EIA vs NIE

Link · Post by **Link** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 6:34 pm

Hi all,
I dont' usually play board games since it's really hard to find oponents. My hopes are that they soner or later will be converted to PC games.

Eagle Games have come up with "Napoleon in Europe" which looks interesting. It looks simular to Axis & Allies which is the best strategy game that I have played so far even though WWII isn't my favorite war, Napoleonic wars is.

Have anyone of you played both "Empire at Arms" and "Napoleon in Europe"? It would be interesting to know the difference between them and what the ups and downs are.

/Lars L.

jnier · Post by **jnier** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 10:08 pm

Lars,

I have not played NIE, but I have heard very good things about it. If I could find oppenents for it I would probably give it a try myself.

NIE is obviously a much simpler and more playable game than EIA - and since you like Axis and Allies I would guess that you would enjoy NIE.

You might also want to consider GMT's Napoleonic Wars. This game is also a strategic level game that covers the same era as NIE and EIA and has received very favorable reviews.

But I'm going to be holding out for EIA!

Jason

Link · Post by **Link** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 5:51 am

Jason,
What is GMT's Napoleonic Wars? I've never come across it on the web so I assume it is a board game, right?

/Lars L.

mars · Post by **mars** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 7:13 am

Hi All,
Having played EIA and just bought NIE I can tell you that EIA is a much more indepth style game. However this is not to say that NIE is a bad game, on the contrary it actually looks to be a lot of fun, it has a lot of good rules and is relatively simple to play. So if you are after playing an entire campaign with lots of options I would play EIA if you are after something that can be played in a few sessions then get NIE.

VictorH · Post by **VictorH** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 11:47 am

Yes Napolenic Wars by GMT is a board game, a VERY GOOD boardgame to! GMT has a number of excellent boardgames, they are one of the better publishers. Include Clash of Arms, Decision Games and Multi-Man Publishing in that category too. Wish I had more time to play games!!

Link · Post by **Link** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 5:12 pm

OK, thanks.
I have two more questions:

1) How are the battles resolved in EIA?

2) Do GMT have a web site and if so what is the URL address?

/Lars L.

pasternakski · Post by **pasternakski** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:35 pm

www.gmtgames.com/

Napoleonic Wars is pretty good for multi-player beer-and-pretzels gaming. It relies on a card-driven system to provide uncertainty and "fof of war." This system, as you will see on the Web site, has been used several times, with modifications, to simulate such subjects as World War I in Europe and the French Indian wars.

It is a fun game, but its simplicity leaves me unsatisified. Besides, if I want to play cards, I break out the Bicycles, call over the troops, and fire up a good session of bridge, pinochle, euchre, or poker.

Hoplosternum · Post by **Hoplosternum** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 5:30 pm

I now have both games but have only played EiA against other people. I know they cover the same period but they are not really comparable. Comparing the too is a bit like comparing Axis and Allies to World in Flames or at least Third Reich, although this may be being a little harsh - EiA is considerably 'lighter' than WiF IMHO and NIE seems more involved than A&A.

Having said that I like the advanced rules of NIE, especially for the combat. This is more detailed than Axis and Allies and in fact appears to have quite a lot of tactics in. The battle field is divided into a centre, right and left wing. Each of these columns have a defenders side, attackers and a middle bit. There are two reserve areas at the rear of the defenders and attackers areas. You can move to any adjacent area in your move etc. Different types of troops defend and attack different units at various strengths. You can also change formations for infantry and some units can chose to either use shock or fire attacks. If you clear a lane/column of all enemies you win the battle immediately and can pursue (cavalry is important here). Initial set up is simultaneous and hidden from your opponent. So it is far more involved than the chit picks for EiA and because there are a lot of dice rolls for each battle it is less reliant on critical luck than EiA.

Of course it may be that certain units are too powerful or too weak I have not played against others so cannot really tell. Defence also seems to have a strong advantage in battle, or at least the side which does not try and cross the battlefield has the advantage whether they initialted the combat or not. It also appears to be quite difficult to a) force an enemy to fight if he has cavalry and b) recover from a bad defeat. Still I am looking forward to trying it.

Snigbert · Post by **Snigbert** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 7:40 am

JNIER - I suffer from the same lack of boardgame opponents. However, I only live an hour or so from Mystic, I think. I'd run out and buy a copy of NIE if I could find an opponent

jnier · Post by **jnier** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 6:19 am

Originally posted by Snigbert
JNIER - I suffer from the same lack of boardgame opponents. However, I only live an hour or so from Mystic, I think. I'd run out and buy a copy of NIE if I could find an opponent

Snigbert,

I defintately up for a board gaming oppenent, but unfortunately I'm ridiculously busy right now (I'm getting married and remodeling my house over the next few months). I'd be psyched to play face-to-face opponents this summer (I'm a college teacher, so things are less hectic then). So if you can wait a few months, count me in for NIE, EIA, War and Peace, Napoleonic Wars or whatever!

And if you can't wait until summer I'd be up for some PBEM in the meantime. Are you a Computer Third Reich or Computer War in Europe player? Those are easily playable over email and would satisfy my stragetic wargame fix (so would lots of other games - I'm flexible).

Anyways let me know what you'd be up for and sorry for not being able to play face-to-face.

Jason

Snigbert · Post by **Snigbert** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 8:06 am

I dont have either of those computer games you mentioned but I'd be happy to wait until a better time for you. I actually live 20 minutes south of Worcester so it isnt quite so far. About 5 minutes from Thompson CT.
I'm in the process of getting better from a case of bone cancer so by this summer I should be 100% again. Plus that will give me time to pick up a copy of NIE and study the rules.

My email is Snigbert@cs.com
Feel free to drop me a line whenever you get some free time.

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EIA vs NIE

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