Rules Automa Commands and Colors: Napoleonics

Developed and written by jkwaahla, Oslo, Norway.

What an automa is and isn’t

An automa is a very simple form of AI (Artificial Intelligence) for a board game, usually based on a
deck of cards. It tries to mimic the experience of an opponent playing against the player in lieu of
human opponents. While an automa tries to make meaningful moves on the board and provide a
challenge to the player it is in no way a real person. It can’t make long plans or work according some
kind of grand strategy. Rather, when I designed it I tried to make an “engine” that performs the “the
best move based on the card it drew”. I’ve also tried to give it some “player properties” by giving it
different goals when playing different cards, this hopefully means that you can get experiences where
the engine first moves it’s troopes into good defensive positions and then, when you’ve moved closer,
it attacks or that it when it has removed a few of your units it will fortify it’s position by moving into
strongholds. It’s also not meant to be a replacement to the StukaJoe system that I know is often used
by solo-players playing C & C: Napoleonics. I would rather like it to be seen as a compliment.
StukaJoe’s system is a bit like playing chess against oneself, something that can be both fun and good
practice. This however is a bit more like playing a, admittedly not particularly strong, chess computer.
Not sure if you learn that much from it but you’ll get more of a feeling of “someone on the other side
calling the shots”.

Necessary equipement
In order to play with this automa you do of course need a copy of the base game of C & C:
Napoleonics. You also need to print out the automa deck that I’ve made and cut out the cards so that
they are shuffable (perhaps glue them to some cardboard). Besides that you’ll need a 1-2 d6 dice for a
few random die rolls. You do not need any of the expansion packages to C & C: Napoleonics and it is
actually not clear how well they combine with the automa. I’ve tried to come up with possible rules to
implement the “special rules” for the non-french armies but have so far only tested the Russian rules.
I’ve also figured out no proper way to implement the Tactician cards.

How to use the automa

Set up a regular game and choose a side. The automa will play the other side. Shuffle to automa deck.
The game flows as follows: All units move and battle as they would in a normal game, the cards
merely decides which units that moves and where. Each time it is the automas turn you draw one card
from the automa deck and read the top part of the card from left to right and top to bottom. This will
give you information on what typ of goals the automa has this turn, how many units it moves and
which parts of the board the movement takes place on. You then perform the movement according to
rules described below and finishes the automas turn. On your turn, if you attack the automa during
your turn you draw one card and read the bottom part of the card, from top to bottom and left to right,
to decide how the automa responds. The one card decides the reaction for every unit that is attacked.
Played cards are placed in a discard pile. Continue this way until either side has reached the desired
number of victory banners. Whenever the deck runs out or a symbol says so, you reshuffle the deck.

Cards and Card layout

Focus Row

Decides the general strategy of the turn. An automas turn can have up to three different goals each turn
and the goals are prioritized from left to right with the leftmost having the highest priority. The three
different goals with symbols are listed below and how to interpret them will be explained under The
Automas turn.

Goals:

Attack – Automa will attack the players units.

Position – Automa will try to position their units into strong positions (hexes with good
terrain).

Tactics – Automa will try to move towards/onto hexes that grants a victory banner.

Unit row

Decides the number of units, written in roman numerals, that the automa will move this turn.
Location row

Decides where the automa will move their units. The filled rectangles represents the parts of the board
where movement takes place (in the example above it is in the movement would take place in the
center). It is entirely possible for the automa to be able to move everywhere on the board and that is
marked by all three rectangles being filled.

Defensive strategy

Decides how the automa reacts to being attacked. Can be either OFFENSIVE or DEFENSIVE and
the OFFENSIVE strategies can be combined with a FIRST STRIKE. What this means will be
discussed under The Players Turn.

Divided Goals

Some of the cards have divided goals. In these cases the goals are read so that the goals within the
same box are grouped together. The number of units used is the number beneath the box in question.
As an example the card above would read: the automa moves three units in the center, two of which
have the goals Position followed by Attack. The third unit has the goal Tactics.
Special cards

Star cards – There are four cards with a star (purple circle) in either the top or bottom part of the card
respectively (bottom star shown above). If either of these cards are drawn and the part with the star is
used (for the card above that would be the bottom part that would be used) the automa deck should be
reshuffled at the end of the turn (so either after the autom has finished it’s turn or after the player has
finished his turn.

