“La Garde recule!”: Attack at Waterloo is Pocket Battle Game #10 by designer Paul Rohrbaugh from LPS, Inc. and published by Against the Odds Magazine in 2011. This is a postcard game that, literally, is printed front-back on a postcard (4.25″ x 6″). The front of the card has a 5×10 hexmap and six (6) French and nine (9) Allied counters to be cut along the edge. On the back one finds the rules and a counter guide as well as a graphic explaining terrain effects.
The rules for “La Garde recule!” require a deck of standard playing cards (with Joker) but no dice. Cards are drawn to determine who—and how many—units move or to determine the outcome of combat.
The rules in “La Garde recule!” are, unfortunately, printed on the back of the map so referencing them in play is hard unless a copy is made. And reference you must; the rules are not necessarily complex but must be closely followed to avoid disastrous play. Already written in short-hand for space, reducing rules to formulas means it can be challenging to interpret. Take, for example, the rules for combat resolution understanding that “CD” means “Card Draw”:
Firing player makes a CD (any suit color is used by both players to resolve combat) and adds the Firing units Attack Factor (AF). Subtract the target unit’s Defense Factor (DF), and hex terrain / range CD modifiers. If [modified CD value] > [target unit’s DF], the target is flipped to its reduced side (already reduced units are eliminated). Aces equal “1” and face cards are considered a miss.
While I distrust wargame ratings on BoardGameGeek, I occasionally find comments on games insightful. This comment by BGG User nsquidc in February 2020 neatly captures my reaction to “La Garde recule!”:
I agree. Postcard games like “La Garde recule!” are good for what they try to be; a small, easy to learn, easy to play wargame. They make excellent teaching or travel wargames.
All my Pocket Battle postcard games entered my collection as freebies. I have seen some versions with mounted counters. Should you “collect ’em all”?
Only if you are a Napoleonic wargame completionist.
Feature image courtesy RMN
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