"Messing about with boats" Topic

I don't wargame traditional naval battles but I sometimes use boats as tools and obstacles in land-focused scenarios. For example, I have some Sea Peoples' galleys for Bronze Age conflicts and a couple of Nile steamers for Sudan campaigns.
theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link

theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link

While these aren't "naval games" in the conventional sense, they add a new dimension to my wargames. I am thinking about adding more to some of the other periods I game.

Boats offer tactical mobility: they allow forces to bypass difficult terrain, conduct raids, or open new flanks in riverine or coastal operations.

Including boats can also create crossing challenges, river defences, amphibious landings, or supply problems.

From a visual perspective, boats can provide visual and thematic interest that can really bring a table to life.

But there are challenges.

Scale and movement: Boats often move faster than land units, making it tricky to keep pace with the rest of the game without unbalancing things.

Rules integration: Most land-focused rule sets don't provide detailed mechanics for waterborne units or river/sea operations. This means either house-ruling or adapting elements from naval systems.

Terrain and modelling: Rivers, lakes, or coasts need careful representation. Boats can look out of place on a flat table without some form of water effect.And rivers & coastlines take up a lot of table space. TBH they suit our big Show games rather than our regular "garage" games (cf first photo with second).

You also have questions about combat – how do you resolve boarding, artillery, or riverine skirmishes? How do boat units interact with land forces?

I'm curious to hear if others have experimented with this, what approaches you've used to model rivers, streams, or amphibious operations, and how you balance boats with the rest of the table. Practical tips, miniatures choices, or house rules are all welcome. Also, what land campaigns cry out for added naval additions?

For me, adding Sea Peoples' galleys or Nile steamers isn't about full naval battles—it's about opening new tactical and narrative possibilities in otherwise "landlocked" campaigns.

I should add I enjoy scratch-building boats, too.

Looking forward to hearing your ideas and experiences.

Scale and Movement: Not sure that needs to be addressed. If they're supposed to provide direct support or other interaction with land units, then they'll adjust their speed (like foot and cav). If they're not, they will be a brief target of opportunity.

Rules Integration: The big issue is the effects of momentum. Here is a pretty good swipe at it:

link

You probably don't want to plot exact motion (I do, but I actually enjoy doing the math). Your best bet would be: (1) some latent speed mechanism, like a die (or other counter) to represent speed, which is then incremented or decremented turn to turn instead of the land based full stop/full speed is possible anytime you want; usually speeding up is faster than slowing down, (2) a simple ratio and rate limit for turning, which will give you advance and transfer orthogonal to each other, and you can move the craft to the end point with the appropriate heading.

Terrain: Vinyl tiles. There are lots of types of water – colors, effects, etc. There are lots of types of tile. Littoral water usually has a lot of variance, though. If you want to go that far, get some clear vinyl, and paint on the reverse side of it.

If I ever get my "imaginative" Boxer Rebellion campaign off the ground, I'll be leaning heavily on TVAG's "Boilers and Breechloaders":
link

Those Nile gun boats are fantastic – I like the galleys as well, but there's something about a sternwheeler.

Interesting little book, Bob.
For the Show game, one of my pals scratch-built some dhows:
theminiaturespage.com

‌"TMP link

We really didn't use this to its full potential & need to either work out some simple rules (see OP) or perhaps adjust something like the book in your link.

There's all sorts of things to think about – current, wind, not to mention shoals etc.

It boilsdown to: do you treat rivers as roads, difficult terrain, or something else entirely? Any simple mechanisms people have used to keep boats moving without bogging the game down?

Thanks, 20thmaine

Has anyone used boats in land rules they weren't "meant" for — Hail Caesar, Black Powder, V&F, Swordpoint, etc.? What broke, and what surprisingly worked?

For me, the attraction is that boats could be used to force decisions: do you hug the bank, risk grounding, dash past an enemy-held bend, or disembark under fire? They're not there to win the battle — they're there to complicate it.

Would be great to hear actual table experiences, successes and disasters. Particularly for other periods. I have some Napoleonic Royal Marines I've never used, for example….

"Boilers and Breechloaders" is VERY comprehensive. The rules cover just about any eventuality.

Thanks, Bob. I'll need to get a copy.