1/72 napoleonic wargaming?

I know of no rules that are 1/72 specific; most rules work on aground scale for movement and ranges and the size of the figures is largely immaterial and as said above most are adjustable anyway. It is howver imoprtant to know the scale of battle you wish to reproduce. Do you want to refight large historical battles where the basic unit would be a regiment or a brigade or arae yu looking at smaller actions where you command the brigade (or smaller) unit?

Steinar, welcome to the wonderful world of miniatures wargaming; using 1/72nd to boot!

As you have alluded, there are loads of different rules for Napoleonic wargaming catering for various scales of action, levels of detail, size of units and, of course, preferences and interpretations by the writers of the rules and wargamers. Despite the plethora of sets, there is actually not a lot of difference as authors have tweaked (perhaps 'stolen') mechanics from one set or another and trends in wargaming have shifted around aspects of simulation and playability. The search continues for that unattainable holy grail of the 'ultimate set of rules'... ha, ha!!

In the meantime, it can be quite daunting, as you say.

I would strongly suggest four things.

i) Have a think about what you would like in a set of rules: what type of games would you like to play (from skirmish to large, multi-corps battles), what is the minimum unit of manoeuvre (individual, company, battalion, regiment, brigade, division, corps), how many figures would you like to see on the table, do you want to finish a game in a couple of hours or up to a couple of days, will you be playing solo or with a group or at a club (this may limit your choice too)?!

ii) Read some summaries and reviews of rules to find some that fit your criteria. A good start is Mark Severin's Deep Fried Happy Mice website (http://www.deepfriedhappymice.com/html/rd_napoleonic.html), there are plenty of free rules (http://freewargamesrules.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Napoleonic). You'll find descriptions/reviews and playtests on blogs and The Miniature Page (TMP) (for example, there are a few on our blog: avonnapoleonicfellowship.blogspot.com/2012/11/rules-for-napoleonic-wargames-spoilt.html and a recent thoughtful post on Paul Leniston 's blog napoleonicwargaming.blogspot.com/2018/06/when-is-game-too-big.html). You can also search the internet for a review of a particular set of rules.

iii) When you have a set or two that look promising, give them a go to see whether you like them in an actual game. You may find something that is right for you straight away, but don't be surprised if this search takes a little while.

iv) When you have settled on a set you can get on and enjoy the games, until and unless something more desirable comes your way, haha!

As Phil 'Green Tiger' notes, most rules are easily adapted to 1/72nd scale. The simplest way is to use the 25 mm (or 28 mm) version, but other scales are easily scaled up or down if necessary.

I hope that this is of some use.

Happy searching and wargaming!

James