- Scale
1/1200th
- Rules
Sky Galleons of Mars for a detailed set. Space 1889 basic rulebook for a perfectly acceptable set, and probably best if you are just dabbling.
Ironclads and Ether Flyers also contains the rules, albeit with emphasis on water-borne ships.
Obviously, however, you should be using Aeronef. But I don't have a copy, although I am sure they are similar enough to make for easy conversion. As sure as I am that that statement will be met with howls of protest.
- Length
12 turns
- Players
1 British, 1 Martian Pirate
- Forces
British Forces
Mantis, an Aphid-class aerial gunboat.
Crew – 15
Weight – 160 tons
Armament – 4" gun (forward), 2 x Hotchkiss 1-pounder rotating cannon (port & starboard, centre mounts), 2 x 5-barrell Nordenfelts (port & starboard, rearward mounts)
The Canal-diver, Martian small screw-galley (Small-bird class)
Crew – 14
Weight – 200 tons
Armament – 4 x Hotchkiss 1-pounder rotating cannon (port & starboard, forward & aft mounts), 2 x 5-barrel Nordenfelts (port & starboard, centre mounts)
The Solar Soarer, Martian small screw-galley (Small-bird class)
Crew – 20
Weight – 200 tons
Armament – 4 x Hotchkiss 1-pounder rotating cannon (port & starboard, forward & aft mounts), 2 x 5-barrel Nordenfelts (port & starboard, centre mounts)
The Snow-Long-Gone, Martian merchant kite
Crew – 50
Weight – 2000 tons
Unarmoured
Pirate Forces
The Red Scimitar, Martian large screw-galley (Hullcutter class)
Crew – 60
Weight – 700 tons
Armament – Bow-mounted Ram, 2 x 2" Martian (smoothbore, muzzle-loading) guns (port & starboard, forward), 8 x 1" sweepers (4 along port & starboard sides)
On loan from the Oenotrian Empire
The Red Stilletto, Martian small screw-galley (Small-bird class)
Crew – 16
Weight – 200 tons
Armament – 4 x Hotchkiss 1-pounder rotating cannon (port & starboard, forward & aft mounts), 2 x 5-barrel Nordenfelts (port & starboard, centre mounts)
- Situation
Mars, June 1889. The Umbran spice trade is under serious threat, and so therefore is much of Her Majesty's profits on Mars. The British are using the Nilosystris Valley to bring the spice in to Syrtis Major for off-world dispatch.
The Oenotrian Empire is supporting – unofficially, of course – some Martian cloud pirates. The British are escorting the merchant vessels with some of their few aerial flyers and a number of Martian flyers from the City-States in the British colony.
British Orders
Escort the Snow-Long-Gone from the north side of the table edge to exit the south side, i.e. the length of the table.
British Victory Conditions
Snow-Long-Gone exits – major victory
Enemy vessel destroyed/captured – minor victory
Lose the Snow-Long-Gone – major defeat
Lose the Mantis – minor defeat
Lose either screw-galley – irritation
Exit the Snow-Long-Gone back to the north – minor defeat
Exit off either of the long table edges – major defeat (lost in the mountains or prey to other pirates over the plains)
Martian Orders
Capture, failing that destroy, any merchant vessels.
Martian Victory Conditions
Capture the Snow-Long-Gone intact – major victory
Destroy the Snow-Long-Gone – minor victory
Destroy another vessel – minor victory
Capture another vessel – minor victory
Force the British off the long table edges – minor victory
Victory conditions are in major/minor format and totalled to get a feel for an overall result. I believe this gives a better feel for a battle than a points total does.
- Set-Up
Table: 6' x 4'
An alternative would be the maps from Sky Galleons of Mars if you have them, or any other boardgame board you have handy.
This is an aerial scenario; the map is effectively blank so you don't need me to draw one.
One long table edge represents a mountain range - you can either just make it know which one, or model the range's peaks – any tabletop hills/mountains would do; lay them out along the table edge.
Martian Entry Point: Anywhere at any time, from the mountain-side of the board.
- Special Rules
Germany is considering strengthening its position on Mars, so has naturally sent some advisers to the Oenotrian Empire to assess things. One of these advisors, Captain Suddlich, has joined the pirates to gauge their effectiveness. The pirate player may choose which vessel the Captain is on. He has no bearing on the game except that if on board a captured vessel, he results in a Minor Victory to the British.
- Recommended Figures
Original Space 1889 Martian Cloudship and Aerial Flyer miniatures, 1/1200 scale, if you can find them today. If not, some conversion will be needed, or just be happy with stand-ins. Cloudships have solar sails to be accurate, but this is sci-fi, so maybe cloudships don't have sails after all.
Also in 1/1200 are Aeronef models from Brigade Models:
Mantis - VAN-103, Osprey Class Patrol Nef
Small-bird class – VAN-102, Exeter Class Cruiser
Red Scimitar – VAN-1402, Huascar Class Cruiser
...and Wessex Game's AE910: Britannic Class Merchant Transport (Class 1) will do for the Snow-Long-Gone.
For those wanting a larger scale, The London War Room's Cloudcutter (CC1) can be used for the cloudships and the Ironclad Gunboat (ICG1) for the Mantis. They have plenty of accessories to arm the vessels as desired.
This is deliberately a small scenario to allow those who would like to dabble in this era to do so, without having to buy a large number of models.
To get the best use from the new purchases, the game can be played as a mini-campaign. Take turns being pirate and escort, and after 2-4 runs at each competitive players can compare their respective results. Players-for-the-game can see the overall result from a combined style of captaincy for either side.
