing players to devise a 'combination' before playing a card or its Attack.
Useless Commanders
Box: Useless Commanders. Sometimes a commander becomes useless, because he no longer has any units under his command. For example, Hill only has two units in his corps, so he can quickly find himself without any men to command. When you realise that a card in your hand is useless (because you can no longer find any unit to command it), simply discard it until the end of the game, and immediately draw another from your Commander deck. This is a free action, and your turn continues normally.
End Your Turn
If you wish, you may declare that you end your turn. This means that you will not play any other card this turn, and will simply wait for your opponent to end his turn too. Be careful: once you have ended your turn, you cannot go back on your choice.
Ending your turn early can be very useful to keep your Stratagem cards for another turn. All unused Stratagem cards are shuffled into the Commander deck for the next turn.
Activating and Moving Units
When a unit is activated, it may move.
If you activate several units, it can be handy to turn them 90 degrees, so that the symbol in the upper left corner faces you. You may move each unit during the turn, then turn them back to their starting position after moving them, without having to remember which activated units have already moved.
Usually, each hex a unit moves into costs 1 movement point; so, for example, a unit with a movement of 4 can move 4 hexes.
Terrain
Two types of terrain affect movement:
- Woods hexes cost 2 movement points to enter. For example, a unit with a movement of 3 may enter a woods hex and another normal hex during its movement.
- Road hexes cost ½ a movement point if a unit enters from another road hex, moving along the road that leads from one hex to another. For example, a unit with a movement of 3 may move 6 hexes if all of its movement is made on a road.
Friendly Units
Units may move freely through friendly units; however, the moving unit must end its movement on a free hex, as units cannot be stacked.
You are nevertheless allowed to end your movement on top of a friendly unit if that unit has been activated and immediately moves out of its hex, starting its movement as soon as the first unit arrives there. This allows two units to swap places, for example.
Enemy Units
Units may not pass through an enemy unit.
In addition, enemy units project a 'zone of control' (ZOC) onto the six hexes adjacent to them.
If a unit moves into a hex adjacent to an enemy unit, both units are considered to be 'engaged'. This simply means that they are in a position from which they can attack each other.
Units may move into and out of an enemy zone of control without penalty. However, if they move from a hex that is in an enemy zone of control to another hex that is also in an enemy zone of control, the opponent must roll a die against the moving unit.
Diagram caption: The British cavalry unit moves into, through and out of an enemy ZOC. The enemy makes a roll against it only for the one hex it moves from one ZOC to another ZOC.
Diagram caption: The enemy makes no roll against the moving unit, because the ZOC hex it passes through is occupied by another friendly unit.
On a 1-5, the unit completes its move without incident and may continue its movement - and must make another test if it moves into another enemy zone of control. On a 6 the unit is damaged (i.e. flip the token, see Combat) and, if it survives, must stop its movement. This represents an enemy unit managing to cut across the unit's line of fire, inflicting some damage on it.
However, if an enemy zone of control is occupied by another friendly unit, this cancels the enemy zone of control, allowing friendly units to move freely through that hex without carrying out the test above. This is because the cover of friendly units allows their comrades to move behind their screen of protection.
Combat
General Attack
When a player plays his General Attack token, he may attack with all of his units that are engaged with an enemy.
A unit may only attack once during a General Attack, and may only attack a single enemy unit. Units are not obliged to attack.
After playing his General Attack, the player must first indicate which enemy unit each of his engaged units is about to attack, if any. It is clearest to do this by moving the attacking units slightly towards the edge of the hex occupied by the enemy unit they want to attack.
Once this is done, the player names each of the enemy units in turn and resolves the combat against it, as described below. After applying the combat results, the player chooses the next combat and resolves it, and so on, until all combats have been resolved.
Localised Attacks and Other Minor Attacks
When a player plays a Localised Attack card, the player may attack an enemy unit with one or all of his units engaged with that enemy unit.
