So, having downloaded a copy of VaS and dusted off some old half painted miniatures, young Henry (R 'En) and I have had a couple of very enjoyable actions. I know I won't get any prizes for originality but both actions were selected as having short docs on the web to help with the background and, in the absence of nicely painted miniatures, to assist with the visualisation.
First up was the River Plate. I had Graf Spee (a nice casting, even at 30 years old) and RN had Achilles and Ajax (played, Hollywood style, by two models of Exeter!) and Exeter (played by Norfolk. To avoid confusion (!) I elected to have the bigger ship play the heavy cruiser and the smaller ones play the light cruisers.
I thought I might have gotten away with this one; RN was blocking my way to Montevideo and safety but he split his forces (rather historically) which gave me the chance to try and belt down Exeter's flank, giving her a good mauling as I did so. I was helped by RN sending his CLs too wide so for the first 4 moves Achilles couldn't fire. Exeter was in a bad way as Ajax and Achilles turned to give chase and it looked like I'd slip through, but at the critical moment I was crippled and slowed right down, allowing the CLs to overhaul and pepper me with torpedoes, although I did take Exeter with me.
For the Denmark Strait I printed some flats (side views) for Bismarck, Prinz Eugen, Hood and PoW. R 'En was again RN. For simplicity I didn't include Norfolk and Suffolk, although I always think they should be included for this action.
Having seen this as a demo game on Mongoose's website I was surprised that the German player elected to turn 90 degrees towards the British, closing off his 'A' arcs and halving (almost) his available guns. RN, although only 7, didn't make the same mistake and sensibly concentrated his fire on Bismarck, only switching to Prinz Eugen to prevent her from escaping at the end. The result? Hood disabled, Prinz Eugen sunk, Bismarck lost in a catastrophic explosion. Oh, the irony.
So; what do I make of VaS? Flawed but playable. RN enjoyed them, which for me is the main point. The River Plate action seemed to capture the spirit and feel, although I felt Graf Spee to be too vulnerable. Similarly I felt that Bismarck (which was already crippled by the time she exploded) went down far too easily, bearing in mind how much sinking she eventually took.
With regard to the mechanics, I quite liked the Featherstone (and, I suppose, Warhammer) style 'saving throws' – they're quick and simple. VaS gave a good fun game; with adult platers I'd prefer something far more realistic (I'm still GQ1&2 at heart), but for and hour or so's fun with my boy they did exactly what I wanted them to. I was shocked by how long ships took to turn – going back to the Denmark Straits scenario, Norfolk and Suffolk wouldn't stand a chance if Bismarck turned on them in these rules – no nipping back into the murk for them!
All in all a very positive return to the hobby after some 20 years away. If someone can kindly tell me how to attach photos I'll even give you a laugh by including some photos of the River Plate action with it's rag-tag assortment of half painted stand-ins.
Best wishes and equal speed charlie london
