| Woollygooseuk | 03 Nov 2025 11:50 a.m. PST |
Does anyone know of any naval wargame rules that cover the pre-ironclad sail-to-steam period? I've been doing some reading around the naval aspects of the Crimean War and I think it would be quite an intriguing period to wargame – either as someone coming 'up' from Age of Sail, or 'down' from the early ironclads. I could extrapolate from existing AoS rules I have, but I just wondered if anyone has already covered this. If nothing else, it's always helpful to see how other gamers have interpreted a period. |
| rmaker | 03 Nov 2025 12:19 p.m. PST |
I would think any ACW ruleset would work. Just leave out the ironclad stuff. |
DisasterWargamer  | 03 Nov 2025 1:03 p.m. PST |
David Brandon did a set of rules "Sail and Steam Navies" – on Wargame Vault – Covers 1840 – 1880
link It has modules covering other navies – however limited in navies covered – but might be a start |
| 138SquadronRAF | 03 Nov 2025 1:27 p.m. PST |
Another vote for "Steam and Steam Navies" With the introduction of 'shell guns' this can be a bit dicey for wooden ships. Maybe a set of rules should be call "Wooden Ships and Crispy Men." |
| khanscom | 03 Nov 2025 5:19 p.m. PST |
"The Devil at the Helm: Naval Warfare 1850- 1906" by R.A. Walker fits the period. I've never played these since they are excruciatingly detailed. I have used "Ironclad Gunboat" for Lissa and some War of the Triple Alliance what-if scenarios, and it worked well. |
 McKinstry  | 03 Nov 2025 10:48 p.m. PST |
David Manley's "Broadside & Ram" is fairly simple and is available on Wargames Vault. |
| KSmyth | 04 Nov 2025 7:25 a.m. PST |
If there aren't a lot of ships involved, "Sail and Steam Navies" are a good choice, but you'd probably have to create your own ship cards. If you're doing a lot of ships, David Manley's rules might be a better solution. SSN can bog down in detail if there are too many ships. Devil at the Helm should be held for the relic that it is. Own it but never try to play it. |
 The Virtual Armchair General  | 04 Nov 2025 11:17 a.m. PST |
"The Kris And The Flame," a dependent variant of "The Sword And The Flame" covers the late 1840's-50's in the context of the anti-pirate/slaver battles of Rajah Brooke in the East Indies. The rules cover maneuvering of sail/oared warships including steam powered Gunboats. Players "rate" their existing models by dimensions and other factors to create Ship Record Cards (included). The contemporary Crimean War era should be no problem at all if the TKATF game system itself (and its detailed rules for maneuvering) should be no problem if its charms appeal. Full details via this link Good Luck! TVAG |
| Woollygooseuk | 06 Nov 2025 2:55 p.m. PST |
Thank you for all the suggestions; plenty of food for thought. I hadn't really considered ACW rules as I've always tended to think of the naval aspects being very focused on riverine and coastal actions. It looks like S&S Navies covers sailing and non-ironclad ships as well though, so could be useful. I hadn't heard of Devil at the Helm. It does look a little of its time, but might be an interesting retro read all the same. TVAG, The Kris and the Flame looks a little low level for what I'm after but my wife has an ancestor who was a naval officer in that part of the world around that time, so I might add it to my list of potential side projects. Broadside & Ram looks to be for a little later than I'm after. What I really need, it seems, is for someone to persuade David Manley to write a rule set or addendum to bridge the gap between Far Distant Ships and Dahlgren & Columbiad :-) |