Other minor attacks, which may arise from Event cards, work in a similar way - they allow you to attack a single enemy unit, or a small number of enemy units, as indicated on the cards.
Resolving Combat
When an enemy unit is attacked by one or more of your units, you roll one die for each point of Combat Strength of each attacking unit. For example, if three of your units attack an enemy unit, and your units have Combat Strengths of 3, 4 and 5 respectively, you will roll 12 dice (3+4+5).
The enemy also rolls one die for each point of Combat Strength of its attacked unit.
Each die needs to show a 5 or 6 to 'hit'. Both players discard all dice that show a result of 4 or less.
The players then compare the total number of hits obtained. If the number of hits is equal, the combat is a draw and nothing happens. If one side has scored more hits, that side wins the combat. Each unit of the losing side suffers the result determined by the difference in scores, as shown in the table below. The result is the same for all losing units (except when a special rule applies), and is applied to all losing units, each in turn, in the order chosen by the loser.
Combat Results Table
| Difference | Effect on the Loser |
|---|---|
| 0 | Draw - no effect |
| 1 hit | Damage or Retreat |
| 2 hits | Damage and Retreat |
| 3+ hits | Destroyed |
Damage or Retreat
The losing unit may choose to suffer no damage and carry out a Retreat instead (see the next page).
Alternatively, it may choose to hold its position and suffer damage instead - the unit's token is flipped to its back (with the 'Damage' icon visible). If the unit had already suffered damage, it is destroyed and removed from the board.
Damage and Retreat
The losing unit suffers damage and, if it survives, must carry out a Retreat (see the next page).
Destroyed
The losing unit is destroyed and removed from the board.
Retreat
The losing unit must move to an adjacent free hex, containing no enemy unit, no engaged friendly unit and no enemy zone of control.
If there are no such hexes, the unit is trapped - it cannot retreat and instead suffers one additional point of damage.
If there are hexes free of enemies and their zones of control, but containing a non-engaged friendly unit, the retreating unit may choose to hold its position and take damage (as for a trapped unit), or it may force its way through a non-engaged friendly unit.
If it chooses to do so, it is first moved onto a friendly unit, with the risk of damage to both units - the opponent rolls one die for each unit, and on a 6 the unit suffers damage. The retreating unit must then continue its retreat, making another retreat movement as described earlier, without being able to return to any of the hexes from which it has just moved during its retreat.
This may cause a retreating unit to move across several hexes until it finds a free hex, and potentially damage a few friendly units during its retreat - this represents panic and disorder spreading through the whole army, in the face of the flight of friendly troops. In the extremely unlikely event that the unit ends its retreat on a friendly unit, and cannot retreat any further, the retreating unit is then immediately destroyed.
Make sure you can retreat safely through friendly units, or choose instead to hold your position and take damage.
Defensive Terrain
The board features three types of terrain that are 'defensive terrain' - a fortified area (Hougoumont), built-up areas, and woods.
If an infantry or artillery unit is attacked while occupying a defensive terrain hex, the attacker will need to roll a 6 to cause a hit, instead of a 5 or 6.
Diagram labels: Fortified Area; Built-up Area; Woods.
Combined Attacks
In the Napoleonic Wars, it was vital that all arms worked together. If an enemy unit is attacked by at least one infantry unit, one cavalry unit and one artillery unit (including offensive barrages, see below), the attacker needs to roll a 4, 5 or 6 to hit, instead of a 5 or 6.
If the modifiers for 'combined attacks' and 'defensive terrain' both apply, they cancel each other out and the hit is scored on the usual 5 or 6.
Breakthrough After an Attack
If an enemy unit retreats or is destroyed, any infantry or cavalry unit of the victorious side may move freely into the hex that has just been vacated by the enemy, without regard to any enemy zones of control.
Artillery
Bombardment
Engaged artillery units fight like any other unit - this represents them firing volleys of cannonballs at short range.
