Wellington - Boardgame Review

Jeff Cherpeski | November 17, 2005  | one comment  | Print  | E-mail

This sequence continues as long as a player has cards in his hands. Once all players have exhausted their hands, the impulses end and attrition and guerilla activities are conducted, and the victory conditions are checked. If the French have conquered Madrid, and with modifiers rolls an 8 or better, the game ends with the French conquering Spain. The British and the Spanish have their chance to see if the game ends in their favor as well. If the game continues, resource points are earned and spent on reinforcements by each nationality. Cards are shuffled and dealt, and play moves to the next turn.

Final views:

Overall I enjoyed the game, yet felt at times that the chance to make a truly great game about the often-overlooked Peninsular War was missed. I would have enjoyed a more historical study of the Peninsular War that clearly demonstrated the differences between the battles there and those on the interior of the continent. The game does have a lot of good points with the game components being as good as anything else on the market, but there are a few nagging things that detract from the game.

Among them is that while the game has distinctions for infantry, cavalry and artillery, there is very little practical difference in them, and the player can "make change" with them, i.e. four infantry for one artillery, two infantry for one cavalry. This, along with the qualitative differences between the nations, especially the Spanish, being resolved with the roll of an extra die or two leaves the game feeling like Risk at times, but the addition of the cards to influence the battle can make it tense. Is the British player going to play the card "Russian Front" and cause the French player to remove 5 strength points and suffer a +2 on all reinforcement rolls? Or will the French player get to play "Humbugged" on the British and cause Wellington to lead like a very mediocre general? This along with the opportunities for inactive allies or enemies to throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans does help to make each game of Wellington different and at times nail biting. If you don’t mind the deviation from true history, this game might be just what you are looking for.

Armchair General Score: 83%

32/40 - Gameplay
14/15 - Components
17/20 - Rules/Documentation
13/15 - Replay Value
07/10 - General’s Rating

GMT Games - Wellington Page.

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Author Information:

Jeff Cherpeski is a system administrator and long-time gamer and miniature hobbyist. When not pushing or painting lead, he can be found reading history and trying to find solitude in a house with three kids and a wife.

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