The best games set in Napoleon's time 🎠 2026

Pandemic: Iberia is a historical variant of the popular Pandemic series, set in the Iberian Peninsula during the year 1848. This version of the game introduces unique roles and challenges as players work together to combat historical diseases like malaria, typhus, yellow fever, and cholera.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures is a captivating standalone expansion to the renowned detective game Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. This expansion brings updated graphics and adds ten new cases set in Victorian-era London for players to solve. It includes essential detective tools such as a "London Directory," a map of London, and newspaper archives to aid in the investigation.

Whitehall Mystery is a thrilling board game that transports players to London in October 1888, a time marked by a gruesome discovery near the future site of Scotland Yard. This game unfolds against the backdrop of a macabre treasure hunt by an unknown murderer, scattering the remains of a victim across Whitehall.

Furnace is a strategic engine-building Eurogame set in the 19th century. Players act as capitalists aiming to develop their industrial corporations and maximize profits through effective resource management and company acquisitions.

You are the head of a respected but financially struggling estate in mid-19th century Victorian England. Your goal is to improve your estate and gain a better standing among the influential families of Derbyshire by renovating your property and hosting prestigious social events.

Embark on a captivating journey through Victorian London alongside the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases. This immersive and challenging game allows you to step into the shoes of a detective, matching wits with Holmes himself.

Commands & Colors: Napoleonics transports players to the tumultuous battlefield of the Napoleonic era, offering a unique blend of historical accuracy and strategic gameplay. This game pits the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, against the forces of the British Empire, capturing the intense rivalry and the grandeur of Napoleonic warfare.

Mr. Jack Pocket is a compact and strategic card game adaptation of the well-regarded board game Mr. Jack. Designed by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, this game transforms the original board game's concept into a more portable format. It involves deduction and strategy, set against the backdrop of a Victorian-era mystery. The game cleverly uses a grid of street cards, with characters like Holmes, Watson, and a dog maneuvering around to catch the elusive Mr. Jack.

Players take on the role of General Longstreet during the desperate Confederate assault on July 3, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg, known as Pickett's Charge. They must swiftly push their troops across deadly open terrain while balancing the need to regroup for another attack. With only five rounds to achieve their goal, players face the choice between death and glory as they race against time.

Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a distinctive tile-drafting game where players take on the role of master builders, collaboratively designing grand castles for the whimsical and demanding King Ludwig. This game is a unique collaboration between Stonemaier Games and Bezier Games, blending elements of creativity, strategy, and cooperation.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a creative and strategic tile-laying game where players construct an opulent castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria. This game combines architectural planning with economic strategy.

Brass: Birmingham is an economic strategy game and a sequel to the 2007 game Brass. It immerses players in the world of industrial revolution entrepreneurs in Birmingham between 1770-1870.

World's Fair 1893 is a board game where players become organizers of the iconic Chicago World's Fair, aiming to boost their influence and secure notable exhibits to win the best reputation by the fair's start.

Fighting Sail: Fleet Actions 1775-1815 is a tabletop miniatures wargame that focuses on naval battles during the age of sails, cannons, and wooden ships. Players take on the role of fleet admirals in encounters ranging from the American Revolutionary War to the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, utilizing various ships, tactics, and leaders, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. The game promotes immersion over simulation, requiring players to roll dice based on crew and ship capabilities to achieve various actions, aiming to deplete the enemy fleet's morale to zero.

In the strategic world of Thurn & Taxis, players immerse themselves in the bustling realm of Bavaria and its surrounding regions, embarking on a quest to construct post office routes. The game unfolds on a dynamic board depicting a map of cities, with interconnecting roads weaving through various colored regions. Players strategically build postal routes from city to city, navigating the intricate network of roads and collecting bonus points through clever decisions.

Manoeuvre is a card-driven two-player wargame from GMT Games set in the age of Napoleon. Each side commands a historical army on a chessboard of terrain tiles, aiming to shatter the enemy force or seize its ground.

