La Bataille de la Moscowa

La Bataille de la Moscowa is a large board wargame that simulates the Battle of Borodino, the major clash of Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia. Designed by Laurence A. Groves, it was originally published by Martial Enterprises in 1975, then republished by Game Designers' Workshop in 1977 and by Clash of Arms in 2011. The game is a monster wargame, featuring more than 1,000 die-cut counters representing individual regiments and batteries on both the French and Russian sides. It is played by two players or two teams, each commanding one army across the battle. The game introduced a limited intelligence mechanic in which counters show only unit identification and movement allowance on their visible face, with actual combat strength hidden on the reverse until the unit is revealed through battle, so that neither side has full information about the other's true strength until forces actually engage. This mechanic became influential among wargame designers seeking to simulate the fog of war on the tabletop. The scale and counter density of the game made it one of the most demanding wargames of its era to set up and play.