First, let me thank everyone who caused I, Napoleon to advance up the p500 faster than any of my previous designs. Second, let me thank Richard J. Kane Sr. and Michael Ruttle for Clash of Arms’ game Legion of Honor, which inspired this design. Legion of Honor covers the career of an ordinary French soldier through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, which raised the question in my mind, What if that soldier was instead Napoleon Bonaparte? Though I, Napoleon turned out to be a very different animal, it would not have occurred to me without LoH.

I intend a series of articles on the game (which is still in development and components are liable to change, though I expect no major changes to the gameplay) to give players a feel for what the game is. And what it isn’t: I, Napoleon is a solo card game where the player takes on the role of Napoleon in 1793. While the game has a variety of victory conditions and important decisions to make, its primary goal is to produce interesting narratives. It is a game on a single, if singular life, not a simulation of the Revolutionary or Napoleonic Wars, which instead provide the context in which that life unfolds.

Let’s start by examining the components. I, Napoleon is a card game, not a card-driven game. The cards are used to directly affect the course of the game or to affect the play of other cards, not to move, fight, or rebuild units as in say, Paths of Glory. (Which, as an aside, I have heard good things about.) The cards aren’t the engine, they are the game. 

There are 220 Cards in I, Napoleon, divided into three decks (and one sub-deck). The first deck, the Commander Deck (or CMD) covers Napoleon’s career while he was still subject to the authority of higher authorities before he became First Consul of France. It consists of cards 1 to 63. The second deck is the First Consul Deck (or FCD) which consists of cards 64 to 110 on Bonaparte’s role as First Consul (and then First Consul for Life). The third deck is the Emperor Deck (or EMD) with cards 110 to 220 when First Consul Bonaparte turned himself into Emperor Napoleon I. It includes a subset of cards (210 to 220) used, when and if Emperor Napoleon is forced to abdicate his throne. In most lives that would be the end of the story, but Napoleon of course had a dramatic epilogue involving exile, a return to France, meeting his literal Waterloo, and a second harsher exile.

The back of the cards will be identical because as the game progresses cards from the different decks can be mixed together for drawing, but the front of the cards will have different Red, Blue, and White background colors to make them easy to distinguish when sorting. Each card is also numbered and has an individual title and illustration (though we’ve only begun work on the latter). In order to keep the cards readable, historical notes will be presented in the game’s Playbook, rather than on the cards themselves. 

Besides its title, illustration, and number, each card includes a section at the bottom left indicating when it is added to the game (usually, but not always when its Deck enters play) and one on the bottom right indicating if and under what circumstances the card is removed from the game. Cards can be removed When Played (WP) or when the next Deck enters play, or at certain dates, or as a result of the play of other cards. Many cards list a name  (for example Current Campaign or Austria or Napoleon’s Bed) which indicates what type of card it is and where the card is placed on the game board when drawn. Some cards note that the card is automatically placed and available when it enters play, rather than shuffled into the current cards available to be drawn. Some cards are never placed but simply played and discarded (to be reshuffled into play later). Some cards are removed from the game but others will recycle through the game indefinitely. 

Finally, each card includes an explanation of its effects. These can range from major military Campaigns, lesser military Expeditions, the introduction of new personalities into Napoleon’s life (politicians, generals, opponents, wives, mistresses), acquired military skills (Strategy and Tactics), political, diplomatic, social, scientific or cultural events (meeting Goethe, offending Beethoven). Cards will give or take away advantages, be played automatically, or be played as a choice. They can affect the play of other cards, introduce a new Deck (successful play of the card for the coup of Brumaire will introduce the First Consul Deck; the Imperial Plebiscite will introduce the Emperor Deck) or even end the game (that assassination attempt or conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon succeeds!). 

This may sound like the course of the game is entirely random, but remember certain cards start already in play, and others become available for use at a later time when drawn. Choosing which Strategy and Tactics and available Commanders to use (limited by the ability to pay for them, usually in your precious few Administrative points) or when to go on Sick Leave or get a Divorce are among the many choices the game presents. 

I describe I, Napoleon as a card game, but the game also includes a playing board and counters. The game board consists of a map of Revolutionary and Napoleonic Europe (a map redrawn many times between 1793 and 1815, so representative only). The map is frankly background historical color. What matters are the various Card Boxes overlaid on (or adjacent to) the map, where cards are kept and sorted. For example, the Polish Question Box holds cards from the Emperor Deck related to the fate of Poland (and a potential Imperial mistress) while the Austria Box holds Austrian generals and events. Most importantly the Current Campaign Box holds any major military campaign to be resolved at the end of the turn, as well as all the cards that can affect its outcome (Oh no-the enemy has an advantage in artillery and is defending behind a river!). 

As noted, the game also has counters, but the counters are used largely to track various types of points used and/or earned in the game (Administrative, Diplomatic, Political, and “Glory”) as well as keeping track of cards that need to be removed from play (so the player can simply remove them when drawn and doesn’t have to search through the deck for them). There is also a counter for Napoleon himself. While his specific location generally doesn’t matter, it can if he is abroad, advising the Turks in Constantinople, fighting in Syria, or in the depths of Russia when the rumor spreads the Emperor is Dead.

Besides the Rulebook and some Player Aids, the game will also contain a Playbook with historical card notes, a Napoleonic chronology in card terms, more design notes, and an example of play. Given the talents of GMT’s art department, I believe it will be an impressive package.

In my next article, I will cover the Sequence of Play and some of the basic mechanics of I, Napoleon. See you then!

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