Napoleon Total War, a classic total war game with epic musket and (somewhat underwhelming) naval battles. You’ve made a great purchase, and if you’re a fan of RTS games like me, then you will definitely put a couple of hours into this one.
- How To Play Napoleon Card Game
- How To Play Napoleon Solitaire
- How To Play Napoleon Total War Multiplayer
- How To Play Napoleonic Wars
With so many factions to choose from, Russia seems like such an interesting choice given that not many players actually play it. This happens mostly because:
- It is a difficult faction to play as
- Everyone wants to be their own Napoleon Bonaparte
The intention of the film is to capture Napoleon's famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary. Civilization 5 France - Leader: Napoleon Civ Bonuses, Strategies, Unique Units and Buildings. Civilization Name: France. Civ Leader: Napoleon. Civ Bonus: City of Light: Doubles theming bonuses from Museums and World Wonders in their Capital. This will not kick in until the mid-game, but you should play with using this bonus in mind. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Napoleon Revolution; Buy Napoleon: Total War. While Shogun 2: Total War is the newest game in the Total War series, Napoleon: Total War is still a very enjoyable game to play, and with several factions to choose from and a wide variety of maps and units to play with, the replay value of this game is almost infinite.
In this guide I will go over some units, general strategies and tips that could transform you into the Russian faction player you’ve always dreamed of being.
Army Composition
First and foremost, it does not necessarily matter what kind of troops you decide to bring in to battle. However, in most multiplayer lobbies, there is often a rule that states no unicorns are allowed. This guide will focus on other classes of troops with no reference to unicorn artillery, as the unicorn artillery is basically a broken feature that leaves devastating effects on the enemy.
Artillery
As previously stated, do not touch the Unicorn artillery (unless the game rules don’t state it or you personally hate your opponent to bits). I will also caution you to not be tempted by the experimental howitzer, as they are expensive pieces of artillery and they never seem to hit their target or get you any kills. This unfortunately leaves you, as the Russian player, with no howitzers, but that’s okay! There are two ways to get around this:
- Ask your allies to bring howitzers that could support you.
- Bring field cannons, they can also be devastating if used properly.
How To Play Napoleon Card Game
At this point, me telling you what not to pick should suffice for what you should choose as artillery. I always personally go for the 6lber horse artillery as its range is adequate enough, the price is cheap, and the mobility makes it extremely versatile. In fact, the entire outcome or behavior of your enemy can be dictated by the speed and placement of your artillery, so going with the horse carried artillery might even be the best option. Depending on the map however, it can be reasonable to also bring the regular foot artillery, and that freedom of choice goes to you. Pick a class and see what works and what doesn’t; after all, artillery should be used as for support so think of how you want to play against your opponent or the map you are on.
Line Infantry
Also known as the bulk of the army! Line infantry is extremely important as they protect your artillery, support your light infantry, and shield off valuable flanks and openings. Since all users now have all the Napoleon Total War DLC’s for free (yay thanks Creative Assembly!), you have quite the selection of troops available for your army.
Elite Line Infantry
First you want to think about the most expensive type of troop, your elites. Do not bring in more than 3 elites as the cost can get quite heavy and you may find yourself lacking in other areas of your army later on. You really have two options that you can choose from (or choose both ? ), the Lifeguard Foot and the Semenovski Lifeguard. These troops must, and I repeat:must be in your army because they are one of the few infantry species that are capable of allowing your army to stand up and shoot off against other enemy elites. Usually, I would pick two Lifeguard Foot and one Semenovski Lifeguard, or sometimes just three Lifeguard Foot depending on how I decide to play. If I plan on being super aggressive I would include the Semenovski Lifeguard as they have the same statistics in melee as the legendary French “Old Guard” unit. If I plan on playing in a more “shooting” fashion or defensively, then I will bring the Lifeguard Foot as they are slightly better shots than the Semenovski Lifeguard.