Non-engaged artillery units, however, have a special long-range attack called bombardment, which they may only carry out once per turn.
Bombardment attacks have a range of 3 hexes and may be fired over all units and terrain, with the exception of woods, built-up areas and fortifications. If a line drawn from the centre of the hex of the bombarding artillery to the centre of the hex of the targeted unit crosses, or merely touches one of the edges of a hex of the types mentioned above, the target is hidden and cannot be bombarded. See the diagrams opposite.
Diagram caption: In example A, the target is viable. In cases B and C, the target is hidden by terrain and is therefore not viable.
Diagram caption: The artillery unit may fire on hex A with a Combat Strength of 3, on hex B with a Strength of 2, or on hex C with a Strength of 1.
Artillery units lose 1 point of Combat Strength when they bombard targets two hexes away, and 2 points of Combat Strength on targets three hexes away, down to a minimum of 1 point of Combat Strength. The defensive terrain and combined attack modifiers apply normally to all bombardments. See the diagram below.
There are three types of bombardment.
Offensive Barrage
An artillery unit may carry out a bombardment in support of an attack - if an enemy unit is attacked by other friendly units and it is within range of the bombardment, any friendly artillery unit in range may support the attack. This not only increases the number of dice rolled by the attacker thanks to the Combat Strength of the firing artillery units (reduced by range as explained above), but also contributes to the calculation of the 'combined attacks' modifiers.
If their side has lost the combat, the units carrying out the bombardment do not suffer the results of the combat. Before rolling any dice for the attacks, announce which artillery units are carrying out an offensive barrage when you indicate the attacking and attacked units during a General Attack or Localised Attack.
Defensive Barrage
Artillery may carry out a defensive bombardment on a friendly unit which is attacked - if the friendly unit is attacked by enemy units and its friendly units are within range of the bombardment, any artillery unit in range may support the defence. This may increase the number of dice rolled by the defender thanks to the Combat Strength of the artillery units, and reduced by range as explained above. If their own side loses the combat, the units carrying out the bombardment do not suffer the results of the combat. Indicate which artillery units are carrying out a defensive barrage after the opponent has indicated the attacking and attacked units (as for any offensive barrage) during a General Attack or Localised Attack, before rolling any dice for the attacks.
Tactical Bombardment
Artillery may bombard during a General Attack. Declare which artillery units you will use to carry out a tactical bombardment in the same way that you declare all of your attacks, before rolling any dice for your attacks. It is possible to combine the bombardment of several artillery units against a single target.
Units that are bombarded in this way may not roll any dice for their defence, and this is what makes the tactical bombardment so powerful.
Wellington's Reverse-Slope Tactic
Box: La Crête – The Tactic of Wellington's Reverse Slope. If all the units carrying out a tactical bombardment against a target trace their line of fire across the ridge indicated on the board by a dotted line, the target (including cavalry!) counts as being on defensive terrain.
A Tactical Bombardment may also be used against a single non-engaged unit when a Localised Attack card is played. In that case, any non-engaged artillery unit may fire on a non-engaged enemy unit chosen as the target of the Localised Attack ('bombardment only'). Declare which artillery units carry out the tactical bombardment before rolling the dice for the attacks.
Fire! Tokens
When an artillery unit carries out a bombardment (of any type), it receives a 'Fire!' token. This simply means that it may not carry out any other long-range bombardment for the rest of the turn. If it is engaged, it may still fight normally, even though it has received a 'Fire!' token.
At the end of the turn, all 'Fire!' tokens are removed.
Limbered Artillery
Artillery units are not normally limbered, and have a movement value of 1.
Nevertheless, when they are activated, the player may choose to Limber them - by marking them with the appropriate token.
Limbered artillery has a Movement value of 2, and a Combat Strength of 0. In addition, it does not benefit from defensive terrain and cannot carry out a bombardment.
