Description

Column Line And Square (CLS) is a game of war set in the period of Napoleon (1808-1815). It was written by "The 30mm Midwestern Napoleonic Wargamers Confederation." Most of the research and rule-writing was by Fred Vietmeyer, with additional input by Dave Mort and Hugh Reynolds.

CLS-II (aka the second edition) was photocopied typed text, about 100 pages. In addition, and almost mandatory at our games, was the addendum, the "3R" (Reviewed Referee Rulings) which documented the 'official' resolution of most rules disputes. There were also 'Optional Rules', 'Potential, Optional Rules', and 'Local Optional Rules'. I've got two three-ring binders given over to the rules and add-ons (and I quit keeping the add-ons long before we broke up).

CLS-III, also called The Battle Book, was a commercially available distillation of the above into about 100 pages. I can't remember who published it - it's out of print and unavailable. Fred still holds the copyright, but I doubt that it will ever see the light of day again.

I played CLS for about 20 years, from the mid '60s to the mid '80s; we broke up as a group in 1987 or 1988.

The rule set is a grand tactical set, using a 20 to 1 ratio (roughly) based on roster and unit strengths in the Spanish battles. The normal game was for 7 turns, using map marking and simultaneous movement. The typical command for a player would be a regiment of cavalry, two regiments of infantry, and a battery - about 220 to 280 castings. The basic map and maneuver units were the battalion and the squadron, with light infantry as an exception, run as either a formed battalion or as individual platoons of skirmishers (two, three, or four castings to the platoon, depending upon nationality).

--description from http://theminiaturespage.com/rules/nap/cls.html