I wish there was a better solo system for this game.

I’ve had this game in my collection for a while, probably over a decade, but I can count the number of times I’ve played on one hand.

I’ve played more games of Memoir ’44, also by the same designer (Richard Borg), than I have this game, and the only time I played against a human opponent was at Dice Tower 2019.

I decided to revisit C&CA because I had preordered a Samurai version of the game sometime last year.  As I was browsing Amazon for expansions (I got the 1st and 6th expansions over the years, Greece and Eastern Kingdoms, and Spartan Army, respectively) I saw a damaged copy of C&C Napoleonics on sale for almost 50% off retail price.  I’d never played any Napoleonic wargame, but it’s been something I’d wanted to try, so I ordered it.

Cool, I thought, I’m going to play this one as soon as it comes in.  I was planning to develop a bad French accent to use while playing.

The next day I got an email that the game I had preordered had shipped.

Welp.

So in the span of a week I’ve gone from 1 of these games to 3 variants, or 2 to 4 if you include Memoir ’44.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still possible to play these games solitaire, with one of my plushies or action figures on the opposite side of the board to represent my opponent, but they’re more fun and challenging when playing against a live person.

For now, it’s time to assemble the playing pieces for the Samurai Battles game.

Stand by!