Just a note for those among us with physical barriers to painting teeny tiny scales in Napoleonics. I’ve got severe trembling left over from my stint in the artillery in Vietnam. Which means I’m old, which means my eyes aren’t up to the task of painting colorful little blobs of lead that I can’t see as more than frighteningly bright buggers from my nose. Even 15mm figures are more like hard work than the relaxing pleasure I experience painting 28mm. In this regard, for those with similar issues, may I recommend painting on the sprue, when painting plastic, as it provides a framework to brace against your desk or whatever, to hold at least one side of the project steady, while the brush hand is focused on relaxing. The 28’s do take longer, true, but at least the results are something I can take reasonable pride in and can find and identify on the gaming table when the opportunity comes round. Hugs to you and all gamers everywhere and thanks for your great videos.

As to scale, I recommend you check out what your local club / players have and use the most, and match that.

An alternative suggestion for the first set of troops (if you have a club or friends who already play napoleonics) is to choose a small German principality. Since several of these fought both against and for Napoleon at different times, these could be slotted in as parts of a larger army in a multiplayer game.

an oft overlooked scale is 1/72, an ideal starting scale with a vast number of figures available, and the cost is very appealing, i can field entire armies for the equivalent price of a Brigade at other scales. The figures also paint up beautifully and are more robust when painted than people expect. Don't get me wrong, my favourite scale is 10mm, using Pendraken miniatures, but for a beginner, 1/72 is the cheapest, quickest and easiest option, allowing for 2 armies to be on the bale top in almost no time, and at a very low cost.

I got started with Napoleonics about a year ago, playing the "Field of Glory: Napoleonic" rules which are a mainstay at our club. With painting, I acquired a bulk lot of 1970s era MiniFigs which were really showing their age in terms of detail, and made painting a bit of a chore, particularly as it was my first time moving from 28mm to 15mm. That changed when I was asked to paint up some of the beautiful AB miniatures figures for the club. What a revelation they are, beautifully detailed and animated.

More seriously, 15mm is a good recommendation. If endless painting isn't your thing, you can pick up decent, ready painted 15mm units online in various places for reasonable prices. Usually second hand, of course.

I recently started building 2mm Napoleonic Black Powder armies, but at 1:1 scale. Each battalion consists of around 800 2mm minis. They look awesome on the field, but DAMN their frontages are crazy.

Great video. I might also suggest that it's not always necessary to cleave exactly to history, even with historical minis. One of the best campaigns I ever played in was in college, where each player ruled a fictional nation with Napoleonic-era-type armies. It really opened things up in terms of scenarios and such, without having to worry about the details of historical battles.

Excellent introductory video and definitely something I'd like to see for other periods. I started out with Napoleonics when I was a teenager (I'm retired now so that was a while ago...) and the difference in choice of figures, rulesets and source material between then and now is just staggering. Nice to see an overview.

There is such a wealth of historical scenarios to play in the Napoleonic period. Michael Hopper has published some excellent scenario books on the 1805 (Rise of Eagles) and 1809 (4 books) campaigns. I understand soon to be published are 2 books on the Peninsula with many smaller and mid sized scenarios which make it easy to get to the table. Around 30 or more scenarios each book I understand - lots of Spanish, French, Portuguese and British combinations. Looking forward to these being ready hopefully by the Autumn... covid willing.

You guys are the rock stars of historical gaming. I guess that makes this a somewhat backhanded compliment. :)

Man, where was this video about 25 years ago? I jumped into Naps head first not knowing what I really wanted. I was fortunate to trade for a 15mm French Army for "Napoleon's Battles" back in the day. I eventually got hung up in the Prussian dilemma with early and late war armies...what a mess. The one army I would recommend to do later would be the Austrians. Man those guys have a lot of troops in their formations. You guys gave out a lot of good advice and completely agree on the tips. I see a lot of Nap gamers wanting to field a corps of Old Guard and Chasseur's a Chavel..Nope! Regular line infantry is the way to go, then add on artillery and cavalry. I hope to re-spark the 15mm nap gaming as I bought La Salle v2. I currently do Peninsula Naps for Sharp Practice in 28s, which is really nice too. Thanks again and take care.

