I, Napoleon

I, Napoleon is a solitaire card-driven narrative in which the player inhabits Napoleon Bonaparte from his early career through the turbulent possibilities of empire. A turn reveals events from a historically grounded deck, then asks the player to make political, military, and personal choices whose consequences alter resources, prestige, relationships, and the path of later cards. Campaigns and battles use dice and modifiers, but the larger challenge is deciding when ambition is worth exposure. Success can open new theaters and offices; failure, scandal, or political enemies can end a career abruptly. The design does not require history to repeat itself. Napoleon may rise differently, miss famous opportunities, consolidate a smaller state, or be undone long before Waterloo. Scenario structure and event branching create a biography that feels authored yet remains genuinely variable. The second edition refines the rules and supporting material while retaining the first edition’s distinctive blend of wargame decision making, role-playing, and historical counterfactual storytelling.