Ligny: Incomplete Victory is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Ligny. Ligny was originally published as one of four games in the popular collection Napoleon's Last Battles , but was also released as an individual game.
In June 1815, Napoleon returned to Paris from exile on Elba, and was declared an outlaw by the Sixth Coalition. As the Coalition armies began to gather in Belgium for a march on Paris, Napoleon realized he had to strike before his opposition could join forces, and determined to split the Prussians and the Anglo-Allied armies apart and defeat them individually. On 15 June 1815, Napoleon's forces attacked the Prussian army under Gebhard von Blücher before it was able to link up with the Anglo-Allies under the Duke of Wellington. The Prussians, although much weaker than the French, had enough time to take up strong defensive positions near the village of Ligny. In the end, although Napoleon managed to procure a tactical victory over the Prussians, von Blücher's forces retreated in good order and were able to play a vital role in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo two days later. [1]
Ligny is a two-player board wargame where one player controls the Prussian forces, and the other the French forces. Having a small 17" x 22" hex grid map, basic rules and only 100 counters, this game is relatively short and simple, where "players can usually discern the winner in one evening." [2] The game lasts only eight turns. [3]
The rules are based on the system developed for Napoleon at Waterloo published by SPI in 1971, [3] which uses a simple "I Go, You Go" system of alternating player turns: [2]
This completes one game turn, which represents 1 hour of game time. [2] In addition, stacking of units is prohibited, and there are no supply rules. [4] Zones of control are both "rigid" and "sticky": a unit moving adjacent to an enemy unit must stop there. Combat is mandatory, and units thus engaged cannot move away from each other except as a result of combat. [2]
In 1975, SPI published the "quadrigame" Blue and Gray , which contained four different American Civil War games and one set of rules in the same box. The concept proved popular, and SPI quickly produced more. Napoleon's Last Battles, designed by Kevin Zucker and Jay Nelson, with cartography and graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen, was published the following year and proved to be one of SPI's most popular quadrigames. [2] One of the four games in the box was Ligny, which was also released as an individual "folio game", packaged in a cardstock double LP-sized folder.
After TSR took over SPI in 1982, they attempted to get a quick return on their money by republishing several popular SPI titles such Ligny, which reappeared within a new edition of Napoleon's Last Battles.
In the 1990s, Decision Games acquired the rights to Ligny and the other games in the original Napoleon's Last Battles collection, and republished all four games with revised and streamlined rules and new components. [2]
In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , Nicholas Palmer warned that this game was "Potentially fairly long, unless the Prussian defence breaks quickly against Napoleon's set-piece assault." Palmer concluded that Ligny involved "Tough fighting, with poor Prussian morale and French strength balanced by the powerful defensive positions." [4] In his 1980 sequel, The Best of Board Wargaming , Palmer called Ligny "a little more interesting [than two of the other games in the box] though a little immobile. The numerically superior French storm an easily-demoralized Prussian line in an excellent defensive position." Palmer concluded by giving the game an Excitement grade of 75%, saying, "Imprecise play can lead to a rout for either side, but the game is not unbalanced and the best strategy for attack is not clear." [5]
In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames , game designer Jon Freeman called Ligny "a set-piece affair in which the object is to wear the enemy down to his demoralization level, a not particularly fascinating prospect." Freeman gave this game an Overall Evaluation of "Good." [6]
In Issue 53 of Moves , Ian Chadwick called Ligny "a game for those who enjoy pounding, ponderous armies and slow advances." List noted that limitation on the map size prevented the French from attempting a flanking maneuver, and concluded, "The board limits are my only complaint about this game, which like the rest of the quad, is excellent gaming quality." [3]
In Issue 8 of Zone of Control, Monte Gray reviewed the Decision Games edition and found some difficulties with reading the counters due to the colors chosen. For example, the French Imperial Guard feature black text on a deep purple background. Gray also noted that Ligny was a lot more balanced when the leadership rules from the campaign game were used. "Now those Prussian defenses around Ligny seem much stronger, especially when handled by a good defensive player — like the one who always seems to be opposite me when I play Napoleon!" [2]
Cemetery Hill, subtitled "The Battle of Gettysburg, 1–3 July 1863", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 as part of the "quadrigame" Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles that simulated four battles of the American Civil War. Cemetery Hill was later released as a stand-alone "folio" game.
