Glory & Empire: First Victories

Glory & Empire: First Victories is a tactical Napoleonic wargame covering Wellington’s early victories against French forces in the Peninsular War, with battles at Roliça and Vimeiro.

The system focuses on formations, command control, morale, fatigue, manoeuvre, and combined-arms tactics. Players command infantry, cavalry, artillery, and leaders across battlefields where timing, formation choice, and coordination matter as much as raw combat strength.

Designed as the first complete game in the Glory & Empire series, First Victories is built to introduce players to Napoleonic battlefield command while still offering enough depth for experienced wargamers. The rules structure supports different levels of play, allowing players to learn the system step by step before moving into the fuller tactical experience.

The game also includes Lock ’n Load’s AI-enhanced support tools, including an online rulebook and assistant for rule clarifications, tactical suggestions, and historical context.

Contents include: four counter sheets with 600+ counters, one 22" x 34" Vimeiro map, one 22" x 17" Roliça map, a 128-page spiral-bound core rule manual, a 192-page spiral-bound companion book, multiple double-sided player aid cards, four artillery templates, four 16mm d10 percentile dice, 69 tarot-size data cards, a plastic insert, and a 3" deep heavy-duty box.

Step onto the battlefields of the Peninsular War and Waterloo campaign with Glory and Empire: First Victories – Wellington versus Napoleon, an exquisite grand-tactical simulation from Lock 'n Load Publishing. Masterfully engineered for 1 to 2 players with an immersive playing time ranging from 120 to 480+ minutes, this foundational volume introduces the premier Glory and Empire wargaming system.

Command elite French, British, and allied coalitions through historically vital early clashes, including Roliça and Vimeiro. Utilizing a deep battalion-level scale, custom activation charts, and rigorous line-of-sight tracking, the game models the precise nuances of black-powder era deployment. From checking cavalry charges with defensive infantry squares to coordinating sweeping grand battery artillery barrages, this heavyweight hex-and-counter experience delivers uncompromised realism and gripping tactical depth directly to your tabletop.

Historical Setting & Thematic Scale

Glory and Empire: First Victories – Wellington versus Napoleon explores the crucible where Sir Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington) first forged his reputation as a legendary counterweight to the French Empire. The game focuses heavily on the initial campaigns in Portugal (1808), where British intervention threw a massive wrench into Napoleon’s Peninsular ambitions.

At a grand-tactical scale, this system rejects abstract simplifications. Individual hexes measure just 125 yards across, and each game turn represents 20 minutes of real-time battlefield chaos. Cardboard counters represent actual historical battalions, cavalry squadrons, and individual artillery batteries. This places players exactly in the boots of a theater commander, dealing directly with the agonizing delay of sending orders down a sprawling, smoke-choked line.

Core Gameplay & Heavy Tactical Mechanics

The gameplay engine is designed from the ground up to reward authentic historical tactics. Rather than focusing purely on raw combat math, First Victories implements a sophisticated system of formation stances, command structures, and morale states.

Major mechanics fueling this system include:

• The Formation Menu: Units can switch between Column (optimized for rapid movement and melee assault), Line (engineered for maximum musketry firepower), and Square (vital for repelling devastating cavalry breakthroughs).
• Asymmetric Activation Check: Leaders must exert localized command control to activate formations. Command failure or poor staff work can leave whole brigades stranded or disorganized under heavy enemy skirmisher fire.
• Comprehensive Combat Modifiers: Fire and shock combat calculations are deeply detailed, accounting for precise terrain elevation, weapon type effectiveness, defensive cover structures, and the current fatigue levels of your troops.

Uncompromised Component Quality & Replayability

As a flagship release from Lock 'n Load Publishing, the product design is stunningly premium. The box features heavy-duty, pre-rounded counters, multi-color terrain aids, and beautiful, highly detailed hex maps.

The box packs immense replayability across multiple historical scenarios. Players can tackle shorter introductory skirmishes or engage in grueling, multi-map grand engagements. While explicitly designed for intense, head-to-head competitive simulation, the highly detailed command tracking and open-information flow make it an incredibly rich solitaire wargaming playground for dedicated lone commanders.

BOARDGAMEGENERAL ADVICE

Expert Recommendation

At Boardgamegeneral, we want to be completely candid: Glory and Empire: First Victories is a serious, heavyweight wargame. Boasting an estimated BGG complexity weight of 4.10 / 5, this box is specifically engineered for veteran wargamers who crave deep tactical fidelity. It stands proudly alongside legendary simulation systems like GMT’s Great Battles of history or the classic La Bataille series.

The absolute strength of David Deitchley’s design is its incredible realism. It doesn’t just let you move pieces; it forces you to understand why historical commanders deployed the way they did. Watching a perfectly timed cavalry charge catch an opponent's infantry line before they can scramble into a defensive square is an unparalleled tabletop rush.

The primary drawback is the significant rule overhead. This is not a game you unbox and play within an hour; it requires a serious commitment to learning the multi-layered rules of shock, fire, and command hierarchy. If you prefer light, fast-playing card games, this will be overwhelming. But if you want the definitive, granular Napoleonic tactical puzzle, this is a masterwork.

Verdict: An absolute triumph of grand-tactical wargaming. It is a mandatory cornerstone addition for veteran Napoleonic hobbyists looking to experience the Peninsular War at its most authentic level.