Friday's game at New Buckenham was a Napoleonic naval affair using Alan Abbey's rule set Blood, Bilge and Iron Balls.
The encounter was set up to mimic Trafalgar but on a much smaller scale, to act as a rules reminder and test game for the clubs full size Trafalgar to be played later this year. The ships are 1/1200 and a mix of Langton and Skytrex miniatures.
The mixed Spanish/French fleet awaits at the top of the table with the French leading, whilst the Royal Navy approach in line, with the wind from the bottom. The wind was from the bottom right in this photo diagonally across the table.Each side was split into three commands and I got the third and fourth ships in the British line. HMS Temeraire, a 98 gun second rate, and HMS Victory, a 104 gun first rate. No pressure then.
For those that don't know The rule set is card driven with different phases of play drawn randomly, these being for each nation, Sailing, Repair and Firing. Hits are determined by D6 rolls based on range etc whilst the damage, recorded on a ship control board, is determined by a card draw from a normal playing card deck with each card relating to a set amount and type of damage in the rule book.
Initially only the lead French elements were under sail the remainder drifting with the wind, content to await the British while presenting their broadsides. The British split into three columns, the lead taking on the rearmost Spanish ships, the centre moving left with our largest ships to engage the leading French ships which contained their largest ship, and the rear three ships carrying straight on to engage anything left that presented itself as a target.
The leading French ships managed to manoeuvre just in time to give rise to a passing engagement with my two ships. Whilst HMS Temeraire escaped relatively unharmed, Victory suffered mightily from the 118 gun L'Orient with several intense fires breaking out, high casualties among her crew, a mast down and rudder damage.
Several gunnery battles now started as more and more ships became engaged with the RN rearmost ships moving amongst the now under sail Spanish ships. Victory suffered more damage from L'Orient and her escorts before she put the final nail in the french ship Peuple Souverain's coffin after she was bow raked twice by Temeraire.
After this the Spanish rammed and boarded both Temeraire and Victory and after fierce fighting captured them both. Even the late capture of a Spanish 3rd rate galleon could not save the day for the Royal Navy.
All in all another great age of sail game.
More on my blog at Jabba's Wargaming
returns to Flintloque to paint an Ogre.
