256:, Bill Gray called this "not only one of the most playable yet historically accurate games on the 1870 tussle between Bismarck and Napoleon III, but unlike most, one that completely immerses the player in the same swamp of frustration and bewilderment of the original commanders. Easy to learn, tough to win, I have played many nail-biting simulations before, but this is one of the few able to make both players look absolutely stupid." Gray concluded, "Of the several different titles that have attempted, over the years, to simulate this somewhat obscure conflict, this game still remains my personal favorite. A number of other treatments have appeared since 1972, and a few of them have even been interesting, but I still keep returning to this one."
243:, Martin Campion noted the hidden movement system had both positive and negative effects, saying, "The game provides a valuable and promising system for hidden movement, with inverted fighting counters half hidden by the presence of inverted dummy counters. But because this system is new it gives rise to numerous problems of interpreting rules." Campion also noted that the game was unbalanced in favor of the Germans, writing, "The French seem to have little chance of winning the historical scenario but can play for a draw and hope that the Prussian gets careless." Campion concluded, "Despite a number of bugs,
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Due to the inverted counters, movement is a more complex procedure in the
Standard game. During the Movement phase, the active player moves units as desired, but can also launch "probe attacks" at enemy counters to reveal their strength at a minimal risk. If the counter revealed is a dummy, then the
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is a two-player board wargame in which one player controls
Prussian forces, and the other controls French forces. With each counter representing an entire army corps, there are very few counters on the board at a time, with a maximum of 18 German corps and 11 French corps. The French corps have more
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In order to simulate the limited military intelligence of the time, all units on the board are placed face down, and remain that way until attacked. In addition, both sides can utilize dummy counters, which are discarded if attacked, but may be re-used. Game critic Omar DeWitt, writing in 1973,
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The simpler Basic game is meant to familiarize players with the rules, and uses a standard "I Go, You Go" alternating system, where the
Prussians add reinforcements, move and attack. Then the French get the same opportunities, completing one game turn, which represents three days of the war.
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and then Paris and the rapid defeat of France not only was a stunning demonstration of
Prussia's military capabilities, but also culminated in Bismarck's ultimate goal, the unification of the independent German kingdoms and duchies into a single German Empire, with himself as Chancellor.
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Combat results in the removal of strength points from both the attacker and the defender. When this happens, the current unit counter is replaced with a counter showing the unit's current strength. Once a unit is reduced to zero strength, it is removed from the game.
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that can be used to create "what if?" scenarios. Game critic Martin
Campion noted that choosing different orders of battle secretly and at random would increase the complexity of the game and "make for a fascinating situation."
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Both sides can gain
Victory Points by fulfilling certain geographical objectives and by the destruction of enemy strength points. The side with the most Victory Points at the end of the eleventh turn is the winner.
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During the movement phases, Prussians can move up to two corps via railway while the French can only move one corps. If
Prussian railways are damaged by the French, the Prussians can employ unlimited numbers of
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In addition, each player places an inverted
Formation Status marker on inverted corps counters. If and when the corps is flipped over, the unit's formation status will be revealed as either:
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called it an "operational level simulation of the war which alerted the world to
Prussian strength." Palmer called the used of inverted counters an "elementary form of hidden movement."
221:, Nicholas Ulanov did not like the game because of the inverted counters, calling it, "the worst of the hidden movement games. Nothing happens and it's too slow."
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With a complex turn sequence, and many factors to consider in terms of combat, rail movement, and leadership, the game has been described as "fairly complex."
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units (Railway
Construction or EB units) to repair the lines. If a French railway is damaged, the French can only have three EB units on the board at a time.
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believed that "Although the idea of dummy counters has been around for some time, is the first game, to my knowledge, that actually incorporates them."
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in 1972. By 1976, the game had fallen out of favor — in a poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular board wargames in North America,
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69:, declared war on Prussia in July 1870. The French army, still using antiquated tactics and inflexible leadership from the time of
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model of leadership, intensive training, and use of modern technologies such as railways and artillery. The capture of
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dummy counter is removed from the board and the unit can continue to move if it has any movement left.
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Although there is only one main scenario in the game, there are a variety of alternate non-historical
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Campion, Martin (February–March 1973). "A Guide to Conflict Simulation Games and Periodicals".
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The Standard game uses all the same rules as the Basic game, but adds significant complexity.
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Gray, Bill (2020-02-12). "Halcyon Days: Remembering SPI's Franco-Prussian War (1972)".
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Concentrated Formation: The unit has no zone of control but fights at full strength.
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is worth investing in, both as history and as an innovative playable game."
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France, egged on by inflammatory rhetoric from Prussian Prime Minister
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Dewitt, Omar (October–November 1973). "The Franco-Prussian War".
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he Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France 1870–1871
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strength but move more slowly than the German corps.
73:, proved no match for the Prussian army with its new
33:, subtitled "August 1 to September 2, 1870", is a
391:Ulanov, Nicholas (19 November 1973). "Soldiers".
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333:The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming
227:The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming
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336:. London: Sphere Books. pp. 150–151.
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418:Board wargames set in Modern history
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142:Extended Formation: The unit has a
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41:(SPI) in 1972 that simulates the
433:Wargames introduced in the 1970s
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428:Simulations Publications games
413:Board games introduced in 1972
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380:. No. 11. pp. 14–15.
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39:Simulations Publications Inc.
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146:but fights at half strength.
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130:Inverted and dummy counters
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197:, which was released as a
51:North German Confederation
311:. No. 7. p. 11.
273:Howard, Michael (1961).
277:. New York: Routledge.
245:The Franco-Prussian War
207:The Franco-Prussian War
201:with graphic design by
195:The Franco-Prussian War
91:The Franco-Prussian War
30:The Franco-Prussian War
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47:Second French Empire
203:Redmond A. Simonsen
185:Publication history
112:Eisenbahnbautruppen
423:Jim Dunnigan games
176:Victory conditions
55:Kingdom of Prussia
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16:1972 board wargame
284:978-0-415-02787-8
224:In his 1977 book
67:Otto von Bismarck
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45:between the
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217:Writing in
86:Description
53:led by the
407:Categories
260:References
101:Basic game
61:Background
393:The Pouch
219:The Pouch
213:Reception
199:boxed set
193:designed
163:Scenarios
330:(1977).
154:Movement
71:Napoleon
49:and the
43:1870 war
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377:Moves
308:Moves
240:Moves
279:ISBN
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