Regular Line Infantry
Here is the reason why nobody likes to play as Russia: their lines can’t shoot for poop! If this were Star Wars, these guys would definitely be known as the Empire’s Storm Troopers, but don’t worry, even the Empire still managed to conquer solar systems and the galaxy!
Firstly, consider always bringing at least 6 Russian Musketeers. They may suck, but two musketeer units can still take out an elite unit (even an old guard unit) if you can position them well! These guys are needed to support light infantry as they are the bread and butter of your army. They will form squares to fight off cavalry, they will decimate enemy units at close range, and can be used for their best quality: their charge.
Russian Musketeers are highly buffed when it comes to charging as they pack a moral shock upon impact (just don’t charge them into cavalry!). If you can effectively make the musketeer volleys fall on the enemy and finish them with a charge once the enemy’s troop count becomes 1/3 of what they started with, then you can be certain you will be breaking enemy lines. However, keep this tactic as a last resort, because you often don’t want to get into melee fights for the sake of it because once the fighting gets started, the Russians can very well lose a melee after they used their initial charge. It is also important to monitor how tired they are as a charge can obviously fail if your troops are exhausted.
Moscow Musketeers are basically a more decent and skilled version of the regular musketeer unit, but not to the extent where I would classify them as an elite unit. If money permits it, you can totally switch out a regular musketeer unit and replace it with the Moscow Musketeer and see if that gives you an extra edge in battle.
Grenadiers are not a good unit to go to (in my opinion) for these reasons:
- They are pricey
- They give you less troops per regiment size compared to regular line infantry
- Grenades don’t really work and is extremely difficult to properly execute
There is an exception though! Pavlovsk Grenadiers! These guys are exceptional at taking buildings and with a charge bonus of 27, they are to be feared! They are however, very situational, and should only be selected if you can imagine a perfect scenario where you could use them.
Light Infantry
Russia does not have skirmishers but they have light infantry. Although light infantry has less range than skirmishers, they do have more troops and more troops = more firepower. These troops are important as they will be getting most of the kills for you as they manage extremely well in fire fight exchanges. Any light troop will do, and the 17th Jager Regiment is a must-get because of it’s above average accuracy and morale. Generally, I will always advise to get 4 lights, no more, no less.
Cavalry
Russia has one of the strongest cavalry in the game. Their elite and heavy cavalry can smash through lines and are great at scaring your enemy from venturing onto your side of the battlefield. Although they can be slow, it does not dispute the fact that they can pack quite the punch.
Let’s not forget the Hussars, while extremely versatile, are great at harassing light infantry and skirmishers, and excellent at sneaking around enemy lines. This also goes for any other light cavalry in general.
Now you might wonder, “okay so what do I choose?”. The answer is simple: Whatever you can afford at this point. Russian Cavalry is all around excellent, just make sure you bring enough! My recommendation is roughly 4 or more.
There is also the Cossack Cavalry. They are classified as part of the lancer cavalry group so make sure you treat them as such. This comes out as a bummer since they cannot really hold their own in combat, you can only really use them as a unit that can harass others, or for their lancing charge bonus. Their morale is also quite low because they are basically a militia unit on a horse. I recommend maybe getting 1 or 2 of these in your army composition at max!
Tips and Strategies
These tips and strategies are exclusive information for Russian tactics and play style. There will be another blog with more info on general strategies every basic Napoleon Total War Player should use.
Tip 1: Keep your Elites on your flanks or in Reserve
Your elites are there to face off against dangerous enemy opposition or to break through weak points. Do not keep them as a regular bulk part of your line because they will most likely get picked off by light infantry or enemy artillery. And the worse thing that could happen is you losing the unit to a regular enemy musketeer unit just because you were not paying attention. It is more wise to leave your elites to guard your artillery and to keep them close but hidden so that they are able to adjust to the enemy’s movements or mistakes (or even your mistakes! ? ).
