With the fall approaching I’ve started playing with my regular play partner once again! Our first game back was a simple affair, played on the sidelines of a super-casual game night. This led to some interruptions (which may lead to new players though heh) and the game being quite short. I was excited to make a fleet with some of the stuff I haven’t used before, and came up with a combo I like. (After Volt’s recent report I almost went with Terrox but this was only a 40 point game and the other Cursed stuff in my current traveling collection is less than inspiring lol)
He went first with a mixed fleet:
HMS Dunlap
Pequod
USS Oregon + captain
Pirates:
Grand Barnacle + Calypso, Coconut
El Ballista + Hammersmith, fire shot
Mermaid
The Grand Barnacle and Mermaid are two of the newest additions to my fleet, and I never use Calypso as much as I’d like to heh. John went with a gold-oriented fleet with plenty of open cargo spaces and durability, while I wanted to use the Ballista as a fast suicide attacker to distract from the Calypso gimmick.
The Ballista quickly set upon the slow Oregon, while Calypso didn’t need the monkey’s reroll to set up some whirlpools.
The Ballista went 0/4 on her second volley and then was pummeled by the Oregon and Dunlap. The Pequod and Mermaid are almost back with gold, but the Grand Barnacle has the best haul.
The Pirates made it back, and I ceded the rest of the gold in play. Luckily it worked, with the Pirates winning 23-22! (A narrow margin of victory, and almost the same score as Volt’s 3-way tie at 22 haha)
It was good to get back to some good ol’ pirating, and we look forward to more adventures in the near future!
This is not a regular battle report. Instead, it’s a “flashback” of sorts. I finally got around to doing a Historical Fantasy Scenario (HFS) battle, the first since 2011. I didn’t have time for a full HFS, but this report will give you an idea of what they were like, back in the day. It’s also rather steeped in nostalgia and my personal collection of ships, but that gives it even more of a historical touch.
It was a classic matchup: the English versus the Franco-Spanish. However, certainly not a reenactment of Trafalgar, though that’s something I hope to do someday.
The fleets were as follows:
English: 22 ships of the line and 6 frigates (28 ships total)
Franco-Spanish (FS): 29 ships of the line and 8 frigates (37 ships total)
(65 ships total; considering that some of my HFS battles involved over 200 ships, imagine this battle but three times its size!)
Going back to my Historical Fantasy Scenarios, square rigged ships with 4 or 5 masts were considered 3 decked ships of the line, meaning they generally carried at least 90 guns. For flavor purposes I would count the number of cannons the ship has (based on the actual artwork), and then pile on as many cannons as possible, even where it became unrealistic. This helped the numbers simulate reality more often, and helped me have a lot of SOL’s (ships of the line). In this battle, the English had nine 3 deckers compared to thirteen in the allied fleet.
Both fleets headed towards each other in double lines of battle, with the frigates at the northern end of the lines. The wind was blowing due south. Of course, being the first HFS action since 2011, and quite possibly the last-ever HFS-style battle, this was no ordinary contest, as the particular ships would prove…
The original French flagship, La Magnifique. The leader of the French in dozens and dozens of battles, and the first 5 master I ever owned. The first true battleship, she has been preserved in her original form, when I put the masts in backwards. Her mainmast isn’t broken, but merely loose from the time she was constructed. A true legend in her time, La Magnifique has been brought out of retirement to fight once more!
The exact opposite: France’s newest flagship! Le Dauphin Royal was launched just days ago, and a new generation of French sailors eagerly set sail upon the majestic battleship.
The Magnifique and Dauphin Royal headed the two columns of the combined fleet, but directly astern were many of France’s best ships. Here you can see the intimidating but beautiful Ville de Paris and Superbe in the foreground, while behind them the Argonauta was the only Spanish 5 master available for the day’s action.
This shows the rest of the FS fleet, which is quite impressive.
The backs of the main columns, with the 2 deckers eager to form lines of their own or join one of the main columns.
The French frigate squadron, with the ultra-fast Le Mercure in the lead. The Mercure shared the title of “fastest ship afloat” with the pirate schooner Raven back in the old days. Off her starboard quarter sails Le Republicain, a ship whose gun crews are among the best in the French fleet. Behind them are mostly newer arrivals, eager to prove themselves in such a rare opportunity that this was.
One last look at the French for the time being:
Her Majesty’s Navy: 28 of England’s finest warships, out to defend their dominion, which is the world’s oceans. Unlike the French, their strongest column is the one to windward.
Heading the English line: HMS Titan and HMS Dreadnought. The third ship is one the allies didn’t want to see: HMS Gargantuan. Back in 2010 and 2011, times of extremely frequent and intense warfare, the two Gargantuans often dominated the seas as England’s flagships. With her sister ship in drydock and this Gargantuan demoted from the front of the line, she holds a somewhat less powerful position than she did in her glory days. However, she still commands immense respect, especially from those newbies in the allied fleet who would be unwise enough to forget the tales of past conflicts.
