"Pirates Brazen Attack on US Missile Cruiser" Topic

Yes, I know it is April 1st, but this doesn't have a disclaimer at the end of the story, so appears to be true, even though it is pretty far out there.

Apparently, either these pirates have no sense, or some really good drugs, or spirits to drink, given their latest attack on a US Guided Missile Cruiser off of the Seychelles Islands.

They would make Blackbeard, or Charles Vane proud, with their bravado.

Still, it apparently didn't end well for them, as one would expect:

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Perhaps the previous incident of the American warship that was attacked running away from a similar fight raised their morale unnecessarily high.

There is no word on the fate of the men in the skiff, but their adjoining mothership, and at least five men were captured. No doubt, the captured crew will get a stern lecture on the evils of piracy.

Still more options for your modern day piracy gaming scenario pleasure.

Is anyone going to finally start working on some dedicated Modern Piracy miniature rules (non-RPG)?

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Dan

I'm working on it, but so far none of the concepts I've tried have been all that workable.

What if a warship would be attacked by hundreds of pirates at the same time, and taken in a bloody battle of hand-to-machete combat.

Pirates with their own warship, bodies hanging from the radar mast, skulls on the bridge.

Their cruise would end a few hours and a well-aimed missile later, but it would be pretty cool.

I think the ship was just an FFG but spectacularly dumb stupid pirate stunt none the less.

Just imagine the delight of the young Navy crew that got the ability to fire at these terrorists.

Three dumb pirates vs. a USN FFG doesn't seem like much of a game!

Qat, the breakfast of champions.

Lol…Not HS graduates I presume…

I wish I could remember the link, but I read a fascinating article about two British couples in two sailboats in that area that were attacked by pirates. They responded to the automatic weapons fire with shotguns and one of the sailboats rammed and sank a pirate inflatable craft. The encounter left both pirate craft damaged and drifting. It did point out a few things that should be present in any game:

1) There are many "scouts" that station themselves at intervals near the Gulf and Somalia that report on any traffic that comes near, which enables the pirates to get some intel on what they want to tackle.
2) Sending out an emergency signal if you're under attack is a waste of time. There are so few armed naval vessels and choppers in a massive area that only by divine intervention would one be close enough to intervene. Your best hope is that another merchant vessel blunders near you to offer assistance.

I think it would be best done as a solitaire game with the player(s) being the pirates who have to scout the sea traffic, allocate forces for an attack, then roll for what they get out of it. Choppers, other pirates, and armed warships can be randomized.

I'm surprised that nobody has revived a modern version of the "Q" ship.

"Are you trying to game it as a hide and seek game where the pirates are working with limited intel about whn the ships are coming vs the limited naval forces to guess when to cover what?

Or are you doing the "pirates on the starboard bow" shooting, evading, grappling, boarding, repel boarders, search the ship type basis?"

The former, but possibly with an element of the latter to cater for the rare occasions when some sort of resistance actually happens

Members of the Corlears Hook Fencibles designed the board game "Jack the Ripper" back in the day.

The police player started each Saturday night by deploying pieces upside down in the streets of Whitechapel. The Jack player would then accost them, looking for street walkers. In the thick London fog they would sometimes find constables instead. Perhaps a similar approach…

LOL.

Missile frigate, guided missile cruiser, cargo ship, pirate prey.

They're all the same – a ship, is a ship, is a ship, at least until it starts firing back at you.

;-)

David Manley: "I'm working on it, but so far none of the concepts I've tried have been all that workable."

What sort of obstacles are you encountering?

Dan
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Seems like it would be a very boring game if tactical.

A more interesting approach might be to build it as a solo (naval player) vs pirate operational game. One could then build a game that had the pirates appear on a large scale map at random (with limitations) while the player tried to get cargo ships from port to port (or area to area) and place his naval assets where he thought they'd do the most good.

Make it a game of ship protection, rather than one of attacking ships.

Dan

A very interesting and appropriate game to design, given that real people, now, in real time, are trying to do their jobs and support their families, and are the victims of these thugs. Never mind, lets turn their plight into a game…..

Ha!

Seems boring to game now but, just watch, soon enough there are going to be hundreds of those boats, falling like flies on any ship that enters their area:

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And they seem to be getting lots of reinforcements from Malaysia and other locations.

In a couple of years, you're going to wish someone had started a rule set and a miniature range or two for it.

Dan
PS. Chouan, come on, one man's suffering is another man's entertainment (via news media, books, movies, etc. that you buy – so why not gaming).
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It would seem to me, one might have to start with small boat vs small boat, work on the system of going about moving, fire, defence fire, grapple, reppel, board, and capture, one might have to pick and choose what would work, from all assest, seems some RPG have touched on this (twilight 2000 did some modern pirate rules adventure modules) so pick and choose modify the rules, they did have the work, tweak them, once you have a small working model of the rules then add the next size boat/ship I think it would be great if someone could come up with a good rule system.

The big question is . . . who will pick up the gauntlet and take up that challenge! :)

Dan
PS. I know I can't write rules. I can barely read them. :)
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Just a thought replace light vehicle as boats? (jeeps, trucks, SUVs) Just replace the name (sanpan, Zodiac) then just tinker and tweak from there? don't remake to wheel just modify it.

"I know I can't write rules. I can barely read them".

Why let that stop you. Many other wargames rules writers haven't. Their names will remain unmentioned, to protect the innocent….

LOL!!!

Dan