Tip 2: Treat your Musketeers as Cannon Fodder
They can’t shoot straight, and only work in numbers. A lone musketeer unit will always fail, and their charge bonus only lasts a few seconds so don’t expect to win melee fights with them either. Instead, use them as a buffed militia unit. Let them take hits, but make sure the enemy takes hits in return so that your Russian Musketeer’s morale does not drop too fast (or end up routing on you).
This is pretty difficult to master, but don’t worry, I will list out some bullet points that you should religiously follow when using these kind of units.
- Use them in numbers, do not isolate units, do not allow units to fight for buildings alone, and keep them in their formation.
- Allow your musketeers to take hits while neighboring musketeers, elites, or light infantry focus on killing the enemy.
- Keep your musketeers behind your lights so that cavalry won’t decimate them.
- Put more faith into your musketeers winning a firefight rather than a melee.
Remember! The Russian Musketeers are the bulk of your army, and don’t get too concerned if they die more quickly than the usual musketeers from other factions, but make sure you get every last shot out of each unit!
Tip 3: Always target your artillery at enemy troops!
Too many players (especially when playing defensively) target their artillery towards the enemy artillery. Now if you expect your battle to last over an hour, this could make sense, but you want to get used to rushing the enemy with the Russians. (Haha, get it? Rushing with Russians?)
Your musketeers need all the support they can get, and your light infantry only has a limited amount of ammo. Get your artillery to break through lines of the enemy, dismember their formation so that you have more firepower than they do once your lines meet them.
Also, if in range, always aim for enemy cavalry. One cannon ball can make a whole unit fall like a Jenga Tower.
How To Play Napoleon Solitaire
Tip 4: Let your light infantry do the work (Final tip)
Your light infantry will always rack up the most kills, especially once placed in light infantry mode. They will spread out, be more difficult to hit, and are far more accurate than the Russian musketeers. The tricky bit is to make sure that you always see where they are shooting and how many shots they are landing. If they are shooting and you notice that 5 volleys later, the enemy only maybe lost 20 troops, I highly recommend you allow them to cease fire until a better opportunity arises.
Always protect your light infantry with musketeers. If you see incoming cavalry, retreat your lights behind your lines and allow your musketeers to form square. If the enemy gets up close and personal, you may also want to consider getting your light infantry out of there.
If your light infantry runs out of ammo, keep them! They still have the Russian charge bonus and them being so spread out in light infantry mode just makes them a harder target to hit. The perfect meat shield if you ask me.
The Take-Away
In order to succeed as playing the Russian Empire in Napoleon Total War, you just need to understand what your troops are capable of and it can take a few matches to figure that out, so remember to be patient with yourself. Also, you need to be one who seizes opportunity, as you cannot really afford to make a mistake when playing this nation. You have to exploit and be aggressive with this Nation if you want to defeat super empires like France, Great Britain, or Prussia.
Do you have some thoughts you would like to add? Leave a comment below! Or better yet: start a forum topic on the website! Remember to help all our brothers out, we are all here to take in information, share ideas, and learn ?
We also have a youtube channel, so if you are interested to see how some players play as the Russian Empire, check our videos out!
Introduction
This is not a guide for the British card game “Napoleon”. While it is in the same family of card games this game is derived from the Five-Hand Five Hundred version of Euchre.
The main modification between this new Napoleon, and the older version, is that it is separate from all other trick-based games; the points associated with bids are not tricks won, instead they are face cards won.
Basics
Number of Players: Four players or five players recommended
Playing time: Half an hour
History
Like the card game Mao, Napoleon is a game named after a great and powerful leader. This game could be called “Emperor,” or “Conquerer,” but is called Napoleon after Napoleon Bonaparte because he was a great conquerer.
Object of the game
The object of each game is to collect an amount of royalty (face cards; tens, jacks, queens, kings, and aces) to make or break the bid.
