Dragoon: The Prussian War Machine

Frederick II ruled Prussia for 46 years in the 1700s. He fought, with mixed success, in two major European wars. His brilliant application of contemporary military theory and pursuit of a professional-caliber army made Prussia a power worthy of mention, and earned Frederick the sobriquet of “Great.” Dragoon is his story.
It is more than a game with battles you’ve never heard of, in wars you’ve half forgotten, between countries that don’t exist anymore. Dragoon is the first in Boku’s second edition of its celebrated Horse and Musket series. As the title suggests, Dragoon plunges you into the world of musket warfare in the 18th century. Five of Frederick’s major battles are available and can be played in their entirety, or in separate mini-scenarios. The larger battles require quite a bit of skill and situational awareness, but many of the smaller scenarios serve as great trainers for newcomers.
The movement system depends on commanders making their rolls and getting activated. This means that you are taking a huge risk if you put too much on one avenue of attack. If the commander on that wing fails to activate, you could run out of time to make your objectives. The system also lets units get disorganized merely through the act of moving or lose morale by getting too close to a strong enemy unit. This means that you can’t undo an inadvertent move, but it also means that you will learn to make do with an imperfect assault most of the time—a great message for all aspiring generals out there.
Dragoon is full of tension as units seem to cower at the possibility of combat, or that general on whom all depends fails his activation for the first time. The computer opponents are better than usual, and will not advance from a strong defensive position for a cheap kill. The time limits also provide the necessary push to get on with things; it’s only too easy to spend turn after turn getting your toy soldiers in a nice little line.
As old-school as the battles are, the graphics are even more so. It doesn’t look too bad zoomed out, but any closer look shows very grainy men. Even the large portraits look goofily archaic. This does a lot to lessen the sense of realism, not that turn-based wargames are the acme of realism.
No need to look too closely, though. Dragoon is another fine chapter in an already fine series. With more scenario packs on the way, both hardcore grognards and the idle curious should find something to hold them until the powder runs out.

This article originally appeared in Computer Games Magazine #173