| raymondh | 15 Mar 2017 1:51 p.m. PST |
looking at getting into 1/2400 ships but wondering what the best rules are for that scale? I'm a pretty experienced gamer so not afraid of something a little complicated as long as not too OTT. Love to hear some opinions :) |
| freerangeegg | 15 Mar 2017 1:57 p.m. PST |
IMHO the best is General Quarters. We play them in 1/2400 and 1/1200.
They look complex on first glance, but play really easily, and give a game with a nice feel of the period |
| idontbelieveit | 15 Mar 2017 2:33 p.m. PST |
I have a qualified endorsement of GQ3. For daytime surface actions it's really great. We played Jutland with them last year and it worked really well. I have to believe there is a good ruleset within it for surface-to-air and nighttime actions, but we are still looking for it…. |
| Dynaman8789 | 15 Mar 2017 2:48 p.m. PST |
I'm a very big fan of "Battlewagon" from Task Force Games, now available as a PDF from wargamevault. It is a hex based game but could be readily converted to miniatures use by treating each hex as 2 or 3 inches. |
 McKinstry   | 15 Mar 2017 3:00 p.m. PST |
General Quarters 3 would be my choice for the right split between detail and playability. |
| 21eRegt | 15 Mar 2017 4:55 p.m. PST |
Our group is solidly entrenched with Naval Thunder by Steel Dreadnaughts. They have supplements for pre-dreads, WWI on all fronts and WWII. Also has a good support forum. |
| Mobius | 15 Mar 2017 5:46 p.m. PST |
If you want something with a little more depth you could try
Seas of War.
link |
| Dances with Clydesdales | 15 Mar 2017 7:03 p.m. PST |
Fear God & Dread Naught, Command at Sea, and Harpoon. The "Admiralty Trilogy" covers WWI, WWII, and Modern era respectively. More complex then GQ , but not as complex as some make it out to be. |
| Bashytubits | 15 Mar 2017 8:08 p.m. PST |
If you like large naval engagements I recommend Battlestations Battlestations by Decision Games. We recently did a hypothetical naval battle between the 1939 French Fleet and Italians with over 20 ships on each side in 3 hours with believable results. I use 1/6000 hallmark ships. |
| daveshoe | 15 Mar 2017 10:04 p.m. PST |
I would say that it depends on what size of battles you want to fight. I like the Admiralty Trilogy games (Fear God & Dread Nought for WWI and Command at Sea for WWII), but I also like General Quarters rules.
I think the Admiralty Trilogy rules have a lot of depth and scope, covering all aspects of naval action, but they aren't for everyone. |
| Bezmozgu7 | 16 Mar 2017 2:56 a.m. PST |
If you are looking for something less complicated, faster playing, and free on-line downloadable you might want to take a look at Naval War, The WWII Miniatures Game: naval-war.com I also like GQ3, but am finding that with time constraints NW is a good and fun option. |
| raymondh | 16 Mar 2017 5:05 p.m. PST |
Thanks guys. All useful stuff. Might give GQ a bash. I used to play it many moons ago so that's the way I'm leaning at the moment. |
| Mako11 | 16 Mar 2017 7:25 p.m. PST |
Yea, my go to would be GQ as well. |
| dragon6 | 18 Mar 2017 9:47 p.m. PST |
Be aware GQ3 is very different from GQ1&2 |
| hindsTMP | 19 Mar 2017 11:24 a.m. PST |
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| hindsTMP | 15 Apr 2017 9:11 p.m. PST |
For a contrasting viewpoint, I own all 3 General Quarters rulesets. After reading the daytime surface rules portion of GQ-3, I was a bit put off however, and went back to my (modified) GQ-1 and GQ-2 for WWII naval gaming. For that aspect of GQ-3, at least, I found that the greater detail it contained frequently seemed less historically accurate than in the earlier versions. Can't comment on GQ-3 night actions or air actions at this point; maybe they compare more favorably. MH |
| Charlie 12 | 16 Apr 2017 12:16 p.m. PST |
What constitutes the "Best Rules" is a loaded proposition. And depends on a wide range of factors (scope, scale, personal interests, personal interpretation of the period, etc). So one person's "best" will likely be a another's "worse". So any assessment will (or should) end with "YMMV"… That said, my personal favorite is GQ3.3 (and its sibling, FAI). Has the right mix of correct detail without becoming burdensome. And it produces results that are historically viable. (And I base that on 40+ years of studying naval history). My previous favorite would be GQ1/2 which, although much more abstract, do produce a credible game. My problem with these rules, however, is their age: they were first published in the '70s and have never been revised. And, in some major areas, they're showing their age (and that's to be expected. The amount of new material that has been published over the last 10 years, to say nothing of the last 40, is truly staggering). But, as I stated earlier, YMMV…. |
