Another simple, straight-forward battle...
Changes
- to match the historical ships better [I thought] I changed their gun ratings and ranges. The main American ships as mostly carronade armed had only a short range of 4". This made for an interesting challenge between the British ships with a variety of long guns and carronades wanting to keep standoff distance.
- to make the wind likely to be "flukey" and change, it would change on the roll of a '1' at the start of each turn. On a change, another roll and it would be counter-clockwise a point on a 1-3, clockwise on a 5-6. I kept the windspeed constant altho I could have lowered it an inch on an even roll, which seemed most like the historical battle conditions.
- Initiative Movement. After lots of thought, I went with move / counter-move each turn. The players would roll off and winner could choose to move first [Move] or second [Counter-move]. Choosing Move allows you to occupy sea-space ahead of the opponent, Counter-move allows you to maneuver your ships to best advantage having seen what the opponent did. Counter-move is generally more advantageous given the narrow Fire Arc of the ships in these rules. Also, if forced to Move one has to maneuver pretty conservatively to prevent one's ships from a rake or other disadvantage. Overall, while it "feels" less realistic M / C-m is very realistic from a decision making and command point of view, and best of all it actually *matters*!
- Simultaneous Fire. As ships are only rolling one dice to shoot, this was easy to implement; ships that were going to return fire could do so immediately upon the opponent rolling a shot that Damaged or Cripped their ship, so it was easy to track.
- Boarding / Fowling. I used the same mechanic for Fowling as boarding; you need to roll a 5+, etc. This also gave more nuance to the Movement Phase.
- Momentum. Momentum requires ships to move their full move or 1" less at the ships starting wind angle; if you moved more than 1" less, the ship is subject to Drift. This simulates backing sail to slow down a bit. Also, Momentum requires ships to move at least 1" as otherwise the ship couldn't be controlled [so captains rarely "stopped"].
- Drift. If a ship moves more than 1" less than their max, the ship drifts 1" downwind at the end of its movement. This simulates the ship's keel/rudder having less "bite" in the water due to a slow speed.
- 8 Direction "Not-a-Grid" is easier than six and suits how ships move better than only six angles. Plus Steve had an octagon wind marker that makes it easy to align against two edges [eyeballing it] and it can be placed next to the ship model to clean things up if needed. All ships had to face one of the eight directions at all times, e.g. no measuring with a protractor!
These were the main changes, altho they aren't many nor are they hard to implement while playing. They worked really well, as shall be seen!
Again, at battle start, the wind was light so all movement distances were reduced by 1" to 1" Close Hauled, 3" Abeam / Running, and 5" Reaching.
The British again had a choice of the distance separating the fleet from the oncoming American one; this was to simulate the operational level advantage of having the "weather gauge". The British started with the best wind angle, a Reach [5" move] while the Americans had the wind directly behind them, i.e. Running [3" move]. This time, Steve had a different plan in mind, so started 6" farther away from the American fleet.
Steve won Initiative and chose to Move. On the Counter-move, the Americans only moved forwards 1" so drifted 1" downwind, for a total of 2".
Turn 3
Turn 2, the British and Americans repeated their Moves [above].
The British lost IN and were forced to move first; they began to cross the American "T". Americans executed their cunning plan, a plan as cunning as that of a fox who’s just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University [click]! They began their change of direction to approach the rear of the British line as it moved onwards and threatened some stern rakes, or to be out of the British ships fire arcs. They also finished their move outside of the British 8" firing range.
Furthermore, the American course change gave them a better wind angle, thus giving them more maneuvering options. Cunning indeed! What could go wrong!?
Turn 4.
In typical British fashion, Steve had no alternative but to seize control of the wind, rolling a '1' in an underhanded fashion [altho he is a well-known expert at rolling low].
And then a '5' resulted in the wind changing a point clockwise. This put the fleets on at an even speed, with the British Abeam and the Americans running. Net result is to slow both sides down to 3" moves.
And to top it off, the British then won IN, rolling a '6' to beat the strong American roll of a '5'!
The Americans continued with their line of battle's course, seeing it as the best counter to the British plan. But the British had a trick up with laced sleeves! They all turned to simultaneously jibe across the wind, which would ultimately change their direction 180 degrees!
Americans again lose IN, so begin turning a point to starboard to threaten to cross the British "T" in a couple turns!
The British continue reversing direction, but the faster turn rates of the smaller ships allows them to maneuver quickly to counter the American plan.
Turn 6
Altho the British sloops are Close-hauled, they are still outmaneuvering the American line!
Turns 7-8
Perry decides to take a calculated risk and maneuver between the sloops with his van, while letting the rear squadron of small ships move to take on the two British sloops headed their way. This certainly *seems* like the best way to present the British with multiple threats.
A "cunning plan" as the chess match of maneuvering intensifies!
Ariel rakes Lady Prevost, Damaging her!
The American lines are now restricting the movement space of the two lead British sloops, threatening to destroy them with a concentration of fire.
But the British also slip into the American line, in which gaps appeared during their maneuvering. They rake Scorpion [Oh, where is thy sting now!] but gets fouled on a '5' passing over her base.