Basic concepts
The highest bidder is the Napoleon. The Napoleon then announces a card, whose bearer is the Napoleon’s secret partner, his general. Napoleon and his general will try to win at least the bidded number of face cards and the others will try to prevent this. Napoleon is a game of “trust;” players will trust each other not to be the general, and the Napoleon trusts the other players to be the general when they drop royalty in a trick.
How To Play Napoleon Total War Multiplayer
Deal
A standard deck is used, with no jokers. Aces are high. The dealer shuffles and deals each player twelve cards (with four players) or ten cards (with five players). The remaining cards are put face-down in the middle.
Bid
Players then view their hands, sorting by suit. A bid is an attempt to be Napoleon. You bid announcing the number of face cards (10, J, Q, K, A) you plan to win with your partner (there are twenty in a full deck), followed by the suit you want trump.
For example, if you have a large amount of high clubs, you may bid “eleven clubs.” Players may bid as many times as they desire, up to a bid of twenty (almost impossible). The player who wins the bidding is the Napoleon.
Napoleon then announces a card (e.g. King of Hearts) and the holder of that card then becomes Napoleon’s secret partner, his “general.” Napoleon then takes the two or four cards in the middle into his hand and then discards the same number of cards, placing them face down in a discard pile.
Play
Once the Napoleon has discarded the extra cards, he leads, playing any card he desires. Play goes clockwise. Each player must follow suit if they are able to do so. The highest card of the lead suit wins the trick unless a person without cards in that suit plays a card in the trump suit. The highest trump would win.
The winner of each trick takes the face cards (tens, jacks, queens, kings, and aces) and places them face up in front of him or herself. The rest of the cards are turned face down in the discard pile. There only needs to be one discard pile. The winner of each trick leads the next.
Special Cards
If every player follows suit, the trick is not the first trick, there are no super-cards in the trick (see later), and a player has played the two of the suit, the two wins the trick. There are three super-cards (also called power cards), the ace of spades, the jack of trump suit, and the jack of trump colour.
If the ace of spades is played in a trick, the ace of spades wins.
If the jack of the trump suit is played in a trick and the ace of spades is not, the trump jack wins.
If the previous two cards were not played and the jack of the same color as the trump suit is played, then that jack wins.
Super-cards will beat trump cards. If clubs is trump, the ace of clubs is the fourth most powerful card in the game. The queen, king, and ace of clubs would lose to the jack of clubs or spades. The jacks of the opposite color as trump (in the example this would be hearts and diamonds) are not special.
Trust
In this game, players can say, trust. In most circles, you can only say “trust” if you have already played a card in the current trick. Saying “trust” means that you think that you are going to win the trick and that the other players should trust that you aren’t the general (or that Napoleon should trust that you are). This is part of the “secret partner” aspect of the game. It makes the game more exciting and less predictable than spades or pitch.
Scoring
Napoleon is usually played for stakes. An equal number of chips are distributed to every player. It is also possible to play for money. If the bidder makes his bid, he collects from each other player, although it matters nothing if he makes more tricks than he declared.
How To Play Napoleonic Wars
He is paid only for the number of tricks that he first declared. If he is defeated, he pays every other player, but only for the tricks he declared before the play
Less than 5: Bidder wins 1 for each trick from every player, or pays 1 for each trick to every player if he loses.
Roulette gratis spielen. Nap: Bidder wins 10 from every player, or loses 5 to every player. Thus, playing Nap against 4 players, the bidder would win 40 chips (10 from every player), or lose 20 chips (the bidder pays 5 to every player).
Penalties
Failure to follow suit to the lead when able is called a “revoke”. A revoking bidder must pay all opponents as though he had lost. A revoking player must pay the bidder the full amount he would have collected had he won. In the last case, the other opponents pay nothing. In every case, play is abandoned and settlement is made at once.
Related External Links
Related External Links
There is a useful Napoleon walkthrough on the pagat website.