Video not posted on blog [because I forgot!]… It was released some time ago.
3 thoughts on “Clash of Arms Quatre Bras /1”
Ok. The system in the seventies was designed and developed by several francophiles who liked then and still like to throw in terms in the French language.
Yes, this is a conceit. It wasn’t so much of a problem in the seventies but now I have La Bataille games published by more than one publisher (Marshal Enterprises came back and now publish one game a year. These are 400 copies per game and quickly sell out. The 2nd hand prices are stupendous).
This is similar to WW2 games using German terms. These seem to be slowly disappearing. For example, using the German terms Panzer and Panzergruppe. The old cadre for the remnant of a burnt out division in Europa was originally a divisionsgruppe for the Germans. This was eventually phased out.
The la bataille series uses odd terms all over the place and relies on massive amounts of prior knowledge.
If you don’t have a good knowledge of formations, how the various troop types interact and the weapons used, it’s a tough system.
There are several sets of rules in use to. The Marshal Enterprises games still use rules from the seventies virtually unchanged. Clash of arms give you rule book choices and their systems have evolved to some extent.
Simulaciones Tacitas published a few games in a very similar but not identical system in the nineties. These included Rivoli, Los Arapiles ( Salamanca) and Alexandria. Same scales.
Good games but be careful with the rules and switching between games of the same nominal system but different publisher can be a nightmare.
I thought learning La Bat would be more challenging. But I started with the Marie Louise rule set and found it relatively easy to pick up. I enjoy the use of French and period terms gives a historical feel to the games.
If the terms were consistent that would be great.AS for learning. Im clearly not as smart as you. So that is why everyones mileage varies.
Ok. The system in the seventies was designed and developed by several francophiles who liked then and still like to throw in terms in the French language.
Yes, this is a conceit. It wasn’t so much of a problem in the seventies but now I have La Bataille games published by more than one publisher (Marshal Enterprises came back and now publish one game a year. These are 400 copies per game and quickly sell out. The 2nd hand prices are stupendous).
This is similar to WW2 games using German terms. These seem to be slowly disappearing. For example, using the German terms Panzer and Panzergruppe. The old cadre for the remnant of a burnt out division in Europa was originally a divisionsgruppe for the Germans. This was eventually phased out.
The la bataille series uses odd terms all over the place and relies on massive amounts of prior knowledge.
If you don’t have a good knowledge of formations, how the various troop types interact and the weapons used, it’s a tough system.
There are several sets of rules in use to. The Marshal Enterprises games still use rules from the seventies virtually unchanged. Clash of arms give you rule book choices and their systems have evolved to some extent.
Simulaciones Tacitas published a few games in a very similar but not identical system in the nineties. These included Rivoli, Los Arapiles ( Salamanca) and Alexandria. Same scales.
Good games but be careful with the rules and switching between games of the same nominal system but different publisher can be a nightmare.
I thought learning La Bat would be more challenging. But I started with the Marie Louise rule set and found it relatively easy to pick up. I enjoy the use of French and period terms gives a historical feel to the games.
If the terms were consistent that would be great.AS for learning. Im clearly not as smart as you. So that is why everyones mileage varies.