Wavre: The Opportunity Lost is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Wavre. Wavre was originally published as one of four games in the popular collection Napoleon's Last Battles , but was also released as an individual game.
On 16 June 1815, Napoleon had achieved a tactical victory over the Prussian army at the Battle of Ligny, but had allowed the Prussians to retreat in good order. Now Napoleon turned his attention to the Anglo-Allied army of the Duke of Wellington, gathered near the Belgian town of Waterloo. Napoleon was confident that he had the forces necessary to defeat the British as long as the Prussians were not allowed to reorganize and join forces with Wellington. In order to prevent this, Napoleon ordered Marshal Grouchy and a force of 33,000 men to pursue the retreating Prussians and attack them. However, Grouchy did not follow up on these orders promptly, allowing the Prussians to consolidate near the village of Wavre before Grouchy's forces arrived. At Waterloo, Wellington's forces could only hold on against a furious French assault and hope that the Prussians could escape from Wavre and march to Waterloo in time to aid Wellington. [1]
Wavre 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] Both sides gain victory points for eliminating enemy units and for exiting units off the western edge of the map (in order to join their respective sides at Waterloo.) In addition, the French gain points for any Prussian units left on the board at the end of the game. The game lasts only eight turns. [3]
As critic Nick Palmer noted, "If both sides move off the map the French will win. If [Prussian commander] Blücher stays put the French will win. The trick is to find precisely the right rate of withdrawal, and though the Prussians control the course of battle by their decision to pull back, it is probably slightly harder for them to carry the day." [4]
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. [5] 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 Wavre, which was also released as an individual "folio game", packaged in a cardstock double LP-sized folder.
In 1979, the Belgian company EDI-AR published a Flemish/French version of Wavre and the other three games of Napoleon's Last Battles." [6]
After TSR took over SPI in 1982, they attempted to get a quick return on their money by republishing several popular SPI titles such Wavre, which reappeared within a new edition of Napoleon's Last Battles.
In the 1990s, Decision Games acquired the rights to Wavre 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. Decision also included a new "historic" scenario for Wavre. [2]
In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , Nicholas Palmer called this game "One of the best 'puzzles' in wargaming, with many different theories on the correct withdrawal strategy." [5] In his 1980 sequel, The Best of Board Wargaming , Palmer called the game "a fascinating problem, one of the most finely balanced in wargaming." Palmer concluded by giving the game an Excitement grade of 80%. [4]
In Issue 53 of Moves , Ian Chadwick noted "For the French, the goal is twofold: exit units and delay the Prussians from doing so. The Prussians must establish a strong delaying force and rush everything else off the map, choosing to exit the remaining defenders only at the last minute." List concluded, "There's a lot of tense excitement in this game as both sides struggle to leave from the same area and prevent the other from doing so at the same time. It's short, fast, and furious. A good game." [3]
In Issue 8 of Zone of Control, Monte Gray reviewed the Decision Games edition and found some issues with the map, pointing out that hex 0914 contained "three bridges" but was missing the town of Limelette. Despite this minor omission, he found the game to be "a lot of fun" and declared "the design has stood the test of time!" [2]
In a retrospective review in Warning Order, Matt Irsik called the game "pretty interesting" and noted that "The mandatory attack rules did a good job of portraying operational level combat from that era and the end result was pretty satisfying." [7]
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.
Golan subtitled "Syrian-Israeli Combat in the '73 War", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates operational level ground combat between Egypt and Israel on the Golan Heights during the just completed Yom Kippur War of October 1973. Golan was originally published as part of the "quadrigame" Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts.
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.
Wellington's Victory: Battle of Waterloo – 18 June 1815 is a board wargame simulation of the Battle of Waterloo, originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976.
Marengo: Napoleon in Italy, 14 June 1800 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 as one of four games packaged together in the Napoleon at War "quadrigame". Marengo was also released as a separate game the same year. The game simulates the Battle of Marengo between Austrian and French forces.
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.
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.
Arnhem, subtitled "Operation Market-Garden, September 1944" and also published as A Bridge Too Far: Arnhem, is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates Operation Market Garden during World War II, when Allied forces attempted to create a salient in the Netherlands, using paratroopers to take strategic bridges over the Rhine. Arnhem was originally published in the WestWall "quadrigame", but was also packaged for sale as an individual game.
Friedland 1807 is a board wargame published by Imperial Games in 1974 that simulates the pivotal Battle of Friedland that pitted Russian forces against those of Napoleon I.
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.
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