First game Friday 10.08.2018.

[Duncan]

We had two games tonight at the club. Mike and Rob against Chris and myself with Martin umpiring trying to urge us to go faster. "Don't  bother to read through it all, for the sake of speed and having a second game just roll two dice."😂

In the first game Chris and I were attacking and I wanted to try out the new section with the larger ship. So we started with an able medium and managed to upgrade the large ship to battle hardened. I tried desperately to get a smaller warship added to bolster our small felt but failed at every attempt in thempregame setup and I think suffered for it as a result as we only had two ships.

To start with the wind was against us but we changed it in our turn. The large warship the 'House of Lone' frigate the Sansum Neville moved in on the Daisy apparently a merchant but it was a trick and turned out to be a small able bodied warship, but it did them no good, the fire from the frigate blasted them and they were easily grappled and boarded the ship being captured despite the tricksy nature of the villainous scoundrels.

The defender tried to change the wind but we cancelled it. Now the medium warship the Betty Anne moved in for a broadside on the Poppy another of the defenders small warships. The Scimitar one of the defenders small warships moved alongside the frigate the Sansum Neville and tried but failed to grapple, not surprising it was tiny by comparison.

Next there was a lot of fire exchanged from both sides with everyone shooting at everything but to be honest there was little effect all around this turn. As attackers we changed the wind, the large frigate was now heading in the wrong direction and we had to bring it about but due to ship positioning and the side of the battle cloth it was pretty much stuck and could not manoeuvre beyond one hex.

The defenders tried but failed to change the wind direction. The Betty Anne shot at the Seeker and blasted it to nil on everything, but then failed on the death roll. Leaving the ship floundering. The Sansum Neville was stuck again boxed in by the captured Daisy and the edge of the cloth. The enemy was getting away and despite its excellent crew and gunnery the large warship could not turn and get free of the surrounding ships and table edge. I was trying to do rec very on the captured Daisy to put a sail back on it so it could move out of the way but at every attempt it failed leaving it to just be able to  move one hex with the wind but in the way of the larger ship.

The Betty Anne had better luck this time capturing the floundering Seeker by which time the game clock/counter had gone around and the game came to an end.

It was a very small win for the attacker  by only two points. This was because they had not managed to get any merchants off the table at the other end and also one was taken and one warship was also taken.

The wind played a big part in the game holding up the large warship which despite its initial success was then out of the fight being stuck trying to turn hemmed in by another floundering ship and the table edge, (which in the real world would obviously not happen as the sea does not have a table edge.) So with hindsight some different tactics are  called for when using the large warship to enable effe t to be taken of its better gunnery and size.

I think rather than coming at the opposing fleet and then having to try and turn it which proved almost impossible it would be better to try coming in from behind and sail with them and hope it could handle repeated broadsides? Some experiments are required to see the best way to utilise it?

Is there a way for the defender to have a large warship?

Although a small win for the attacker I have to say that it could easily have gone either way depending on dice rolls, and to me it felt very much a stalemate as we had not captured all the merchants but neither had they escaped come the end.

[Duncan]

I will write up the second game later on after eating.

[martin goddard]

Very comprehensive write up Duncan  Thanks for sharing.

[Smiley Miley 66]

I am liking the use for the larger ships. Because we need to be able to filed all of the ships in the range. Yes i get that if you have large ships you can only have one or two compared with having smaller ships which you have a lot more of.
Same as any game you field "veteran " units you have  less than fielding hoards of " militia" units, this Game warfare.
Once i ve painted up my "Larger" ships i will do a load of 2 mast sloops and brigs.
But i ve just added to my Large collection one of Luis Spanish Galleon's and the Revell one too..

[Duncan]

I got one from Heller but the sails were massive and looked so out of place. I have replaced them with more normal sized although admittedly the big ones, sails modelled by me to be more in keeping with the PP range. I think it looks better that way.