As Turn 8 continues, The British sloops veer away from the American line after the wind *again* changes. The fouled HMS Chippawa and USS Scorpion present a significant problem for the American's to maneuver around, further jacking up their cunning plan!
As Turn 8 continues, The British sloops veer away from the American line after the wind *again* changes. The fouled HMS Chippawa and USS Scorpion present a significant problem for the American's to maneuver around, further jacking up their cunning plan!
Turn 9
The Americans lose IN and begin maneuvering around the fouled ships. Lawrence takes fire from the main British line of ships, becoming Damaged.
Scorpion becomes Crippled and with 14 Hits Strikes on the last roll!
Soon after, however, Lady Prevost Strikes also!
Turn 10
The wind changes *again*! I double-check the British dice, as it again shifts clockwise, and puts my key vessels Close-Hauled; they don't roll any '1s' for me...
Niagara moves 1" forwards, Close-Hauled. To move within 4" of the enemy, CPT Elliott must roll a '4+' as day of battle - historically - he didn't close very rapidly, leading to much acrimony between him and Perry later.
Meanwhile, the other squadron of small ships fails three of four rolls, and all decline to get within Close Range of the British. They are within range, but [(d6-2)x1/2] isn't exactly a lot of damage!
Niagara moves 1" forwards, Close-Hauled. To move within 4" of the enemy, CPT Elliott must roll a '4+' as day of battle - historically - he didn't close very rapidly, leading to much acrimony between him and Perry later.
Meanwhile, the other squadron of small ships fails three of four rolls, and all decline to get within Close Range of the British. They are within range, but [(d6-2)x1/2] isn't exactly a lot of damage!
The American squadron has divided into two divisions - the three larger ships to the left, all Close Hauled, and the four schooners with win Abeam. Ariel and Scorpion are Struck and Crippled respectively, pretty much out of the game.
Turn 11
British big-boys are sailing with favorable winds, while the Americans try to sort themselves out, Coming About in an effort to get more lake-space and speed. Lawrence is now Crippled, and the other two have taken some damage, without inflicting much on the British in reply. With their greater speed and maneuverability in the favorable wind, they find it easy to place themselves to advantage. Furthermore, Perry started to lose much of the IN rolls to Barclay, making it worse.
With Lawrence Crippled [like last battle] Perry transfers his flag to the brig Caledonia.
Again, like last battle, poor Captain Barclay is wounded! [and only on a '2' on 2d6!]
Detroit again finds itself under the command of a 15yo midshipman named "Opportunity Knocks".
The wind now favors the Americans [center-top three ships], largely due to the fact that the British heavier division has circumnavigated them [while pounding them mercilessly].
Turn 13
The wind changes again! Clockwise a point. And instead of having the wind Abeam, my Americans are now Close Hauled - again!
The Americans realize that despite a tactical defeat, they may have "won" or at least Perry can phrase it properly in his letters to the Secretary of War / Navy that they drove off the British fleet and held the "field", which also entails holding all the damaged ships. Could be a net gain for the USA strategically.
Well, you need some criteria for victory, and we decided that based upon the damage, the British won 11-7, but are still in trouble, strategically. And with my copy of Columbia's "1812" we may in fact get more involved with strategic decisions in the near future!
Overall, among the best naval games I've played in a long, long while!
With this discussion, which was pretty surprising when we thought about it, came the reminder that fleets are strategic weapons, and historically Barclay had to win a decisive victory to escape starving in the wilderness of greater Detroit. On the other hand, the smaller ships are more easily replaced than the larger ones, so perhaps he will escape with his larger ships, find shelter elsewhere, and build up his squadron of sloops again.
Overall, among the best naval games I've played in a long, long while!
The most intense part was the sailing decisions that we had to make in the opening turns, taking into account how the ships moved and their relative position to the wind. Every turn was a nail-biter, especially with the IGO-UGO move sequence that I came up with! Despite some misgivings, this simplest of all turn sequences was actually very effect in helping us to manage the game and make clear decisions [even if they were wrong].
The winds were light and varied historically, and we had some of that in this rematch. We both found dealing with the wind an interesting part of the problems presented to each of us.
My small sloops survived, but partly because they declined to get involved aggressively. This simple mechanic worked very nicely, and altho it made my life more difficult, it added some realism and historical flavor to the fight, and I'll definitely use it again where it suits.
And thus, I conclude with a few thoughts in summary...
What makes for a good Age of Sail Game?
1) Sailing! Sailing decisions that reflect the constraints of ships in weather.
2) Weather. Wind direction and strength may vary, posing realistic problems and wrecking even the best of plans.
3) Terrain. This can be land, or even struck and sinking ships.
4) Morale. Captains often fought conservatively, even timidly; this could include Admirals as well. Great victories were often more about determination than tactics.
5) Strategic level victory conditions. Naval commanders at all levels were often directly affected by the large strategic and economic picture. This results in battle tactics that only make sense if you know the strategic goals of their nation / admiralty.
Looking forward to playing this again soon - must get to work on my 1:3000 ships...!
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