A quick game of these superb little ww1 naval rules with Steve. I have had WW2 and modern ship lying gathering dust for ages, but now WW1 - so I purchased a handy download of 'top-down' ships from 'Topside Minis' - which are excellent, and nicely detailed.
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| The Scharnhorst would not last long thanks to a '12' on the torpedo roll |
I based everything, including ship cards on 5mm black foam-board, and used pins as markers on the cards. All worked well. We used Coronel 1914 for this one, but larger games with multiple players should be straightforward enough.
The rules 'When Dreadnoughts ruled the seas" were originally released by Brian Dewitt in 2010 and then re-jigged by Battlebox Studios / the great guys at Little Wars TV more recently.
There is also a Russo-Japanese version, which the LWTV guys have played and reviewed/presented on you-tube (below)
For the 270 degree arc of fire on turrets, we simply used the 'reverse' - as finding 90 degrees and sticking it on the 'back' of the turret to gauge firing arc seemed easier. Guns were mainly CS/Cruiser main guns and secondaries - the 2ndrys only ever do hull damage - but quite well as it turned out. A great little game - and very cost effective when combined with printed miniatures.
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| 'Jazz Hands' |
The turn sequence is elegant, such that:
- Initiative
- Side A move 1/2
- B move full
- A second 1/2
- B fire
- A fire
- Torpedoes (simultaneous - and rarely hit - but when they do!!! oh boy!)
- etc.
Now if this reminds you of the X-Wing turn sequence - yep, I thought so too, and funny enough X-Wing came out 2 years later. The turning arcs (sized by ship class) are also a little reminiscent of X-wing, except internal rather than external arcs. I am sure any similarity is purely coincidental..although of course opposing move/firing mechanisms, and turning/flying arcs like this go right back to 1970s SPI stuff, so who knows?
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| Getting closer... |
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| German light cruisers - who managed to be both annoying and deadly (one torpedo shot each) throughout the game. |
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GAHHH!!! as torpedoes take down the Scharnhorst before it gets a shot off...
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| Heavy cruisers - lethal at close range - to each other at least - but hull boxes and turn sequence choices (if you get initiative) have a beautiful game-play element all their own. The German ships had better firepower, whilst the British vessels could take more hits. A nice trade-off for a great scenario. |
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| German heavy cruisers get..too close... |
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| More deadly torpedo action...this time in the Germans' favour, but altogether too late for their fleet |
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| Last stand of the Gniesenau |
Of course, this has prompted me to start reading some of the stuff that gathers dust on the bookshelf...
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| Purchased in 1999; opened today ...what a great looking set of rules. |
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| ...with a fantastic scenario book so far... |
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| also of course...Nimitz is in the pipeline |
Darren,
ReplyDeleteI've got Shipwreck, but like you have never used it!
It's an unfulfilled project (another one!) stemming from a couple of articles in The Journal on "modern" naval. One was a set of simple rules and the other was a sort of quasi-campaign / arms race for South or Latin American "Banana" republics who after finding oil, buy modern ships and subs for their navies.
As I had prototype "Imagi-Nations" for the same ( Costa Guano, San Angeles and El Bravado) it became part of that. I got as far as buying 1:3000 ship models and 1:1200 aircraft but now can't find them!
Neil
Excellent ideas Neil - now I was going to use a modern hybrid of the Aquilonian and Turanian navies, in a proto-Hyboria that survived the flood and made it to the C20th...but 'San Angeles' and 'El Bravado' are too good to resist ;)
DeleteI have managed to locate my 1:3000 stuff, and ideas are continuing to flow...
Nice! Some buddies and I are getting together for some WW1 Victory at Sea on Saturday. Turks and Russians in the Black Sea.
ReplyDeleteShipwreck is terrific, I really enjoyed that game but it sat unplayed for about four years after a long period of regular use and I gave all my ships to a friend who was also big fan of the game.
Thanks Ski, I look forward to your game, and Shipwreck reads really well; glad to hear you found it a good game.
DeleteI refuse to read rules that show a Leander being blown up on the cover… I bought Harpoon after reading Red Storm Rising. I think I managed to complete one missile launch before realising I didn’t have enough time left in my life to launch another. And I was only 20.
ReplyDeleteYes, I played Harpoon once... I believe it was 'the' set of rules that convinced me that simulation style rules sound great, and make you feel like a professional, until you actually play them and find they are crap...
Delete(Air War and CityFIght from the 70s might also fall into this bracket ;) )
I’m convinced Clancy completed the book whilst his opponent was taking his first turn.
DeleteWhich reminds me... I have 40x40 plastic stands which aren't being used if you want them for your WSS stuff? (not sure what the link between Clancy and plastics stands is...but I am sure there is one)...
DeleteThe original Harpoon enjoyed much more success as a PC game.
ReplyDeleteNice reminder! Looking at it in steam now ;)
DeleteYou could finish the biggest battles from the RSR book in 30-60 minutes by speeding up the time scale if I remember correctly.
DeleteJust bought on steam for a fiver ;)
DeleteShip Wreck a playable but more complex system due to more complex nature of 'modern' ships/weaponry/capabilities. The printed ships look great
ReplyDeleteShipwreck reads really well. Very straightforward and reflects a lot of 80s tech
DeleteKeeping a check (ie paperwork) on the various weapons systems and their ammo usage and arcs with escalating damage is most onerous part but the actual systems are fine and as simple as one can get I expect at this level of detail.
DeleteYeah, I do like the rosters and clipboard approach. Same with 'Dreadnaughts...' and 'Nimitz' - part of the scope of the game and a nice touch.
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