Two hundred years after his death in exile on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte remains a figure of fascination and controversy. More books have been written about Napoleon than any other historical figure apart from Jesus, and the debate over his life and legacy continues to rage: Savior of the Revolution or its destroyer? Lawgiver or Tyrant? Great Captain or foolish gambler? Symbol of the Romantic Age or greatest product of the Age of Reason? Wherever you stand on these debates, Napoleon packed enough events into his relatively short life (1769-1821) to fill a dozen lifetimes. It is an epic tale of the son of modest Corsican nobleman who rises to supreme power before losing it all. It is the kind of story games are made of.
I, Napoleon is a solitaire historical role-playing card game in which you step into the shoes of Captain Buonoparte (as he then was) in the year 1793. Louis XVI has just been sent to the guillotine, the Robespierre brothers determine the fate of France, and all of Europe has joined the French royalists to defeat France, end the Revolution, and restore peace and security to the hereditary principles that have shaped society for 1,000 years.
As an ambitious but unknown young artillery officer, speaking French with a Corsican accent, you might seem an unlikely agent of fate. Can you harness a brilliant mind, titanic energies, and a sometimes terrifying charisma to make your mark on history? Or will you die a minor footnote in the story of France?