Thank you for this! I’d love to see similar videos for the other various periods as well! As someone who’s never done historicals but wants to, I gotta say it gets pretty overwhelming no matter what era you look into!!

Thanks for the shout out! Another excellent intro video for a massive subject.

Just starting out, I would recommend building units as brigades. For example 3-8 battalions of infantry, plus a battery of artillery and a regiment of cavalry. With a brigadier figure of course. The repeat the process for the opposing side. By the time you have a dividions worth of infantry you will have the correct ratio of supporting arms as well.

One other bit of advise for new "Nappyers". Despite what you see in some pictures and videos, don't worry about needing to build up large units of, say, 24-36 models to represent a battalion. Around here groups play both General d'Armee and Shako rules in 28mm using 12-model units with 4 models to a stand (2 front and 2 back) - and 3 stands to a battalion. The big bonus is using fewer miniatures per unit results in more units on the table for the same number of models. Also, having units comprised of more models creates a bigger "footprint" - having several of these bigger units makes a more crowded table with less room to maneuver. This is far less of a concern in 18mm, 15mm and smaller scales.

Great video guys! For another piece of advice, try the 3 foot rule when painting. Too many times a new gamer will try to paint the pupils of a 28mm miniature., but when standing around the game table and looking down at your army, no one can see the "minutiae" of pupils, belt buckles, even facial hair. It makes it easier to field an army. Plus, the tremendous satisfaction of your yeoman's work on painting a unit of regular infantry as they stand firm against a Grenadier Guards unit painted to museum perfection.

I started watching thinking i would only watch the first minute but ended up watching the whole thing. Awesome editing to keep the viewer engaged. Good stuff. :D

Still a die hard of fan of Napoleon's Battles. Great for 15mm scale and basing is identical for Age of Eagles. It's just personal preference for me. I can't say enough about George Nafziger's books and OOB reference.

I love all of your models. They are really colorful and well done. Props for the detail on the 6mm models, they are so small

thank you so much for this. Ive been burnt out from warhammer 40k and I'm ready to extend into different wargames and try different tabletops.

Really enjoyed this guys. Great intro, ...and nice to hear Volley & Bayonet being a fave of Greg's. Will we see a V&B review?

French, Barvarians, Saxons, Danes, Poles, Swiss, Italians, Illyria, Dutch, Confederation of the Rhine, even an Irish regiment plus more. Thats just on Boney's. Favourite gaming period. Colourful, variety, fascinating history. But what a rabbit hole for gamers (especially gaming meglomaniacs). Want to support a therapist. (AND GO BROKE) Collect the 1812 Grande Armee or redo Leipzig 1813.😜🤪🤯 Great video. Great advice. Kudos from Zimbabwe.

Excellent overview and guidance. Great job.

Great video. Would be good to see similar guides with other historical periods. And yeah, small scase is phantastic.

At the Wargames Club I am a member of the LWA, we use a set of rules by Geoff Wootton: Corps d Armee. They wete published by WRG in the 80's we have played them for 30 years. We use 15mm Figures we have a lot and each player can with a bit of practice with the rules run a corps. We have been trying to get Geoff to publish them again

A great video introduction to Napoleonic wargaming. Pleased to see a broad introduction covering figure scales and rules.

I heavily endorse concentrating on Line infantry (and dragoon cavalry) for the bulk of what you buy and paint first, then add specialty units. I think that adding showy cavalry units (because you will need some hussars too) every so often helps break up your painting schedule. Want to paint on the quick? Depending on theater, choose a portion of your Line infantry battalions or regiments to be in greatcoats.... much faster to paint. If you don't start with the French, I would suggest looking at Austrians or Russians as you will get quite a bit of service out of either.

I go to thank you guys to helping me broadening my horizons, getting the motivation in to painting up some ancients, 1th century bc romans, opening up for Roman civil war and Caesarean history

Absolutely Fantastic Videos. I am hoping to start 2 6mm armies so that i can do some solo wargaming or let friends use them to get them into it. I'm so glad you went over basing since, as you mentioned, it is something i have been stressing about. Definitely will look at those army books for historical regiment and uniform accuracy. As for rules im not sure, ive yet to watch the Austerlitz and General d'armee videos but they are on my watch list as this is the rule set im currently looking at. (Or the versions of such as general d'brigade and general d'division) Anyway, i look forward to seeing more Napoleonic videos and other periods aswell, hoping to see a multiple series campaign where previous battles affect the numbers and positioning of the next, i know its not easy to do that. Its always a treat to watch them. Just need to find a group of like minded individuals to do some historical wargaming. Thanks for the videos, very happy to see your channel grow from when i first subscribed!!

