"Pre-Dreadnought Free-Rules tryouts Part I" Topic

Good Day to all. Now that I took the dive into the age of steam, I have begun sampling free rules to set my toys in battle. All are found on the free wargames rules website link

Scenario: Jauréguiberry vs. Tsesarevich and Peresvet

Part I: The simple rules

Portable Naval Gaming: Pre-Dreadnought

Command and Control: None

Within Type Ship differentiation (i.e is a Panteleimon different than a Branderburg) : No

Hex(Does it use Hexes or not as a play mat): Yes

Notes: Fast simple dice game. That said the existence of primitive arcs, and the use of a Hex map create a game of maneuver. Battle did not last more than two exchanges once fleets were in normal range.

Naval War game Rules For the Russo-Japanese War

CnC: Yes, Roll for Command Points System

Within Type Ship differentiation: Primitive (Obslete vs. Modern Pre-dreadnoughts)

Hex: No

Notes: Roll for Command Points system is nice and gives a maneuverable game (together with arcs of fire rules), however as written the rules are problematic. It seems that the only way to destroy a ship is to get critical hits on it (you roll two dice per hit you make, and if the dice are double you get a critical hit which changes according to the double used (2-2 or 6-6 for example)). If that is the case the game can last a looooonngg time and get boring. Rules could use some clarification.

Alienstar Firepower Rules

CnC: Yes. Written Orders per squadron with the possibility of Squadrons not following orders

Within Type Ship differentiation: Primitive (- or + can be added to classes to represent better or worse ships)

Hex: No

Notes: All ships move at the same speed and have the same range (12 inches long, 6 inches short). Damage is punishing and handled in an interesting manner. It would take long, expect that a BB will go down after two or three salvos hit it due to the four possible types of damage that can be inflicted (Flooding, Structure, Gunnery, Movement) . To hit rules are a bit complex and require record keeping. This game definitely requires markers and record keeping. The rules are not put together in a easy to play and learn manner (everything predates the turn sequence). Not clear if Fire results are cumulative since they tend to come more easily than others and can quickly force a ship out of action. Lack of Arcs of Fire makes maneuvering a boring exercise.

Summary: These are all fast rules, but they are not satisfying. There is nothing in these rules to differentiate the Tsesarevich from the Jauréguiberry. I liked the hex map of the Portable Rules, the maneuvering in the RJW rules and the damage system in the Firepower rules, but each rule system had other serious detraction that took away from it. Next up are going to be the more complex rules that also have ship differentiation.

With Respect
KTravlos

If I remember right wasnt the Tsesarvich built in a French shipyard based on the Jaureguiberry. So they would be fairly similiar. So maybe not the best ships for comparison. Better the Borodino class, which was the most modern Russian built class if I remember right compared to the French and US built battleships the Russians had. In fact the US built ship was considered to have been one of the better ships in the fleet as demonstrated at the Yellow Sea battle.

The nice thing about this war is that you can compare British designed and built ships against French and US built and designed ships in an actual shooting war.

I have been thinking of getting into this era, but wondered about rules.

Good day. Interesting comments. That said none of these rules really differentiate by ship classes within type.

With Respect
KTravlos

I like the Phil Barker designed DBSA, which is very simple but has a good solid core model. It's also easy to tweak for things like restricted arc, slow firing and so on. What I have done in the past is grade ships for speed armour and guns, and make them like the DBx Superor/Inferior/Ordinary factors. You can get quite sophisticated outcomes.

So how do ships die in the "Naval War game Rules For the Russo-Japanese War" ?