Unit cards – Eight cards (two each for infantry, cavalry and artillery and two with a bicorn which
indicates leader units) have got the location row exchanged for a unit type symbol (green rectangles).
These cards are read as the others but instead of a particular part of the board there is a particular unit
type that is moved.

Bonus cards – Some of the special cards are also Bonus cards which means that they have a + X dice
or +X hex symbol on them (orange rectangles). They indicate that the units will battle with one extra
die or have the ability to move one extra hex when that card is drawn.
Text cards – There are four Text cards (Rally, Elan, Le Grande Manoeuvre and Counter-Attack)
with text on them rather than a Unit row or a Location row. These cards are supposed to mimic the
special cards from the command deck. When drawn the text will explain how the automa performs
them.

The Automas Turn

On the automas turn a card is drawn, an offensive draw, and the focus row at the top is inspected.
This decides which type of round there will be. One then reads the card from top to bottom to decide
the number of units that will be involved and where. An important point to remember is that the
automa normally only attacks on one third of the board. When a card marked with two flanks (two
filled flank rectangles like the one below) is drawn, one simply chooses the flank where most units can
move according to the most prioritized goal in the focus row.

For the card above this means that one would look at the flank and see which flank has the most units
that can either move and attack or simply attack. Priority always trumps number of legal moves and
lower priority goal (further to the right in the focus row) only matter if there are no legal moves based
on the first goal or if the number of legal moves are equal. For example, if the automa plays the card
above and have two units on the right that can attack and one unit on the left that can attack the automa
will move on the right even if the left flank have three units that can move into strong defensive terrain
and the right flank has no other units what so ever. If, however, there would have been no legal
attacking moves on either flanks (or an equal number on both flanks) the left flank would have been
preferred since it had more legal secondary goal moves. If there is a draw one simply rolls a die (odd
numbers means left flank and even numbers means right flank). In the special case where all three
rectangles in the location row are filled out there is no restriction on where the move takes place (and
the automa will attack all over the board). For the sake of simplicity, in the cases where the goal has
several “priority lists” (Positional and Tactics) only the first list is used (Looking for cover in
Positional and looking for objectives in Tactics) when deciding attacking flank.
With the location and numbers decided it is time to move units. In those few cases where the number
of scout cards are counted, all automa cards moving a single unit (Excluding dual move cards) are
seen as scout cards as long as they are played in “Offensive draws” (i.e. not as a part of a draw
defending against the player). As stated before the focus row decides which goals the automa has this
turn. The automa start with the left-most goal and perform legal moves until it either has moved all
units it may move that turn or run out of legal moves with the particular goal in mind. If it has some
remaining “moves” to perform that turn it move the remaining units according to the secondary goal.
If there are no legal moves that would fulfill any of the goals in the focus row available the remaining
“moves” are forfeited. As an example based on the card above: The automa has two units that can
move and attack and performs those moves, since it still has “moves” left and a unit that can move into
a forest that unit moves into a forest. The final move is forfeited.

With that we move onto how each goal works.

Attack – Moves should lead to an attack on the opponents units. Automa always moves all
units before attacking and no moves that cancels the attack of an already moved unit is
allowed (that is, if the automa has a preferred move none of the lower priority moves are allowed to
cancel the preferred move, for example by moving in front of the unit). Infantry and cavalry units with
a single block left only attack weak units (one or two blocks left) unless the attacked unit is attacked
by multiple friendly units. Weak units prioritize ranged attacks. When several options are available the
following priority applies:

1) Move with most attacking dice for automa. When a cavalry unit attacks an infantry unit that is
not in a square the number of dice used for priority consideration is the number of dice the
unit.
2) Attacked unit with fewest blocks (that is, the unit that is easiest to take out).
3) Attack on enemy unit that is already being attacked (if “Combined attack” is possible it is
prioritized since it has the most dice[See 1]).
4) Attack unit using method that gives most potential successes on dies (for example, close
combat vs. ranged attack or a unit that have retreats cut off by terrain, other units or the edge
of the board or a unit that is in a square).
5) Unit closest to the automas side of the board (that is, the row furthest back).