Battle Cry immerses players in the tumultuous era of the American Civil War, offering a low-complexity, highly modular board game experience. Through the strategic use of hexagonal tiles, players can recreate a variety of historical battlefields, bringing the conflict to life with an extensive collection of plastic miniatures representing infantry, cavalry, artillery, and leaders. The heart of the game lies in its innovative use of cards, which command troops across the battlefield's flanks and center, a system that would become the foundation for Richard Borg's acclaimed Command and Colors system.

Countless battles were fought across the European continent. New challengers have emerged, and an entirely foreign army now stands on the battlefield, ready to unleash a new kind of warfare. Faraway Lands is a standalone expansion featuring four new armies, allowing players to shift combat from the frozen north to the subcontinent and mythical east, introducing strategies in new terrains like swamps and forests.

Players take on the role of female characters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. They aim to improve themselves and become more desirable as potential wives by participating in events and enhancing their characters, while also using cunning to gain advantages. The game consists of two phases: the courtship phase, where players collect points to attract suitors, and the proposal phase, where they see which suitor proposes and calculate their final scores.

Expect a thrilling journey through history, from gladiator battles to space wars. Players can test their skills and luck by reenacting famous battles or exploring alternate history scenarios, using simplified rule sets outlined in seven chapters. Each chapter covers a unique era, including ancient times, the era of horse and muskets, and modern warfare.

Players take on the roles of the British and American naval forces during the global trade war of 1812. The American player aims to sink British merchant ships while avoiding warships, while the British player seeks to track down American frigates and protect their own vessels. The game features a fixed board, plastic ships in four colors, and maneuver cards reflecting the strategic and tactical skills of that era.

Immerse yourself in the world of Dickens and Doyle, exploring the myths and legends of the Victorian era. The game features a city map where players place their agents and buildings using unique cards, each representing famous characters from various stories. Each player draws a secret personality with specific victory conditions, creating uncertainty about opponents' objectives while you strive to achieve your own.

Letters from Whitechapel is a thrilling and suspense-filled board game that transports players to the grim streets of London's Whitechapel district in 1888, the setting of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. The game pits one player, taking on the role of Jack the Ripper, against others who play as police detectives. Their goal is to catch Jack before he claims his fifth victim.

The Bloody Inn transports players to 1831 France, in the small village of Peyrebeille, where a family of devious farmers runs an inn with a dark secret. This card game involves strategy, cunning, and a dash of morbid humor as players aim to become wealthy by unsavory means.

Players form gangs of tough cowboys, stoic lawmen, ruthless outlaws, and crazy desperados battling for fame and respect in the Old West. The game features 28mm miniatures and pre-painted buildings, allowing for legendary shootouts based on historical events. Initiative is determined randomly by revealing cards, and each model can perform three actions per turn while combat is quick and straightforward, relying on the wear and tear of characters rather than luck.

Load your musket! Players engage in fast-paced skirmishes set in the Napoleonic era, based on the mechanics of the popular game. Assemble your troops, deploy your soldiers, and fire volleys at the enemy. When the moment arrives, fix bayonets and charge!

This is a reprint of Victoria Cross: The Battle of Rorke's Drift, featuring the battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. It includes updated components, rules, and a new box design. Players assume the roles of British troops defending against Zulu warriors or of the Zulu forces aiming to drive the British out of their land.

Votes for Women is a card game that focuses on the American women's suffrage movement from 1848 to 1920, culminating in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Players can engage in cooperative play against the "Oppobot" or play solo, aiming to get the amendment passed by Congress and ratified by three-quarters of the states, while the opposition seeks to block it. The game lasts six rounds, involving card draws, bidding for strategy cards, and gameplay that includes event plays and campaign actions.

Napoleon sought direct means to end the War of the Fifth Coalition after the conquest of Vienna failed to bring the Austrians to the negotiating table. His efforts at the battles of Aspern-Essling and Wagram showcase the challenges he faced, with the latter being a significant yet incomplete victory. The game features both battles and emphasizes historical narrative through low unit density, quick rounds, and story-driven mechanics that introduce random events and army morale.