Limbered artillery units remain limbered until their next activation, when the player may choose to move them again limbered (the token is kept) or unlimbered (the token is removed).
Prussian Reinforcements
From Turn 5, the Allied player must carry out a test to see whether the Prussians arrive. Each Prussian Corps is tested separately, as indicated in the table below. For example, on turn 4 the 4th Prussian Corps arrives on a result of 5 or 6. If it does not arrive, the player will roll again on turn 5, and this time he needs only a 3 or more. If the Corps still does not arrive, it will arrive automatically at the start of turn 6.
Editor's note: the example above refers to turn 4, while the Arrival Table below begins its test on Turn 5. The printed text is transcribed as it stands. The English Errata & FAQs (question 1), appended at the end of this file, states that the game board's turn track is correct and the rulebook is wrong on this point.
Arrival Table
| Turn | Corps (arrive on) |
|---|---|
| 5 | 4th (5+) |
| 6 | 4th (3+) |
| 7 | 4th (automatically), 1st (6+), 2nd (5+) |
| 8 | 1st (4+), 2nd (3+) |
| 9 | All remaining Corps arrive automatically |
When the 4th Corps arrives, add the Blücher and Bülow Commander cards to the Allied Commander deck for that turn. Also add the Prussian Stratagem cards to the Allied Stratagem deck and shuffle the deck.
When the 1st and 2nd Corps arrive, simply add the affiliated commanders to the Allied Commander deck.
When the Allied player plays the Bülow or Blücher card, choose four units of the 4th Corps and roll a die to determine from which of the three points of the Eastern edge the 4th Corps arrives. Depending on the roll of the dice, place the stack of four unit tokens just off the board, then move the 'activated' units onto the board as usual from one of the three adjacent hexes of the chosen entry point. The other four units of the 4th Corps will enter through the same entry point when the next Blücher or Bülow card is played.
The same procedure is followed when the 1st and 2nd Corps arrive, except that only their own Corps Commander card may activate their units while they are off the board, and not the Blücher card (the latter is considered to be with the 4th Corps while they are off the board).
If a Prussian unit cannot enter the board because other units block the way, the player may enter them from the nearest hex to the north or south of their entry point, allowing them to enter the board.
Historical Precision
If the players want to make their game closer to what historically happened during the battle, they may agree on the time and place of arrival of the Prussian Corps instead of leaving it to chance.
Instead:
- the 4th Corps arrives automatically on turn 5 at entry point 3-4.
- the 2nd Corps arrives automatically on turn 7 at entry point 1-2.
- the 1st Corps arrives automatically on turn 8 at entry point 5-6.
This will make the game more precise, but considerably more predictable and, in our opinion, less enjoyable - after all, the fact that nobody was certain of the arrival of these troops is one of the features of this historic battle.
To push the historical feeling a little further, the players may agree that the French player begins the game with the Stratagem card Artillery Barrage as one of his three cards in hand, while the British player begins with the Stratagem card Hold the Line! in his hand. No other Stratagem card is added to the Commander deck on the first turn.
Winning the Game
At the end of each turn, each player adds up the points of Combat Strength of the enemy units destroyed so far - it is useful to keep destroyed enemy units as trophies to form a tally.
To win, the French must destroy 30 points of British Combat Strength at the end of any turn before the Prussian reinforcements arrive.
After the Prussians arrive, the French will need to destroy 50 points of enemy Combat Strength to win.
To win, the Allies must destroy 45 points of French Combat Strength at the end of any turn.
If both sides achieve these victory objectives at the end of the same turn, the Allies win.
If the game ends (nightfall) and no player has achieved his objective, victory is determined by control of the Brussels road (the 'Brussels road' on the map). If there is at least one French unit on it and no Allied unit, the French win. Otherwise, the Allies win.