If one still can’t separate two moves, roll a die (one move on odd results and one on even). Combat is
resolved as normal and the player may battle back. No defensive draw is performed when the player
battles back since neither “squares” or “retire and reform”-actions can be performed. It should be
noted that the automa doesn’t perform any cavalry bonus attacks, nor does the infantry take ground
nor does the cavalry break through.

Position – Move should lead to units in “good terrain”, that is hexes with good protective
(Forests, hills, towns, field works, etc, also includes supporting an infantry unit). If a unit can
attack after performing a move it will attack, however attacking abilities does not affect which moves
are chosen (if there is a higher priority move available that move will be performed instead regardless
of attacking power). This is to prevent that the automa moves up to enemy units and let us have the
first strike. All movement is performed before any possible attack and no consideration is given to the
attack (that is, if a move with lower priority would make the attack impossible, for example by
blocking line of sight, it is still an allowed move unlike when attacking). When several options are
available the following priority applies:

1) Defensive ability (number of dices removed from attacker), bolster moral does not count here.
2) Support unit (That is, bolster moral) by moving next to it, can involve a leader moving into
unit but not a leader switching units. Coming out of a square is seen as a defensive move at
this level (unit does not have to move, but can simply stay in the same place if no
advantageous ground is found).
3) Attackpower, if attack is possible and the moves in question are positional (bolster moral or
improves defensive ability).

If there is no preferential terrain to take, the back rows instead moves forward IF it is possible to do so
without enter into the enemy’s attacking range (excluding enemy artillery). Cavalry moves as many
steps as it is allowed to do (without being in an enemy’s attacking range) and do not move unless it
can move at least two hexes. This does not apply to units with a single block left and units with only
two blocks left have lowest priority regardless of their place on the board. When several options are
available the following priority applies:

1) Artillery (unless it can attack with at least two dice).

2) Unit closest to automas side of the board.

This never applies to units on the fourth row or further up the board.

If one can’t separate two moves, roll a die (one move on odd results and one on even).

Tactics – Move units towards a hex that would give it a victory banner. Unlike other goals, the
unit does not actually have to reach the hex (it can simply move in that direction). The legal
route with the lowest number of hexes is always taken. When several options are available the
following priority applies:

1) Proximity (that is, the unit finishing closest to a hex that gives a victory banner).
2) Permanent VB hex is preferred to temporary VB hex.

If there are no hexes that give victory banners or the banners are more than three hexes away from any
unit, the tactical flag will instead mean that units with two or one block left retreat. Retreat is
performed in the direction that will move the units out of harms way and if possible into protective
terrain. When several options are available the following priority applies:

1) The unit with the strongest attack upon it (largest number potential dies).
2) The unit with the least number of blocks.
3) Defensive ability (number of dices removed from attacker) of finishing hex, bolster moral
does not count here.

If units are out of harms way it simply moves back until row two with the priority being the unit
closest to the players side.

If there are no damaged units (all units above 2 blocks) the tactics goal goes back to moving towards
VB hexes if those are available (otherwise it does nothing).

If one still can’t separate two moves, roll a die (one move on odd results and one on even).
In general, if NO legal moves are available for any of the goals specified on the card the automa
moves A SINGLE UNIT on any part of the board (center or flanks) according to a tactics goal. If that
is not possible either the automa forfeit the round (equivalent to a player throwing a card).

When the automa is done the card is discarded.

The Players Turn

If the player finishes a turn without melee attacking any of the automas units nothing happens with
regards to the automa. The turn goes back to the automa and play continues as normal. If, however, the
player attacks the automa in melee a single automa deck card is drawn, a so called defensive draw,
and the bottom part is read. It decides upon two possible strategies:

OFFENSIVE – All the attacked units will fight back. There are four instances where the OFFENSIVE
strategy is combined with a FIRST STRIKE. In these cases the player rolls a regular die ahead of each
attack roll from the player. If the result is odd the defending automa unit rolls first. This continues for
each attack that turn until the automa has received an odd result from the roll after which no further
FIRST STRIKE rolls are undertaken (the automa only performs one FIRST STRIKE during its turn).
If no odd result has been rolled when the last unit is attacked the automa rolls first in the last attack.