Nice video and have really noticed a huge improvement on the video production! Nice job Little Wars TV!

What a great and informative video. Thank you.

Excellent video. The advice that the bigger the battle, the smaller the scale (of models) is very important. For those aiming to fight full battles more easily, Osprey has released rules called Absolute Emperor that are designed to play full large battles with a minimum of miniatures in a single session. That being said, I'd echo the recommendation of General d'Armee as satisfying rules for multi-brigade games - though it does require more miniatures. Finally, I'll also echo your advice to visit Storm of Steel videos to see how Sharp Practice works for engaging skirmish games.

As ever great short video, something for gamers old and new. Keep it up lads.

Number one tip for Napoleonic Wargaming should be, find a second player to play with you first. NONE OF MY FRIENDS WANT OT PLAY AT ALL. WH40K and WW2 is they want to play.

Great video guys (like all your others of course!). I'd agree with a couple of the other comments below that this sort of overview of the more popular periods would be welcome. I got my start in Ancients many years ago when it was dominated by WRG rules but it's such a rich and diverse period (even arguing about how to define "the Ancient period" is a challenge) that it can be every bit as overwhelming as Napoleonics so I personally think your take on this would be very well received.

Outstanding video with great tips on Napoleonic gaming. Personally I like to game out some of the larger battles and use the venerable Napoleon's Battles. 25 was always way too expensive and labor intensive to build up all of the armies of the major powers that was my end goal. I originally did several armies in 6mm but it is hard to tell them apart at a distance. I am very happy to have gone down the 10mm route which gives me some good detail while still keeping the overall scale small enough to game a large battle on 2 typical 30"×72" tables side by side. As a practical matter it is hard to reach over 3 feet to move pieces. The spectacle of 1000s of well painted Napoleonic armies is something incredible to behold and one of the great joys of gaming this Era. Again...Great video!!!

Good tips guys. Love you channel

Thank you for the video I just bought Chosen Men by Osprey Games last week. Excited to get started in Napoleonic's.

Also, i would suggest "campaign dress" starting out. dirty, ragged uniforms for the rank and file, leave the spit and polish for the elite units...

Great advices! Thanks for that! :)

Thanks, very useful.

Great idea to help with getting started, wonderful video and appreciate the recomendations. Perhaps this is a little feature you can add with other historical periods. Such as Italain Wars, Seven Years War, French Indian War, American Civil War, etc.

I appreciate the tips. I'm not looking into large scale Napoleonic gaming but through Studio Tomahawk (Saga) I got interested in Muskets and Tomahawks and am looking to build out some skirmish bands for Napoleonic (and others) skirmishing.

Best Wargaming channel ever

First: Play with others toys. LOTS! Play in as many possible other people's games, to sample the scales the rules and systems. Better to discover if you like this at the stage where you are only gaming with others and your investment is time at the tabletop. Second: Pick a scale, both of miniatures and of battle that you like best; or alternately, a rules set you like (as this will often set-up the scale issue for you). This scale issue cannot be stressed too much, if you are going with 25/28mm you will find plenty of options, the detail for painting can be a struggle for some, yet a good simple table standard is not hard to reach. The re-sale value of 25/28mm is fairly good, where I have found 15 or smaller minis, unless they are really well painted, does not give a good re-sale value. Storage and tabletop size are also a consideration in scale choice. I ended up with 25/28mm scale because I found I could cast my own with Prince August molds and then branched out to making my own. This permits a big army with less overall cost (as I could sell off excess or as needed - my 1806 Prussian army paid the rent a few months) Third: Start small and DO BOTH SIDES of one battle. Why 'both sides'? I have found that, without a regular club, I must stage the whole game myself and if you cannot do at least one small battle with all the parts, you will not likely find another player to come along. This may be why the one gamer who started in 2009 with 25/28mm has not had them on the table so much ... if he only has one army then anyone playing in his game must bring their own. Fourth: Grow, take your time and expand into that first campaign period, or add on a battle that similar troops took part in, with more troops needed. When painting I recommend starting with a line foot division (like 4-7 battalions) then a cavalry division (3-4 squadrons) then another line foot, then some artillery, then a cadre of officers. Only after this move on to something like a grenadier or guard formation. By following this pattern 4 foot units: 2 horse units : 1 gun : cadre officers (then repeat) you will always have enough foot units to more or less present well on the tabletop. By starting with a guard unit, then going onward - you end up with less well painted guardsmen and wonderfully painted conscripts. Fifth: GO DEEP. By go deep, I mean pick division and do up everything, like down to the camp followers and the mobile forges or ambulances or at least all the draft teams for the artillery limbers. Or you might go deep by doing a battle from every year's campaign. Something I did from 2005-2015, and painted up units for each nation in each theater - Leipzig was run in my back yard using my own home-brew rules. Welcome to the Grand Ole Dame of miniature war-games: Napoleonic.

