2 fleets, 50 points
4/21/2017
A quick 50 point game between these two fleets. There would be no damage due to ramming.
The Fool’s Hope, one of my favorite ships for aesthetics and intimidation factor.
The allied fleet was in a very close formation early:
Both of the smaller Pirate ships were heading for the middle island, but the Nox cut them off! The Congress also approached the Ningpo, but the allies went a predictable 1/6 in a dismal attack.
A tale of two ships: the Ningpo utterly fails against the Congress, but the Fool’s Hope makes up for it by going 4/5 against the Nox and setting the Frenchman ablaze! The Plague of the East docks home to repair, letting the captained Pirate ships do the damage.
With one salvo, the beautiful Nox is ravaged within minutes of the game’s start.
As the Nox burns to the waterline, the remaining allied ships break off the engagement. However, the Fool’s Hope aggressively pursues them and the Ningpo takes extra-long-range shots at the Congress.
Hawkins (did he steal another of Blackheart’s ships?) sailed too far, allowing the Montenez and Congress to blast his ship apart!
The Congress carries an impressive broadside, but now her crew must tend to a dangerous fire on the main deck.
The Fool’s Hope also won a boarding party to take out the Montenez’s captain, but the Ningpo was ineffective once again.
The allies have a decisively fantastic turn! The Montenez hits twice to dismast the Fool’s Hope, while the Congress dismasts the Ningpo despite her fire spreading.
The allies capture the Fool’s Hope, while the Plague of the East arrives on the scene to tow the Ningpo and attempt to block the Montenez, now moving at S speed.
The Plague of the East misses a shot, and the Montenez may be able to slip by!
As the Plague of the East trained all of her cannons on the Montenez, I realized that the Montenez should have been missing a mast after the FH’s boarding party, since Hawkins’ ability would have killed the captain via pinning and the FH’s ability would have eliminated a mast via boarding (meaning the FH wouldn’t have been dismasted). As a result the PotE got an extra shot, but couldn’t hit worth gunpowder anyway. The Congress arrived to sink the Ningpo and dismast the Plague of the East.
The Americans had won a combat-heavy victory, though it was slightly marred by the rules gaffe. However, it’s likely the repaired Congress would have been able to defeat the Pirates anyway. It was a bit odd to see no islands explored, but the setup and HI placement (along with 5/6 ships having captains) was a factor in that. The fleets definitely missed out on some interesting coins, including two 5’s, a 7, and a 0.