Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars

€55,00

Out of stock

SKU: BOTNW-BASE Category: Boardgames Brand: Ingenioso Hidalgo

Experience Napoleonic warfare like never before.

Designed with clarity and depth in mind, Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars features an elegant format, visually intuitive battle formations, a clean and responsive command structure that encourages meaningful decisions, and a fast yet tactically rich custom dice combat system. And most of all, it’s genuinely enjoyable to play.

Unfold your battlefield and prepare for action.

Game design
Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini
Artwork
Jacques Onfroy de Bréville, Richard Knötel
Number of players
1-2
Playing time
60-120 min
Language
English

Box contents

a 16-pages rulebook
176 Unit counters
4 Battlefield maps (Hagelberg, Rivoli, La Coruna, Austerlitz)
4 Battle folders
2 Player Aids
5 special dice
1 six sided die
32 wooden tokens and markers
1 Aide-de-camp sheet for playing the game in ‘solo’ mode

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An elegant design that’s intuitive to play, and captures all the important factors in a Napoleonic battle. On top of that it looks great on the table. This is where my design thinking is these days. Games you play instead of just admiring because you cannot finish them.

Mark Herman

This hex-and-counter wargame is deadly smart in so many respects, not least of which is the way it presents its battles with such clarity. This one stands on the borderline between light and heavy, filling every nook with evocative details and clever ideas that transform one of wargaming’s densest subgenres into something fresh and exciting.

Dan Thurot Space-Biff!

Battlefields is an excellent system that accounts for unit type, quality, formation, and terrain while presenting a compelling command system. The battle folios offer special rules to tailor the system for each particular battle in a way that minimizes rule overhead while giving each a distinct flavor.

Dan Bullock

Fantastic game. Visually attractive, playable and tactile. It is very satisfying to physically re-arrange your units in line, column and square without having to fiddle with status markers et. Joyful game and a system that is up there the Columbia block games in terms of how elegant it is…the rules get out of the way quickly and then it’s just a good time!

Michele Carbone

“Excellent game that hits just the right spot between more abstract weuros or simpler wargames (like Command & Colors) and more traditional low-complexity wargames. Some features are somewhat abstracted, of course, and the orders mechanics is more a design-for-effect item than a historical representation of Napoleonic-era command and control, but nevertheless the overall effect is surprisingly good and effective, with the action revolving around one hot-spot or another (in fact in line with Zucker’s analysis of Napoleonic battles).”

Marc Figueras

“Lovely streamlined system with an order system that gives you just enough info to exploit, drawing in some slight euro feeling and a custom die system that ends up carrying a big chunk of the game. With conditional die results that veer very close to mimicing what a lot of people would expect from a Classic CRT. This just keep the game moving, benefit the playability and time of play. […] It’s solid competition for Commands and Colors. I would also say it is a great entry to hex and counter, without any negative connotations”.

Arno Van De Velde

This is a fun game that provides great re-playability. […] There are many meaningful decisions to be made, and the simple rules keep the focus on those decisions. The Order system is as unique and challenging as advertised. We are both looking forward to new battles (Napoleonic and even other wars). Having a separate historical map for each battle and more control over which units you will command makes this a better game for us than C&C.

Mark Kwasny

An interesting take on the Napoleonic genre, as seen through the lens of a typical hybrid light wargame design. Some abstractions here and there (especially regarding orders and activations), yet all in service of a plausible representation of the main battlefield dynamics: different troops, formations, tactical reactions… Bonus points for the format: a scenario folder with setup infos and all the specific rules, containing the map. 60-90 mins for the smaller scenarios, estimated 120-150 mins for the bigger ones. Looking forward to new modules in the series!

Riccardo Masini

A very nice gaming experience. I like that the four battles range in size and scope. I also like that the game is quite easy to solo. To me this falls somewhere between a Hold the Line type of experience and a C&C, in terms of complexity and vibe. The game brings its own distinctive stamp and dynamics. I look forward to the release of further battles. They will be an automatic buy if the designer continues the system.

Douglas Gearhart

I love the look of the whole thing. I also really appreciate the “physicality” of the whole production – even if it’s not strictly “deluxe” everthing still feels very intentional. I especially like the pseudo-folders that hold each game map and include setup instructions and special rules.