Special Rules
Garrison
Garrison tokens are unique to the British army. They are infantry units with a Movement of 0 (they cannot move) and a Combat Strength of 1. If they suffer a Retreat result, they are Destroyed and their Combat Strength value is counted towards the French player's tally for winning the game.
If a friendly unit moves into one of their hexes, it is considered to be included in that unit, or to have returned to its original division. In all cases the Garrison tokens are removed - in this case, however, they do not count as a trophy for the French player and their Combat Strength is not added to his tally.
'The Guard Falls Back!'
The first time in the game that a French unit belonging to the Guard Corps suffers a Retreat result, or worse, resolve their combat completely, including all retreats, then immediately make a die roll for each French unit on the board (except for the Old Guard unit). Any unit rolling a 1 is immediately damaged, several of its soldiers having turned on their heels and fled, following the panic that has spread through the ranks of the army.
Elite
Unit tokens with this special rule bear the symbol shown opposite. When a unit with this rule loses a combat, it suffers one hit fewer when determining the results of the combat. This can effectively change a defeat into a draw.
Fortification
The area named 'Hougoumont (F)' is fortified. It counts as defensive terrain, as indicated in the rules. In addition, infantry and artillery units occupying fortified hexes suffer one hit fewer when determining the results of a combat. This rule stacks with similar rules (such as the Elite rule), and can effectively change a defeat into a draw.
Fragile
Unit tokens with this special rule bear the symbol shown opposite. When a unit with this rule loses a combat, it suffers one additional hit when determining the results of the combat.
Diagram labels: Elite symbol; Fortification; Fragile symbol.
Designer's Note: Unit and Division Strength
The units in the game generally represent a single division. The Combat Strength of a division was determined by a formula taking into account the number of men in the division and the number of divisional artillery pieces attached to it.
The value was adjusted by various factors, such as their level of training (veterans versus raw recruits) and their equipment (cuirasses, etc.).
Some divisions that were separated during their deployment have been divided into two or more units, while some very small divisions have been combined into a single unit.
Annex: The Night Before the Battle
The game presented in the previous pages begins in the late morning of 16 June 1815, with the armies deployed according to the historical reports. However, to add a little variety, the players may choose to change the initial setup by playing the mini-game presented below before starting the game. The action takes place during the night of 15 June, while the French and British armies advance slowly through thick mud and heavy rain, jostling for position in preparation for the battle of the following day.
1) Preparation
The French player takes the Corps Commander tokens and the Scout tokens, and places them face down near the south edge of the board. He may look at the face of his tokens at any moment.
The Allied player takes the British Corps Commander and Scout tokens, and proceeds in the same way, but on the North edge of the board.
2) Turns
This mini-game is played in Turns. At each Turn, the players carry out the following actions:
- Determine initiative.
- The player with the initiative moves one of his tokens, face down, onto the board, from his edge of the board.
- The other player then moves one of his tokens onto the board, and the players move their tokens alternately until one of the players has no tokens left for this turn.
- The other player finishes moving his remaining tokens, and the turn ends. A new turn begins, starting again from point 1.
Movement of Tokens
All tokens have a Movement value of 2. They follow the normal movement rules. Remember in particular that they cannot be stacked on other tokens.
Entering the board from St Jean and Rossomme costs ½ a movement point, and this applies all along the Brussels road.
After the first turn, the players may wish to turn their tokens 90 degrees when they move them, to help them remember which units have already moved during this turn. At the end of the turn, return the tokens to their initial position.
Spotting (French: Repérage)
When a token is moved to within 5 hexes of an enemy token, it immediately stops moving. The moved token and the enemy token (or tokens), now within 5 hexes of each other, are revealed by turning them face up.
If it is a Scout token, that token is removed. If it is a Corps Commander token, it stays where it is, face up, and can no longer move. The troops have made contact with the enemy, a few shots have been exchanged during the night (the damp powder allowed it), and the division is now positioned, pitching camp and taking a little rest before the battle of the following day.
