"Fighting Sail – Fleet Actions 1775–1815" Topic

Publication Date: 20 May 2015

See here
link

Would be good?

Amicalement
Armand

It will probably be quite playable as are most osprey titles. "Good" is subjective. Thanks for the heads up!

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

"In the years between 1776 and 1815, grand square-rigged sailing ships dominated warfare on the high seas. Fighting Sail is a tabletop wargame of fleet battles in this age of canvas, cannon, and timbers. Players take on the roles of fleet admirals in battles ranging from the American War of Independence to the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Each fleet has access to different ships, tactics, and command personalities – each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Offering a unique blend of detail and simplicity, the scenarios included enable the recreation of historic actions or 'what-if' scenarios. Join the battle and experience the adventurous age of the fighting sail!"

See here
link

Amicalement
Armand

We can find so example pages here:
link

So it looks interesting, but there is lack of list for Danish, Swedish and Ottoman navies.

Indeed the attractiveness of this title for me depends on how it will deal with fleets that aren't presented in print.
Will it have a 'build your own'section or just assume that no-one will want anything that they haven't already supplied…
Being anglo-indian my own thoughts immediately lock on to the East India companies, and the inevitable attempt to shoehorn all 'Indiamen' into a single stat line…

I too am looking forward to the new rules. I read the "Designers Notes" in Wargames Illustrated. I too am sad to see the lack of the Swedish and Turkish fleets. to have the Dutch and Portuguese is nice, but with the 2 missing fleets above you make the Russian fleet redundant. I hope this can be quickly made right. But get it right. The Russians beat both the Swedes and Turks. Maybe Rayan can do a add-on here?
Be safe
Rory

the inevitable attempt to shoehorn all 'Indiamen' into a single stat line…

Oh, please! Some rules use two stat lines: "large indiaman" and "small indiaman".

- Ix

I pre-ordered these rules, because I always hope to find some truly innovative mechanics inside the covers of rules I've never seen before (this gaming genre needs some), though I admit I'm pessimistic. The apparent Anglo-centric focus and stated date range bode ill. It also looks like the wind gauge visible in the sample pages on Amazon lets square-rigged men-o-war sail way too close to the wind – I hope that's just because Amazon isn't letting us see the rules preventing motorized assistance. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

- Ix

Hmm, never mind too close it looks like the movement mechanic actually allows sailing directly into the wind if you get the dice roll.

As a well known sailing master once said – "Ye canna change the laws of physics".

Partial sight from the sample pages I know and I hope other pages cover going through the wind, cost of turning into less favorable wind attitudes etc.

Must admit I'm holding off on ordering until I see a complete copy and have a flip-through. As I have most of the Osprey books on Age of Sail I'm not going to get too much new art and the GHQ ship shots do look a bit on the sterile side.

I like Langton and lots of rigging & smoke !

Mark Barker
The Inshore Squadron

Mark – Technically it is true, though a ship in irons only gets sailing points on 6's, and they don't get the typical free point if they fail to roll any. My goal was to simulate the other methods a ship had for getting out of irons without putting in a special rule for it.

I see sailing points not as just wind against sails, but as the crew's ability to effectively maneuver their ship. Since you never know how many points a ship will get, it adds some satisfying flavor while keeping the game tactically dynamic. I hope you'll try it out and enjoy!

Ryan,

Sorry not to come back sooner – I've no doubt I'll get tempted to try them, like all wargamers my resistance to "not another set of rules on my favorite topic" is usually short-lived !

Mark Barker
The Inshore Squadron

Hi Ryan.
I too have ordered the rules. Like Mark cannot let one go by and not have it. Still sad about no Swedes and Turks, but am looking forward to getting them.
Be safe and good luck with the new rules.
Rory

Hi All,
Got my copy of the rules today. Only had a quick look. A bit fast & bloody as said on other threads. Saying this I must re-read them. Nice looking book. I was surprised to get it before the 20th.
Be safe
Rory

I posted yesterday and it did not come up-top of the list. Why?
be safe
Rory

Got mine yesterday; I skimmed through them last night. Much, Much simpler than Beat to Quarters, Wooden Ships, or Close Action; more complicated than Sails of glory (but not much). I do like the turning gauges and the illustration of their use. Explanations seem to be clear and, being Osprey, lots of pretty pictures.

It would be easy enough to use the Sails of Glory ships and stands along with the Frigate Duel chapter to try them out. I think that the most direct comparisons will be with Sails of Glory.

Funny, I see it as simpler than Sails of Glory because I like to use Sails of Glory with all the advanced rules..

I do like this set BTW, it seems a good set for medium size actions.. I was actually pessimistic because every time I see naval rules they are a bit heavy on the simulation and light on playability.. I recognize I am not an expert on the subject, I like the period but I want the game to flow ( David Manley usually gets good playable games for example )..

This ones look fun, I'll try them in two weeks and I'll use the Sails of Glory minis which are great for those of us not fully dedicated to naval gaming :)

Regarding other lists, someone with good knowledge of the characteristics of the fleets mentioned can easily extrapolate them.. the system is straight forward enough and very modular..

I hope they are as fun as they read, and I actually liked the sailing point mechanics very much, a little uncertainty in that aspect can be a lot of fun.. so I liked that !

This osprey series of books has actually been a great thing I think, low price, many fun ideas. I don't like all of them but overall I am happy they are doing that…

thanks to the author of this one for putting his ideas on paper :)

cheers
Francisco

Advanced ordered mine from Amazon. I have high expectations.

Got mine yesterday. First impression is that we at long last have a playable set for competitions /non expert play. I liked "action under sail" and the derivatives but getting others to play was impossible ..

I got a chance to play a 100 point game yesterday. Very simple and quick (in a good way!) this feels to me like a naval DBA. Not that the mechanics are anything like DBA, but it's got the same streamlined feel.

Vis a vis the section on pirates: the Americans did not attack Jean Lafitte's base at Pensacola in 1814 because he didn't have one. Nor did he escape capture by the US Navy during the attack; he was in New Orleans at the time.

Commodore Patterson's squadron attacked Lafitte's headquarters on Grande Terre, a barrier island that once stretched across about three-quarters of the entrance to Barataria Bay in southern Louisiana. Lafitte expected an attack by either the British or the Americans, so before he left for New Orleans he gave orders that his gunners should return fire against the British but not the Americans. He also had the bulk of the military stores, etc, on Grande Terre moved to Temple Mound, an island in Barataria Bay that, unfortunately, no longer exists. Had he not done this, the gunpowder and musket flints he later provided to Andrew Jackson's army would probably have been lost.

These supplies and some gunners were Lafitte's contribution to the Battle of New Orleans; to the best of my knowledge he made no useful tactical suggestions and may well have not been on the field when the battle was fought.

LT

@brass1
That's not how Yul Brenner played it out!
:)
Interested in these rules but for larger squadron a player engagements. We'll see…