The Emperor Returns

The Battle of Waterloo was a narrow victory for forces of the Seventh Coalition under General Arthur Wellesely, and if several small factors had changed — for example, if French Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy had not pursued Prussian troops at nearby Wavre and had instead returned in time for the main battle — a French victory might have been very possible.

[1] The Emperor Returns is a two-player wargame in which one person controls French forces under Napoleon, and the other player controls armies of the Seventh Coalition under General Arthur Wellesely, and covers a hypothetical month-long campaign by Napoleon in Belgium following a fictional French victory at Waterloo.

Rules cover the movements and fighting of Napoleonic era armies, including features such as supply and attrition, morale, leadership, and military intelligence and administration.

The box cover features the painting Napoleon Returning from Elba by 19th-century Russian painter Vasily Sternberg.

Much of what the system offers is clever, deceptively atmospheric and it comes closer than many to its goal, but for those of you who want a true simulation the field is still wide open."