Manoeuvre

Manoeuvre is a Napoleonic-era battle for two that mixes strategy, tactics, and luck.

The board is made up of modular tiles that can be put together in various ways. Players face off from either end of the board with sets of armies – you can play the French, British, or a number of others that come with the game. The armies are represented by cardboard chits and are broken into separate regiments. Each player gets a deck of cards to go with their army and deals themselves a hand of five.

On your turn you first move one regiment, be it cavalry or infantry. Then you may attack one of your opponents regiments, using a card. Each regiment has a base score for defence and attack, but both the attacking player and the defender may add further cards – if they have them! – to increase their chances of success. Often the odds favour the attacker, but how much they win by is as important as the act of winning. A mere victory only damages the regiment or forces it to retreat; whereas a complete trouncing can obliterate it completely. The final result is determined by dice rolls, and which dice is shown on the cards.

The cards also contain a few other elements – Supply cards that can return a damaged regiment to full strength, Leaders that can help attack (including more than one regiment attacking!) or defend, and Forced Marches that give you extra movement. Additionally different areas on the board such as hills, forests and towns give the regiments additional strength.

Having attacked and resolved the conflict, the aggressor now has to wait with a depleted hand of cards until his or her next turn – leaving them potentially vulnerable.

Play continues either until one player has wiped the other out, or – more likely – a nightfall resolution, where the number and position of all regiments decides the winner.