That Peninsular War Atlas book is great, I highly recommend it.

I absolutely love the panache you guys put in these videos. Thank you

#1) Start with Bavarians! They are pretty, easy to paint, and they can be with or against the French.

Fun fact I started out in Napoleonic wargaming with lego's of all things. I had a small group of Lego British soldiers and I just started collecting more and more. I built up a Prussian army and the French army. though haven't used them in years 'cause I got into actual plastic miniatures but still it was a very interesting thing and expensive.

I'm in NZ and I bought some Russians pre lockdown thanks to you guys and other folks repping blackpowder style wargames.. Working my way through them and having a blast.. As a suggestion if you are doing napoleonics I would suggest batch painting rather than doing them individually.. Oh and Dlya Tsar!!

I would say raise a brigade of French, then a Brigade of their opponents...and now you have a battle, a small battle, but enough to enjoy learning a rule set. Raising both sides means you have to find a "warm body war gamer" which is easier to do than finding one who loves your scale and period. Napoleonic's is a life long passion, so like eating the elephant, do it in small bites.

Et Sans Resultat Campaign Guides are one of the best places to start once you have picked a campaign to start with.They have unit organizations, painting guides and scenarios that can be used with any system. I prefer ESR myself but the guides themselves are worth the cost alone.

Find this interesting. Started with Napoleons Battles by AH back in the 80's. Still have a few Thousand 15mm figs painted in boxes. Looked at Black powder last year and bought some 28mm stuff but looked at converting to 15mm using same ranges but half movement. Also looking into using the 15mm stands for a Command and Colors game using a larger hex map and 15mm stands of figs for units. Can get a better visual that way and recycle my 15mm stands of figs. Loved Napoleons battles rules but less then pleased with Black Powder (just does not feel big enough). Liking what I am seeing with GMT's C and C board game rules and even like the wood blocks, but prefer minis in the end.

Very nice, all the best, Garry

I really enjoyed this episode. Thanks for all the work your group does!

There is an author Otto Von Pivka he has a very comprehensive book covering most Napoleonic armies. I use it in conjunction with my aging Funken books and of course Osprey. These help for most painting but don't forget the Internet. There is far more out there but just to get started I use these tomes. There also Blandford books if you can find them. A rarity these days but I was able to pick one up covering the Peninsular campaign..

Love the video guys! I want to start playing it and I dont know what to do. Also, do you suggest other war-games over Black powder for begginers?

Great video. Love the comedy over which rules are the best. It can be a sore spot.

I'm currently working on 15mm Napoleonics but want to get some 6mm. I started out with Napoleon's Battles back in the 90s but havent played in a long time. DBN looks like a quick way to play with a small amount of figs per side.

For beginners I would suggest General d’Armee’ because you can start with an infantry brigade plus artillery support and a cavalry brigade also a general for the infantry who also commands the foot artillery (if present). A general for the cavalry and hors artillery if present.the senior general will be in overall command, usually the infantry general. A light infantry component is also useful. Don’t oversize the battalions, small is good, if you find you need to reinforce these then painting another base or two isn’t a problem. Another reason for these rules is that your army can be increased to a division or even a corps or an army. By this time you will be fully conversant with the rules. There is also a points system, and if you use this for games then the battles will be even from a troops point of view. To speed up the games cut out the die roll to move, fire etc. and just use the test for charges to contact or standing if being charged. Just a thought, but try it as the rules are written. The main thing is to get used to the rules an enjoy them!

