"Frigate Engagements From Twylite Games" Topic

I came across these on Wargames Vault but can't find any reviews.

link

They look intriguing, though maybe a little cumbersome. Has anyone tried them? Any reviews anywhere?

Many thanks,

Nick

This happens all the time and I don't know what we should do about it. Something pops up, written by one person or one gaming group, its marketing pitch sounds great, but there are no reviews, little info, make that *extremely* little info, and what are you supposed to do? You just have to gamble.

I've gambled a couple of times and am not going to make it a habit. Some of those things are unplayable. I'm sure some are fantastic, but it's a roulette spin until the creators have a way to tell us enough about the product for us to make a good decision or the consumers figure out a way to get some x-ray vision.

Review copies might be the answer. If there were reputable reviewers the creators could send them a copy. But who would want to be an unpaid reviewer for an unending stream of PDFs?

I did find this sample page from the rules on another download site. Of the 3 sample pages, 2 with generic weather charts, this one had a basic summary (of movement?), tho no info on gunnery, crews etc.
I would hope that any publisher would at least provide a game turn of play even without specific charts but just a general, we find the results on a crew chart after rolling a D6….kind of explanation.

Sequence of play
1.The active player lays out a number of order cards in sequence that they wish to perform and there may not be any duplicate colours unless stipulated on the card. The order of these cards are significant as they are performed in the order laid down in front of the player.
2. Adjust the ships crew to reflect the orders issued ( crew reallocation phase) , also assign crew to boarding parties if required.
3. Roll the command dice for the first order if the order passes them perform the action then move to the next order.
4. Each order card is then acted upon in sequence laid down.
5. After a move card (if one is placed) the ship is drifted 20% of the wind speed in the wind direction and remaining at the same attitude to the wind, If no move card is placed then the ship is drifted at the end of that ships card sequence.
6. Move on to the next ship in the active players side and re preform items 1 through to 5 for other ships.
7. Resolve any collisions and grappling attempts by either ship, a ships base must touch another for this to be possible , ships which are no longer grappled may attempt to turn and sail away in their next move.
8. Resolve any melee's by all ships of both sides.
9. Perform any ships repairs for the active player.
10.Roll for change of wind direction, on a roll of 6 by either player on a 1d6 the direction changes by 1 compass point clock wise on a 1,2,3 or counter clockwise on a 4,5,6.
11. (Optional) Roll for weather change, both players roll 1d6 and consult weather table in the pre game setup.
12. This is the end of this players turn , now it is the other players turn.

Order Cards The following order cards have been listed with their effects. Each order card is coloured, no duplicate coloured orders may be placed for activation.
Turn to port one point :- the ship will pivot on its bow by one compass point.
Turn to port two points :- the ship will pivot on its bow by two compass points.
Turn to port three points :- the ship will pivot on its bow by three compass points.
Turn to starboard one point :- the ship will pivot on its bow by one compass point.
Turn to starboard two points :- the ship will pivot on its bow by two compass points.
Turn to starboard three points :- the ship will pivot on its bow by three compass points.
Sail straight ahead :- move the ship its speed according to its relationship to the wind direction. Sail with turn to port :- sail half a move turn to port then sail half a move.
Sail with turn to starboard :- sail half a move turn to starboard then sail half a move

I know what you mean Andrew, and thanks Bob too.

For five bucks I may well have a look, but it would be nice to have an idea of what I'm buying – when I get a pint of Guinness I know it's not going to be left undrunk, after all.

If I do, I'll post some thoughts.

Nick

I've sent out review copies of my WV rules in the past. So far the number of magazines and websites that have published them can be counted on the fingers of one foot. I guess they just prefer reviews of products that you can hold in your hand rather than arriving as a cloud of electrons

I bought these rules a while ago when I was trying out various rulesets. They are a fairly quick to learn "lite" ruleset. Its all quite standard fare – using measured distances for firing & sailing & order cards for issuing orders (the latter seemed a particularly good aspect of the game as these are clear & easy to understand & implement). All in all its an Ok ruleset for single ship or low ship count engagements, all you need are miniatures, dice & a ruler.
Incidentally, after much studying I ended up with post Captain.

Thank you Mr Astrolabe – I may indeed but a couple of frigates from Tumbling Dice and give them a bash.

Cheers,

Nick