Beer and Pretzels Urban Combat

Battles for Empire

Authors: John R. "Buck" Surdu Rick Vossman
Publisher: Self
Date Published: 1990
Period: Napoleonic
Scale: Tactical
Status: Out of Print
Notes:

Tactical Rules for Miniatures Battles in the Age of Napoleon

Battles for Empire (BFE) was published in 1990. We were told by the major distributors that since no one had ever heard of us we might sell 300 copies of a Napoleonic rule book. We printed BFE with over 100 photographs (that were not just filler) and had a full-color cover with art by Keith Rocco. As it turns out we sold almost 3000 copies of the rules in the U.S., England, and Canada, and we had two printings.

BFE is out of print now, but I know that many of the larger distributors still have some copies in stock. I have seen them in hobby stores as well. Since the rules are old now, they are usually sold for about half the original retail price (which was $14.00).

Scale information:

Figure	1 figure = 60 men
Ground	1 inch = 50 yards
Time	1 turn = 10 minutes
Recommended Command	1 player = 1 division
Recommended figure scale	15mm. I use 25mm, but that takes more space than most wives allow their husbands to devote to lead soldiers.

What Makes Battles for Empire Unique

Emphasis on the tactical use of cavalry, infantry and artillery.
More streamlined and realistic system for resolving melee, particularly for cavalry vs. infantry. Note: These rules were very streamlined in their day; however, they are a little chart-heavy in comparison to Napoleon's Battles and other "fast-play" systems. For the level of abstraction that BFE is trying to represent, they are very playable.
More realistic artillery fire system which emphasizes bouncethrough of round shot and the devastating effects of canister at close range.
A well-researched musketry system that is accurate and decisive.
easy-to-use charts, featuring column shifts, which prevent lengthy calculations.
Unique, function-based movement system for all arms, which more accurately simulates tactical movement on the battlefield.
May be used with traditional 1:60 scale mounting or with 1:30 scale for larger, more tactical-appearing units.
Over 100 photographs to illustrate and clarify the rules. These photos are not filler; they are integral to explaining the rules.

Many of the production values of BFE are common today, but they were unique in 1990.