Daniel Joly-Demars

Played for the first time at BolognaPLAY 2025 (battle of Rivoli with a friend totally new to wargames). We had a lot of fun, which is a priority for us when it comes to board games. Among the features we liked the most: four different battles in one box, immediate combat outcomes (icons on dice), cliffhangers and open-ended scenarios (playful aspect > simulation), solo mode available (play both sides, but with a couple of twists). Honorable mention to the Hazard Die, which is pretty thematic, as Boney once said….“I’d rather have lucky generals than good ones.”

Alberto Brescancin

Sits in the same scope/weight space as Commands and Colors, but exceeds it in flavor and playability. So many mechanics are well presented just by the arrangement of pieces, it becomes intuitive quickly. It may not be a perfect simulation, but it’s top class in the one-hour wargame range.

Scott Muldoon

Playable and fun, offering surprisingly satisfying decisions. The order system is clever, challenging, an invitation to take creative risks.

Most impressively, what unfolds has the look and feel of a Napoleonic battle. It seems, from my initial half dozen plays, to have the right alchemy.

Matt (@chaochou)

Jesus Christ! What a game! I’m completely overwhelmed!

This game is 100% my cup of tea! Who would have thought that the Napoleonic Wars could be packed so damn well into such a small game! Unbelievable! The maps, which look like they were painted by hand, are simply amazing! I love the look, which is also completely functional! The unit counters are simple but work great. The game is simply a prime example of innovative and professional game design. A masterpiece!

Dennis (@glanzmuecke)

Description

Enjoy the elegance of the format. Choose a Battlefield Folder, open the map, and deploy your pieces in minutes. The inner side of the folder will double as game board for commanding your formations and tracking battle outcomes, as well as providing all the specific scenario rules.

Read about The Battlefield Format

Test your tactical skills with a dramatic command system based on the timing of orders for your units. Decide when commanding your infantry lines and artilleries, or when it’s time to give orders to one of your officers, or reorganize your unit ranks.

Read about Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars: the command system

Get to know the nuances of a truly unique combat system, with three different types of special dice: for fire, assault, and for the most dramatic actions. No modifiers to remember: set up the most advantageous situation, roll the dice, and resolve the combat in an instant.

Change formation to your infantries according to your plans. Use columns to quickly occupy key positions, lines to fire upon enemy units, and squares to defend against cavalry charges. Enjoy maneuvering your units across the battlefield.

Read about Units and Formations

Explore all the battlefields! Once you’ve played and replayed the battles in this box, collect all the upcoming Battlefields folders. Experience small skirmishes and large decisive battles, each with its own special rules for a unique experience every time.

Check what’s inside Battlefields Pack 1: Aspern-Essling, Quatre Bras, Saalfeld

The first run of the game is limited to just 500 copies, printed in Italy and hand-assembled by the designers. Each copy is numbered.

Downloads and online resources

Game page on Boardgamegeek
English language Rulebook
Italian language Rulebook
English language Player Aid
Italian language Player Aid
FAQ & Errata
Tabletop Simulator Workshop (Thanks to Arno Van de Velde!)

The designers

Paolo Mori (Parma, 1977), is an eclectic board game designer with a passion for historically themed games and two-player games. He is also the founder and only person behind the Ingenioso Hidalgo label.

Alessandro Zucchini (Modena, 1964) is a long-time board game designer, a passionate wargame player and connoisseur of the Napoleonic era. Together with Paolo, he also designed Toy Battle (Repos 2025).

Explore all the battlefields

All 4 /base 4 /Battlefields 4 /Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars 0 /Chronicles 0 /Events 0 /expansion 0 /Games 0 /Senza categoria 0 /Un altro passo nella neve 0

Battle of Hagelberg

Battle of Austerlitz

Battle of Rivoli

Battle of La Coruña

Reviews

Hex-and-Counter Meets Its Little Boney
Review by Dan Thurot (aka Space-Biff!)
Battlefield of the Napoleonic Wars - Competition for Commands and Colors?
Review by Arno Van Der Velde on Boardgamegeek
A True Original
Review by @andsymo on Boardgamegeek
Elegance+Brilliance+Replayability=Perfection!
Review by Don Smith on BoardGameGeek
Rezension in deutscher Sprache
Rezension von Benjamin Von Allmen
Un modo diverso di simulare le battaglie napoleoniche
Recensione di Pietro Cremona su Balena Ludens
Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars: un’immersione tattica nell’era napoleonica
Recensione di Adriano Bettucchi su MyGdt