Men o' War

This afternoon I introduced James to man o' War, our home grown Napoleonic Naval rules.  We fought two battles, each with the same fleets.  James had 4 British ships 1 1st rater & 3 3rd raters all with elite crews.  Jim had 4 French ships, 1 1st rater, 1 2nd rater & 2 3rd raters, all with average crews.

Battle 1:

The French are on the right with the weather gauge. 

The French crossed the British T with their starboard broadsides loaded with chain & inflicted some serious rigging damage.  The Brits had loaded their port broadsides with double shot and had to fire it off & reload with single shot when the French kept outside of double shot range.

Serious rigging damage one ship has caused disorder in the British line as the entire French line pound the unfortunate HMS Catastrophe.

The French have moved in for the kill.  Harry on the left & Repulsive in the middle have struck their colours, Catastrophe is a shambles, only Excrement can get away.  A rare French victory.

Battle 2:

This time the Brits on the right have the weather gauge and James has got a better handle on the game. 

This time it is the French who suffer most in an initial exchange of chain shot.

The battle turns into a confused melee as the two line break through each other and damage mounts on both sides.

Harry nearest the wind indicator has struck, but Fifi in the middle Merde, 2nd from the camera, are a shambles.

Fifi has struck, Excrement has slipped past the French on the left.  All ships have serious damage except Repulsive (far right).  The 3 French ships on this side put up sail and run for home.  The Brits recover Harry, plus have taken Fifi and the natural order of Britannia ruling the waves has been restored.

But both games were good fun.   The combined manoeuvre and damage log on magnetic boards works a treat.  The manoeuvre log takes a bit of learning to use, but once you get it, it works well.  The ships are really a bit big for the hexes - it would look even better with smaller ships or larger hexes.