Salamanca (wargame)
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 | |
| Designers | Bob Stuart |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Maplay Games |
| Publication | 1976 |
| Genres | Napoleonic |
Salamanca is a board wargame published by the British company Maplay Games in 1976 that simulates the Napoleonic-era Battle of Salamanca.
In the spring of 1812, during the Peninsular War, an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington (future Duke of Wellington) marched north through the Iberian Peninsula to meet a French army under Marshal Auguste Marmont. On 22 July 1812, the two armies met a few miles outside the Spanish town of Salamanca.[1]
Description
Salamanca is a 2-player board wargame in which one side controls Anglo-Portuguese forces, and the other side controls French forces.[2]
Gameplay
The game system uses a simple "I Go, You Go" system of alternating turns:
- Move
- Cavalry retreats before combat
- Combat
Both players completing this sequence is one game turn — the game is 16 turns, each representing one hour of game time. The battle begins at 5 am and ends at 9 pm. There is a possibility of a storm between 4 pm and 7 pm that can affect the battle.[3]
Victory conditions
The French win if 12 French units move off the west edge of the map. The Allies win by eliminating 15 French units AND they do not allow more than 4 French units off the west edge of the map. If neither side fulfills their victory conditions, the game is a draw.[3]
Publication history
The British game company Maplay had published the modern tactical wargame Guerrilla in 1974, and followed this up with a Napoleonic game, Salamanca, designed by Bob Stuart and published in 1976. This was to be the last game released by Maplay — the company went out of business shortly afterwards.[4]