Small Wars at Sea By Benjamin King

Stars, Bars and Tars - ACW, Coal and Iron - Ironclads, Dreadnought - World War One

I have always been attracted to Naval gaming, at least up to the First World War, but I have rarely able to find any rules that allowed for the balance between a playable game, and the technicalities if the genre.All too often the rules are so damn complex, covering in fine details the intricacies of ship design and armament that the game element is drowned. I have used a variety of computer based rules that I hoped would take away the excessive record keeping and the need to be some sort of naval encyclopaedia, but again without much joy.

So I was very pleasantly surprised when I received these rules from Cotton Jim's Flags . I was immediately taken by the layout of the rules, and their comprehensive coverage of what I considered the most important elements of the vessels. So the following night I called in the help of a neighbour and set up the front room floor to fight through a squadron action of the 1860's and selected from the lists included as part of the rules.

The playing area recommended in the rules for basic games is a 30" square board divided into 25 x 6", but I set up a slightly large area for our game. Turning Circles, Speed Scales, Torpedo Templates etc are included in the rules and should be photocopied or scanned and then cut out prior to the game. A range of dice is required d20, d12, and d6, and you need to copy the combat and ship damage cards which you might want to consider laminating and using with wipeable felt tips.

The game itself, or maybe I should say games because we played three during the evening, was simplicity itself. The rules were easy to pick up, and after the first games there was little need to refer to the rules but for checking out the damage tables. That is not to say that the play was not complex though, it was, well complex enough to keep the two players happily occupied throughout the evening.I found these rules extremely enjoyable, and they have at last allowed me to dust down my few remaining ship models and get them on the table. Give them a try, retailing at $16.00 available from http://www.cottonjimsflags.com/

                  JOS

Please remember to mention Wargames Forum when contacting traders!

Return to Wargames Forum   Return to Reviews  Return to What's New