I you are going to play historical I would recommend choosing a particular unit to be one base, so for example you could decide that a company is one base, or a battalion if you want to play larger scale games. This allows you to have armies that are different but also similar as they are slightly different while having the same number of units

“That way lies madness” That comment saved my day 😂 I am gonna use that frase a lot from now on 😄

I would like to put forth an idea for the beginner getting involved in Napoleonic. Start with the Command and Colors Napoleonic board game. With this a gamer can start playing on day one. They would then replace the game's blocks with figures. As time goes by they begin to replace the blocks from one figure per block to one base of figures per block up to a unit per block. The expanding of the game will require and expansion of the board and terrain pieces was well, but all the time you are still able to be playing. With careful planning you'll reach a point where your armies will be useable for other rule sets.

I have to say y’all are right about 28mm. It’s a lot. My group of 3 friends have been Warhammer gamers and we all decided to get into Napoleonic wargaming last year. We started in August and agreed we would have our first game on Boxing Day. Idk how we did it but we all painted 1 army with 3 brigades each and finished the day before the game. It was a brutal affair and something I would not repeat.

A series of great tips, and honestly these are all applicable to any larger historical conflict. The truly hardest ordeal with Napoleonics is having to accept that the human race made a collective mistake in replacing slouch hats, tricornes, bicornes and grenadier caps with the dullest piece of headgear known to man: the shako.

Great and sound advice, I’ve bought a load of 28mm and now thinking i should have gone to 15mm or not got rid of my 10mm 😂

I bought the black powder Waterloo set to begin my journey in historical games, but thanks to your channel and your passion with history I decided to get some 15mm miniatures to represent the history of the Aztecs (Mexicas) from the first conquests, to the battle for Tenochtitlan. T_T sadly it's kind of difficult to find miniatures and rules, but I have faith in my quest. Any suggestions? Greetings from Mexico 😁

Used to use 'To the Sound of the Guns' for divisional battles in 6mm. Now it's Blucher on bigger bases and more figures!

One video that would be great to see is something that explains what exactly is meant by different scales of battle - i.e., what is an army-level game vs a corp or division level game? Why would you pick one over the other, and how do you know if a rules set is meant for a particular scale.

I love historicals, I just wish there was a community for it where I live.

A Napoleonic wargamer for over 40 years. The build system I use I call "1-for-1". Each of the component parts of your Army (infantry, cavalry, artillery) has a "Normal" or "Standard" type of troop. For the infantry it will be the close order, line infantry regiment/battalion, for the cavalry probably the line light dragoons, for artillery, the line foot artillery. All other types are classed as "Exotics" This includes any unit whose uniform is not "standard" (British kilted Highlanders for example or the British 28th Regiment), any regiment whose modus operandi differs from the "standard" (Light Infantry or Voltigers etc), or whose name indicates that they think of themselves as "special" or "different" (all units whose names include the words "Guard" or "Royal" for example). For every painted and based "Exotic" unit you have in your wargames cupboard awaiting action you must have at least one "Standard" unit of that type. Each "Standard" unit can only be matched against one "Exotic" unit. This ensures that your total Army has an appearance that might be correct and in proportion.

i have that peninsular war atlas! nice video.

Very good video! What are your thoughts on using 3D printed miniatures? Would you every consider doing an analysis on the impact 3D printing has had on war games?

Well basing wise there is the option of clear bases, won't need to do anything to the bases and they always fit with the terrain they are on :)

A great video, thanks, guys! I can only echo your comments re: Monaco, though the paparazzi seem to be especially aggressive this year. My guys Gregor and Dimitri had to rough up a few, and then well....enough said. If I may, I might suggest...cue the ominous music...2mm figures? Cheap, easy to start (see Forward March Miniatures or Project Wargaming) and en masse they LOOK like battalions, not four guys taking a flag out for a walk. Lastly, for those looking at ACW, a big thumbs up here for Greg's Altar of Freedom, which are not ideal for solo gamers, but are so inventive and smooth that I am willing to do my multi-personality thing to bid against myself. Helpful hint: Jameson's aids the process. Party on, Garth....Mark

This is amazing timing. I have been eyeing Napoleonic for a while but just yesterday decided I should invest. Looking forward to this!

great video with some excellent tips. except n scale . In the words of the great John Stallard "28mm is Gods scale" ;) keep up the awesome videos guy!

