"Rules for Viking naval action?" Topic

Me and a buddy have bought a few packs of Pirates of the Frozen North. Several of the Viking ships will just need some trimming and a dab of paint to look sort of historical and all of a sudden we will have Viking fleets. These will of course want to fight each other. Does anyone know of any rules that can be used to simulate Viking naval battles? We are not looking to board and play a skirmish game, we are looking for ships manouverin and the ensuing boarding to be a few dicerolls.
Is there anything or will we have to write our own?

Here you go:

link

Duly printed to be read on the train home. Thanks!

Thanks for the link, Grinning Norm.

I think boarding across the gunwales WAS the method. In fact, often Viking fleets lashed themselves together and fought across the decks like a floating battlefield. There wasn't much in the way of maneuvering at all, except in single duels or very small actions.

1066.us

I was going to recommend the same set.

Has anyone played them, and if so how did the game work?

I'm not sure about the choice of cards or standard move, seems to me everyone would always choose standard move. Also 1-13 seems to be a lot of variability for two identical ships next to each other…

It was also not clear to me how big the playing area should be.

The above isn't meant to be criticism, love the rules and the thought that went into them, just thinking aloud…

Merlin, how about large actions? Did they just go at each other and hope to be the one standing?
According to the Heimskringla rules (read them on the train home) the target would always be the chieftain since killing him would break the morale of the unit. I assume that meant trying to manouver to get to him and his side trying to block or evade the attack.

That wonderfully evocative painting in the Osprey Elite Series, The Vikings (no. 3), by Angus McBride, shows the last moment of king Olaf Tryggvasson, just before he leaped overboard and covered his head with his shield and sank to the bottom. As per the saga, this is the scene where his ship is the last one "standing." Any that may have been lashed (in the RL life battle, not the saga: but I don't recall if that detail is supplied or not) to this "flag ship" has been cut away so that the enemy longships can come in close and board. So judging by this one fight, yes, the "big man" was the object of the battle and remained protected to the end.

Scenario-wise, you can treat the king's ship as a sort of "his nibs", and keep it from capture whilst doing your best to do-in the enemy's king. A huge, water-going chess game!

Actually, Hneftafl is a better analogy for Viking Naval warfare: The lesser pieces are captured if they are surrounded on two sides. The king is captured if he is surrounded on four. The smaller side is trying to protect the king until he can escape.

Thread Necromancy! How did this one get reanimated?

I've never heard of that boardgame before. Sounds a bit like checkers only without the jumping….