Napoleonic

War and Peace

War and Peace is a game that allows players to recreate the fight for Europe from 1805 to 1815. The game is designed for play by two players, one player being the French player and the other player is the British. Each player also controls one of the major countries of France, Britain, Austria, Russia, or Spain. Prussia is also in the game but starts neutral. The countries of France, Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Spain are represented by infantry, artillery, cavalry, naval units. The countries of France and Britain are at war throughout the game. The countries of Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Spain become neutral, conquered neutrals, French allies, or British allies through the use of diplomatic resources or military conquest.

France starts out strong militarily with the aid of the Spanish navy and a strong French army. Austria and Russia, when united, have strong armies while England rules the waves and buys influence and allies. Victory is determined by the conquest of France or Britain, or causing the isolation of Britain through political and economic means. The fate of Europe rests in your hands...

Liberté

Liberté covers the French Revolution from 1789 and the meeting of the Estates General to the Directory and Bonaparte’s coup d’état in 1799.
The game is played in four turns. In each turn there will be a variable number of rounds, followed by an election to see which faction becomes the government. There are three factions, the Radicals (red), the Moderates (blue), and the Royalists (white). The most common action is for a player to place faction blocks on the board. He shows he controls these blocks by placing one of his tokens on top of the stack.

The cards are divided into two sets, set 'A' and 'B'. The 'A' deck is used first and tends to favor the moderates and Royalists. Once this deck has been exhausted the 'B' deck comes into play, which tends to favor the radicals.

The election is triggered when all of one type of faction block has been exhausted. The faction blocks will determine which faction forms the next government. Players are attempting to score victory points by having the most influence in the government and opposition. Points can also be picked up in later turns for being the general in charge at a victorious battle, and for winning elections in specific provinces.

Normally the player with the most victory points will win. However, there are two sudden death game end conditions that may alter the outcome. The first is a radical electoral landslide, triggered by the red faction gaining 17 or more votes. The second is successful Royalist counter-revolution, precipitated by Royalist control of seven counter-revolutionary provinces. In both cases, victory is determined by a different set of criteria, in which accrued victory points do not count. The player who is ahead on points must be aware that one mistake could lead to defeat at the hands of the Jacobins or Royalists!

It is likely that you will never have played a game quite like this one and you may find yourself wondering what strategies to employ. Do not despair! Once you have completed your first game you will realize that amongst the apparent chaos of the game of the game there are many opportunities for long-term planning.

Liberté is #6 in the Valley Games Classic Line

Ultimate Stratego

Ultimate Stratego is an updated version of the original which introduces 3 new gameplay modes. The Lightning Game pits 2 players against each other in fast-paced 1-on-1 combat. The Campaign Game introduces 4 army combat, giving each player control of 2 armies instead of 1. Finally, the Alliances Game is a 4 player partnership battle. Ultimate Stratego features a double sided square combat board and introduces revised rules and new ranks to the original game.

Cinco de Mayo (2 de Mayo)

2 de Mayo is an abstract game of the terrible incidents that took place in Madrid on May 2, 1808. On that date, civilians in Madrid — and a few Spanish army units — rebelled against the French occupation troops of Napoleon.

2 de Mayo is a bilingual (English and Spanish) boardgame for two players, in which each player controls the forces of one side, either Spanish or French. The game lasts 10 turns and takes about 20-30 minutes to play.
Each turn is divided into four phases:
Preparation
Orders
Movement
Resolution
At the end of Turn 10, the French player achieves victory if all the Spanish forces have been eliminated, all the access areas to Madrid are French garrisoned and has not lost four or more cubes. If a French victory does not apply, the Spanish player wins.

Stratego

From the box:

The gameboard is your battlefield. You have an army of men at your disposal and six bombs. Your mission--protect your flag and capture your opponent's flag.

Secretly place your men, bombs, and flag on the gameboard with these objectives in mind. But remember your opponent is doing the same thing, so you must plan a defense as well as an offense.

Once the armies are in place, advance your men. When you're one space away from an enemy, attack. You and your opponent declare ranks. The lower-ranking man is captured and out of play.

You control your pieces and risk your men in battles where the strength of your enemy is unknown. The suspense builds as your men move deeper into enemy territory. Move with caution and courage. The next piece you attack could be a bomb. And when attacked, it could "blast" your man off the board and out of play.

The first to capture an enemy flag is the winner!

This game is similar to, and almost certainly derived directly from, the H.P. Gibsons (UK) game L'Attaque (1909). It is not exactly the same, but not far from it (numbered pieces, spy (same name) can kill the strongest piece but only when attacking, flag, bombs, etc.) These game in turn almost certainly draw on the classic Chinese children's game Dou Shou Qi.

Re-implemented by:

Stratego (Revised Edition) (aka Stratego Fire & Ice)
The Generals
Stratego: Legends
Stratego: Star Wars
Stratego: The Lord of the Rings
Ultimate Stratego
Electronic Stratego
Stratego: Marvel Heroes
Stratego: Star Wars Saga Edition
Stratego: The Chronicles of Narnia

and numerous others.

Similar to:

Admirals
Lu Zhan Jun Qi
L'Attaque
Batalj
Sharpe's Attack

Different Edition Complications
When first produced in Europe, the most powerful pieces had higher numbers. I.e. the Marshall (most powerful piece) was a 10, the General was a 9, and so on. The higher the rank, the higher the number.
When they introduced Stratego in the USA, the numbering was reversed, so the Marshall was a 1, the General 2, and so on. The 1st rank (most powerful) was 1, the second most powerful was 2, 3rd most powerful was 3....
Then, in 2000s Hasbro re-imagined Stratego in the USA and made a few changes. They reduced the number of pieces per side (from 40 to 30), added additional powers, and changed the numbering to reflect the European system.
This caused extreme consternation with many faithful American Stratego fans who preferred the 'old way'. (Actually the second oldest way, but whatever.) Many of these insist on playing Stratego with the 'Marshall 1 system'.
This wouldn't be a problem, except any and all discussions of Stratego are fraught with misunderstandings by those who are unaware of dual numbering systems! Keep this in mind when reading information about Stratego.