Not a veteran but it makes lots of sense to share the ken! Thank you 😜✌

I prefer Volley and Bayonet. I have played numerous games with Frank Chadwick and the rules are simply one of the best I have ever played. Always enjoyed Volley and bayonet.

Also, you cannot beat the price of risk pieces.

15mm Piquet Les Grongardes is my go to. Easily scalable from battalion to army level.

Hi. Nice vid. Just wondering why you omit 20mm (1/72) as a scale? From the range available and price point for beginners, wouldn't this be right up there?

Great video. I think I want to get into 6mm ACW first then dip the toes into Napoleonics after

I will get my Napoleonics vicariously through you folks. You do such a great job with the period.

I did Aspen Essling in 15mm using AB figs, spent two years building the amy's.

I, personally, am building a Samurai 6mm musket based army... just because I like the idea and I want my models to be easily recognizable to myself (so stuff doesnt get mixed up on the table top of whose is whose)

Not even half the cost of my old hobby. So glad I discovered this

excellent video, gents.

Napoleonic uniforms are so much more interesting to paint than the drab colours of WWII that everyone seems to love

A good presentation and encouragement for newbies. Perhaps for the future I feel that their needs to be a harder edge regarding the worth of the smaller scales. Im a 15mm fan and champion of 15mm older school naps and I know particularly with modernvisual media its no surprise 28mm is an enticing parade. BUT and a big but is that many of the great battles arnd imho the secret for enjoyable wargaming if you battle armies in the period, is of massed troops with an importance allowance for unexpected maneuver to win the day. Smaller,scales give much more allowance for this and when massed together the smaller scales IMHO reign supreme. Even at the uk wargames holiday centre where 28mm games have the different tables to increase the scope of the battle... is a poor relation IMHO visuallyto smaller scales,with complete eg. 12ft by 8ft table with no separate tables unless a strategic game is called for as per your . Marengo where different tables may represent separate corps in the strategic area of the battle/campaign. Thankyou for posting i really am not fussed re what newbies or others want to do anyone getting interested in naps whatever the scale and calling is a good thing and I whole heartedly support....Thankyou for posting but its good to inform the uninformed wargaming generals of the merits to small figure scales....lol

I love this channel, first video I've seen but just the most charming shit ever.

Blücher in 3mm is my jam :D

The biggest problem Ive met in my current attempt to get into Napoleonics is actually just: what flags the french used, Whats the difference between a battalion, a Regiment, a corp and a brigade, and how effective light infantry actually should be.

great video, been looking to get into it. been playing and painting warhammer and 40k for years. any advice on what company to buy the 28mm figurines from and if possible some decent rule-set to go with it? looking for an easier rule set then warhammer, not sure if i have the patience to learn a massively complex rule set yet again. thank you so much

I had started to do Napoleonics years ago but never really got far. I have 15mm Russians and my brother had some French(Blah!) and we were using the old rules Napoleon's Battles. I've recently been looking at doing Napoleonics again but was looking at the 1809 Austrian Campaign in Central Germany. I've got some of the Osprey books for the Austrians and have been reading 1809 Thunder on the Danube series by John H. Hill. Actually I prefer the other Napoleon... the one the Prussians beat up.... (I've got Prussians for that period and Austrians for 1866). Miniatures wise I would recommend Old Glory for 15mm. They have a large range and give you a lot of minis in a pack

Can you guys do another Black powder video cause 2nd edition is out and last video you did was first edition

I confess, i have entered into this period via command & colors as played 10mm years ago with at a club and thought i cannot paint all that white against red and blue.

THE period to wargame! 👍🏻

Thank you for the video caught me at exactly the right time. It was this channel that has convinced me to take the dive into fantasy from Sci-Fi and Fantasy Wargaming. Just purchased the black powder starter box.