Napoleon's Last Battles is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications in 1976 that simulates the last four battles fought by Napoleon. It was one of SPI's most popular games, and also received many positive reviews.
Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles is a board wargame originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four battles from the American Civil War.
Napoleon at War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various battles fought by Napoleon.
Napoleon at Waterloo is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1971 that simulates the Battle of Waterloo. The game, which features simple rules, was designed as an introduction to board wargaming, and was given as a free gift with each subscription to SPI's Strategy & Tactics magazine.
Bloody Ridge, subtitled "Turning Point on Guadalcanal, September 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Guadalcanal Campaign during World War II. The game was originally published as part of the Island War: Four Pacific Battles "quadrigame" — a gamebox containing four games simulating four separate battles that all use the same rules. Bloody Ridge was also published as an individual "folio game."
Thirty Years War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a "quadrigame" — four separate board wargames packaged in one box that use a common set of rules — published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976. The four games simulate different battles during the Thirty Years' War, and were sold individually as well as in the quadrigame format. Some of the games were well received by critics, but overall, the quadrigame did not sell well.
Nordlingen, subtitled "6 September 1634 – Triumph of the Imperialists", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1634 Battle of Nordlingen during the Thirty Years' War. Nordlingen was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame". Many critics called it the best game of the four, and Nordlingen was also published as a separate game.
Lützen is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1632 Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years' War. Lützen was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame". Many critics called it one of the better games of the four, and Lützen was also published as an individual game.
Rocroi, subtitled "19 May 1643 – The End of Spanish Ascendancy", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1643 Battle of Rocroi during the Thirty Years' War. Rocroi was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame", but it was also published as an individual game. It received mixed reviews from critics, some of whom called it a "bland tactical problem", while others declared it was the best game of the four in the Thirty Years War box.
Freiburg, subtitled "3–9 August 1644 – Conquest of the Rhine Valley", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1644 Battle of Freiburg during the Thirty Years' War. Freiburg was originally sold as one of four separate games packaged together in Thirty Years War, a "quadrigame", but it was also published as an individual game. It received poor reviews from critics, who called it the weakest of the four games in the Thirty Years War box, "a series of slogging matches", "not much fun", and "relatively boring."
Breitenfeld, subtitled "Triumph of the Swedish System", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the 1642 Battle of Breitenfeld during the Thirty Years' War. Breitenfeld was a free game that appeared in Strategy & Tactics, designed to promote SPI's soon-to-be-launched wargame Thirty Years War. Breitenfeld proved popular and was also published as part of SPI's "folio" series of games.
Blue & Gray II, subtitled "Four American Civil War Battles", is a collection of four board wargames originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that each simulate a battle from the American Civil War. It is the sequel to Blue & Gray published earlier in the year. Each of the four games was also published as individual "folio games."
La Belle Alliance: The Battle of Waterloo is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Waterloo in 1814. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon's Last Battles, but was also released as an individual "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio.
The Battle of Nations, subtitled "The Encirclement at Leipzig, 16-19 October 1813", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. It was one of four games that were published as part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but was also released as a "folio game", packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardboard folio. It was popular in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, and critics also gave it favorable reviews.
Jena-Auerstadt: The Battle for Prussia is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt in October 1806. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but it was also released as an individual "folio game" packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardstock folio. Jena-Auerstadt was rated highly in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, but critics questioned whether its simplicity was capable of simulating a complicated two-part battle.
Quatre Bras: Stalemate on the Brussels Road is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Quatre Bras, one of the engagements leading to the Battle of Waterloo. Quatre Bras was originally published as one of four games in the popular collection Napoleon's Last Battles, but was also released as an individual game.
Antietam: The Bloodiest Day, 17 September 1862 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War. The game was originally part of the four-game collection Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles, and was also released as a stand-alone "folio" game. It proved to be one of SPI's most popular games in the year following its publication.
Chattanooga: Gateway to Victory, Nov. 24-25, 1863 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the Battle of Chattanooga during the American Civil War. The game was originally part of the four-game collection Blue & Gray II, and was also released as a stand-alone "folio" game.
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