DEFENSIVE – If possible the attacked units either “retreat and retire” (Cavalry) or forms a “square”
(Infantry). In the case of “retreat and retire” the unit moves straight backwards (towards automa side)
as described in rules and a die is used in order to choose between two equivalent choices. To simulate
the “cost of building squares” the automa will get a -1 on the unit number for each card played when
the automa has got more than one square formed on the battle field. The unit number never goes to
zero (the single unit cards do not get a penalty) and in the case of divided goals the lowered unit
number is the larger one or, if equal, the number tied to the attacking symbol. The square is dissolved
if any type of regular action is taken with the unit in question (unless it is trapped in a melee with
cavalry in which case it won’t come out of a square, just like in normal play).

When attacked ranged and ignorable flags are rolled the rule is that units stand firm if they have more
than two blocks left. In melee battle they stand firm unless there is only one block (in order to be able
to fight back) and then battle back.

Variants
There are naturally ways in which this deck could be varied. If one prints more than one copy of the
deck one can make the automa more aggressive (add more 3 and 4 unit movement cards) or more
defensive (add more 1 or 2 unit movement cards). In the future it might also be possible to make
variations that can be shaped after which nation the automa plays (playing on their strengths and
weaknesses by changing the card balance or even making new cards).

Some preliminary rules for dealing with the special rules of each expansion nation are written below.

Russians
Mother Russia roles: Roll the dice as usual. I have yet to work out a system where the resulting units
aren’t simply placed at places where the player himself would have placed them.

For Russian troops it might be advisable if they are allowed to attack as normal and not retreating on
Tactics goals when using Light infantry or Line infantry with only two blocks. This in order to avoid
that all troops start moving backwards as soon as they take damage.

Furthermore the Russian infantry, with their significantly higher moral stands firm as long as they
have more than a single block left with regards to flags in those cases where flags can be ignored.

Preliminary Austrians

When a line infantry unit is supposed to enter a square it enters a battalion mass (BM) instead. Use the
BM counters (equal to command number) and follow regular rules for a square. The units in BM do
not count towards the -1 unit moving rule that is applied to regular squares.

Preliminary Spaniards

Spanish automa gets a guerilla token every time it plays a “single unit movement card”, aka a scout
card.

Before each player turn, roll two d6 dice. If the die result is lower than the combined unit movement
of the previously played Spanish card and the number of units moved with your card a guerilla token
is played according to normal rules. Note that it is the number on the cards and not the number of
moved units that matters, the units for divided goals cards are added together. For cards like
“Bayonette charge” where the player would use all infantry in one section the number used is the
players command number. Example, a divided goals card potentially ordering II + II units was played
during the automas phase and the player played an Assault card (move command number of units) on
the left flank. The players number of command cards are four (4) so the combined number of ordered
units are 2+2+4=8. The d6 rolls a 3 and a 4 (chance of rolling a seven or lower is
(1+2+3+4+5+4)/36=19/36~= 0.53 or 53%) and therefore the guerilla token is played. This way
guerilla tokens tend to be played when (a) the automa has moved a lot of units and (b) when the player
tries to play a strong card.

Preliminary Prussian

The Prussian automa always makes a defensive draw when attacked. If the draw is offensive
(regardless of first strike), for each unit attacked a d6 is rolled after it has been attacked. If the result is
lower or equal to the number of blocks in unit – 1 for melee combat or number of blocks in unit – 2 for
ranged attacks, an iron will token is spent provided that it helps the automa. If the unit is guarding a
victory banner hex (temporary or permanent) the limits are number of blocks in unit for melee and
number of blocks in unit – 1 for ranged combat. The token is not spent if the unit is not retreating and
in case of multiple retreats it is only spent IF spending the token avoids a loss of blocks. In the case of
defending player units battling back during the automas turn the same procedure is used. However, no
new card is drawn, rather the defensive data on the card in play is used. If the defensive section of the
card has a star the deck is reshuffled after the round is over. In other words, the iron will token is
mainly spent when a unit losses few blocks and can fight back.

To help the Prussian automa a new iron will counter is added every time the automa plays a scout
card.