We tried out a new rule set last night - I think its called Fighting Sail - and very good it was. Simple but effective - and we all picked up the gist of them very quickly.
Given that its sail, the wind direction has a major impact on how battles are fought - and using the wind to your advantage is a key part of the rules.
Movement is determined by obtaining action points - the smaller (and hence more manouverable) the ship, the more dice you get. Each 6 means a point. The big lumbering beasts have less dice and so are more likely to come to a stop (and therefore become vulnerable) BUT they have many more Gunnery dice to inflict damage with and more hull points to absorb punishment.
We learned quickly that if you fail to move, you will suffer. And if you gang up on one ship, this is bad news for the one ship in question. Also if you manage to rake a ship (i.e. attack its prow or stern head on) this is very good for you and very bad for them. So nippy ships can sneak up behind slow lumbering ships that have become becalmed and give them a very nasty surprise).
In the first battle, we had 1 ship each. Mine got stuck early on but Russ kindly pointed his ship right at my broadside and the damage myself and Frank inflicted was enough to sink him. Mark then faced us alone and got the same treatment.
In the second game, Mark and Russ had more ships (4) which included two frigate and two ships of the line while I had a second rater (lots of guns but a pig to move) and Frank took two third raters.
Basically one of Frank's ships had to take on the two frigates while his other ship and mine were due to take on Mark's two ships. As it was, Frank's second ship stopped moving so I moved the bigger ship up to cover and then stopped moving myself. There was considerable gunfire on both sides but with my ship stuck in front it took the brunt of the firepower and eventually succumbed.
Frank meanwhile sank one of Russ' frigates but his smaller 6th rater managed to save - twice - against multiple shots and emerge unscathed! Even when raked at point blank range!
I took over Frank's second ship and managed to get that sunk as well (fighting two ships is tricky to say the least)
I've already ordered a starter fleet from Tumbling Dice so you can guess that I really enjoyed the rules and the period
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| Russ moving his frigates in for a rear attack |
Movement is determined by obtaining action points - the smaller (and hence more manouverable) the ship, the more dice you get. Each 6 means a point. The big lumbering beasts have less dice and so are more likely to come to a stop (and therefore become vulnerable) BUT they have many more Gunnery dice to inflict damage with and more hull points to absorb punishment.
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| First battle - Russ' ship going 'neath the waves |
We learned quickly that if you fail to move, you will suffer. And if you gang up on one ship, this is bad news for the one ship in question. Also if you manage to rake a ship (i.e. attack its prow or stern head on) this is very good for you and very bad for them. So nippy ships can sneak up behind slow lumbering ships that have become becalmed and give them a very nasty surprise).
In the first battle, we had 1 ship each. Mine got stuck early on but Russ kindly pointed his ship right at my broadside and the damage myself and Frank inflicted was enough to sink him. Mark then faced us alone and got the same treatment.
In the second game, Mark and Russ had more ships (4) which included two frigate and two ships of the line while I had a second rater (lots of guns but a pig to move) and Frank took two third raters.
Basically one of Frank's ships had to take on the two frigates while his other ship and mine were due to take on Mark's two ships. As it was, Frank's second ship stopped moving so I moved the bigger ship up to cover and then stopped moving myself. There was considerable gunfire on both sides but with my ship stuck in front it took the brunt of the firepower and eventually succumbed.
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| Second battle - trading shots and losing badly |
Frank meanwhile sank one of Russ' frigates but his smaller 6th rater managed to save - twice - against multiple shots and emerge unscathed! Even when raked at point blank range!
I took over Frank's second ship and managed to get that sunk as well (fighting two ships is tricky to say the least)
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| Coup de grace of my second ship |
I've already ordered a starter fleet from Tumbling Dice so you can guess that I really enjoyed the rules and the period
3 comments:
Wow - that was a fast decision! Although I have to agree that the rules have impressed me mightily - and I will be adding to my fleets. I got a few things wrong. When rolling for saves we roll dice equal to our hull points - so a 5th rater with 3 hull points is in a lot of trouble when hit by 11 damage points! Also, when we do a discipline test we do roll all the dice allocated but we can only take one damage or one anchor off at a time, with priority on damage - so a much longer process than we went through in our game. Also, we cannot move with an anchor when in irons or turn into wind when running. But that was all we doing wrong and in the second game I was somewhat redundant as an umpire.
I enjoyed the evening, the rules tick all the boxes and have a great balance between playability and complexity.
Could definitely expand into playing some larger actions too.
great game
i think we all make good semen!
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