WS+IM Scenario 10: HMS Mars Vs Hercule

Another very enjoyable game today, very much the same set up as the lady one but with a pair of 74's instead of frigates, Once again free quality decided the action, with the Hercule striking her colours in Turn 10 after having all of her hull boxes wiped out. The Mars was hammered too, losing almost half of her port side guns and damaged rigging, as well as crew casualties, but the Hercule definitely came off worse. Next time, I'm going to try using some of the advanced rules, especially for gunnery, as I think it will add another later of detail.

WS+IM Scenario 9: Nymphe Vs Cleopatre

An excellent game of Wooden Ships and Iron Men, the first one I've played, with a resounding victory for HMS Nymphe. The Cleopatre fought well but ended up with her port gun deck smashed to pieces and all seven of her hull points crossed over, resulting in a surrender. In return, HMS Nymphe lost one gun box wiper out and a couple of hull hits, so not too bad in comparison. I'm still learning the basics rules, with the movement system being a bit confusing at times, but I really like the game so far, even with the book keeping. A fairly accurate historical outcome this time but I'll be trying out some more scenarios to see what happens next. 

Wooden Ships and Iron Men

 

In a last-minute change of plan, I've brought my copy of Avalon Hill's classic Wooden Ships and Iron Men on holiday, in order to learn the rules and play some Age of Sail naval games. I've had this for ages but just didn't get round to punching it out and getting started, so now seems like an ideal opportunity. I'm working on some 1/2400th scale Napoleonic ships at the moment too, so it all fits together nicely. I've only just arrived at the holiday destination, so will give it a couple of days before I get cracking, but there will be some game reports on the blog soon as!

Wooden Ships & Iron Men

I really didn't get on with Wing Leader (too abstract, a bit clunky, some funny rules) so have put that to one side and decided to try out a classic Avalon Hill naval game, Wooden Ships and Iron Men, which is already much more my cup of tea just from the initial set up. I've had an unpunched copy in excellent condition for years but hadn't played it, perhaps because I didn't want to punch out the counters, but I've now bitten the proverbial bullet and set up a simple two ship frigate duel scenario. If that goes well and is good fun, I'll crack on and punch out some 74's for a larger game.