Once one player has his last token revealed, the mini-game is nearly over. The opponent immediately turns back to their initial position all the tokens that moved during that turn. He may then make one final move with all of his unrevealed tokens (following the same rules as before), then reveal them.
3) Placing the Units
At this point, the board shows where all the Corps Commanders have ended their nocturnal wandering. The players must now place the units around their commanders, ready for the battle to come.
The players determine initiative. Then, the player with the initiative takes one of his Corps and places the units of that Corps on the board, following the following placement rules:
- The first unit must be placed on the hex of the Corps Commander.
- The following units must be placed in the six hexes adjacent to the Corps Commander's hex, starting by filling the hexes closest to the edge of the player's board (North for the British and South for the French). Then the hexes to the East and West of the centre, then the two hexes towards the enemy.
- If the Corps is not fully deployed (because it contains more than seven units, or because some hexes are already occupied by other units), then you may continue deployment on the next 'ring' of twelve hexes. Again, starting with the hexes as close as possible to your edge of the board, then gradually moving closer to the enemy.
Once this is done, the opponent takes one of his Corps and does the same. Then the players alternate until all Corps have been placed.
Once all the units are in place, remove the Corps Commander tokens - you are ready to prepare your deck for Turn 1 and begin a normal game.
Tactical Notes
You will see that after playing the mini-game 'The Night Before the Battle', the very different deployment will give you a very different game. This is particularly true for the British, who will begin the battle in a much more orderly deployment than the real Corps were historically.
An important thing to keep in mind when you move your tokens in the dark is that the Brussels road is the key to quickly taking a dominant position in the centre of the board.
Also try to keep your Corps Commanders at least two or three hexes apart from each other, or their units will mix together during setup, and their zone of control and command will be much less effective at the start of the battle.
The major principle is that you must first place the units as close as possible to the first hex, and then, as far as possible from the enemy.
Errata & FAQs
The following is the official English "Errata & FAQs" sheet published by River Horse (file "Waterloo_Errata_FAQs_v1", one page), appended here in place of the French Errata & FAQs printed on the last page of the French rulebook. The two sheets cover the same questions, except that the English sheet also contains question 1 (Prussian arrival timing).
Q1. We are up to Turn 4 when according to the rulebook the Prussians may arrive, but looking at the turn track on the game board it indicates that the Prussians are not rolled for until Turn 5. Which is correct, the rulebook or the game board?
A1. The board is right, the rulebook is wrong. Please amend the rulebook with a fine-tipped black marker. We will publish a downloadable pdf of the amended rulebook.
Q2. Bulow's token shows him with a 3, while the Prussians have the 1st, 2nd, and the 4th Corps. Is it a typo? Should it be a 4, as he is shown commanding the 4th Corps in the Order of Battle?
A2. It is indeed a typo, Bulow's counter should have a 4, not a 3. He commands the 4th Corps as shown in the order of battle. Please amend the token with a fine-tipped black marker.
Q3. Does the General Attack template only get played once per turn?
A3. Yes, it does. To remember this, flip the template around.
Q4. Shared ZOC. What happens when there are units (French/allies) that are one hex apart, that have a shared ZOC and a friendly unit wants to move throughout?
A4. When a unit moves from one enemy ZOC to another enemy ZOC, it needs to test, regardless of the fact that there are friendly ZOCs in the same hex. On the other hand, if there are friendly units in the enemy ZOC moved into, then no test is needed. See page 8 of the rulebook.
Q5. We had a scenario where a number of French units were attacking brave British troops and the French lost the attack. The French had attacked from the open and a defensive position. The troops in the open would be hit on a 5 or 6. But in the defensive position, hit on a 6. It didn't seem right to apply the hits across all the attacking units. What do you think?
A5. The defensible terrain bonus only applies to the attacker, so the defender always rolls on 5+. In other words, imagine that the French unit had to come out of their defensive positions in order to attack, so no defence bonus!