England’s frigate squadron. While small back then too, it was never the reason for England’s victories at sea.
A sight the allies dreaded even more than HMS Gargantuan – my first two English ships EVER! Similar to the Magnifique and Gargantuan, HMS Lord Walpole and HMS Birkenhead have been involved in countless battles, and these two have almost always been on the winning side, often teaming up to surround and pulverize larger ships. Probably no two ships in my collection have dealt as much damage as this duo.
Is there a prettier sight to be seen? (other than this in real life haha)
It’s time for WAR!
Some of the French 2 deckers begin to join the lines, while the Spanish 3 deckers disobey orders and fail to join the windward column:
The English lines of battle are in accordance with their battle plan, but will their numerical inferiority doom them?
Open fire! Battle is joined! The Titan and Magnifique exchange furious broadsides, with the Magnifique losing her jib.
The Dauphin Royal fires her cannons for the first time as the Titan comes under fire from both sides. Just beyond them, the frigate battle has begun. The Mercure got ahead of herself and overestimated the speed of her fleetmates, and lost her foremast to a well-placed shot from the Saint James, who then rammed the French schooner at full speed.
England’s flagship has already lost two masts, but she moves on to face Le Superbe:
The Dreadnought punishes the Dauphin as some of the French ship’s shots miss high due to an ill-timed wave.
The Magnifique and Gargantuan meet yet again, but this French admiral has heard the horror stories of past wars and looks to break off the engagement. Up north, the arrival of the other French frigates has signalled a shift in that theater of the battle.
The powerful Republicain comes to the aid of Le Mercure while the Bonifacio dismasts the Minerva.
That swell in the middle of the battle has disrupted things for a moment, but both fleets are in no mood to surrender to the weather!
As per the English strategy, HMS Titan steers away from the allied windward column. The Argonauta and Gaule are afraid of hitting their French comrades in the leeward column, especially when aiming for the rigging, and many gun crews hold their fire temporarily.
In the English leeward column, the Orkney and Burma are slow to get into action. At the upper right and behind the Gargantuan sails HMS Success, a critical part of many English victories. They were especially important when I had 3 of them, but the other two have since been traded to other admirals!
With the Magnifique out in front of the rest of the French column, and the slow Ville de Paris lumbering behind, the captain of the Gargantuan saw his chance. Seizing the initiative, he went with the wind and took his ship out of the line, breaking the French line in the process. The Gargantuan raked the Ville de Paris by the bows, wrecking two of her masts.
With the Titan off fighting the Superbe and the Gargantuan sailing south, the Dreadnought was fighting the southernmost allied 3 deckers by herself. The English roped and grappled their ship to the Dauphin Royal, lashing the two ships together. This caused panic aboard the Argonauta, who soon crashed into the Dauphin’s starboard quarter! The force of the collision carried the Argonauta into the Dreadnought as well.
Here the French have a numbers advantage, but the inexperienced Spanish contingent and fears of friendly fire have led to a stalemate in these early stages of the battle.
The Magnifique lets loose an angry broadside, quickly crippling the Oxley. The next ship in the English leeward column is HMS Concorde, which has one of the fastest-firing crews in the English fleet.
With surprising speed, the Lord Walpole and Birkenhead arrive in the action! The Lord Walpole gives a thunderous broadside to the Delacroix, while the Birkenhead follows.
The middle of the battlefield, where despite the high losses in crew the capital ships are faring relatively well.
The Lord Walpole’s captain was overly aggressive, and tried to go inside the French line. His ship was nearly quick enough for the maneuver, but the Neptune’s jib caught in his rigging! A line was severed, but the Neptune was already colliding with the Lord Walpole’s stern, causing a bit of damage and heeling the ship out of the water.
In the center, the Superbe and Titan have become locked together in an epic duel. At the right, a line of 6 ships deep dominates the battle, with the line alternating French-English at 3 ships each. HMS Success and La Gaule are the latest entrants.
The frigate battle was not going well for the English:
In a rare instance of French seamanship, the Magnifique broke part of the English line to rake two ships at once, causing devastation! At this point she was by far the most easterly allied ship, having basically reached the end of the English formation.
Some of the smaller French SOL’s are set upon by larger English ships:
As chaotic as the battle was getting, a lot of ships had yet to enter the action!
With this overhead shot, you can see that it’s still roughly a line-of-battle affair, but the sheer carnage is threatening to turn things into a pell-mell action.
The battle continues to shift slightly to the south, partly due to the wind.
At the lower right, the Provence would soon become the first allied ship to surrender, while the Intrepide has suffered a double broadside from the Cheshire and 3 decked Burma.
The Lord Walpole has rounded the Neptune only to encounter the L’Heros, while the Birkenhead continues against the Neptune. At the right, the Orkney and Burma have made short work of the Delacroix.
A huge broadside from L’Hercule brings down the King Edward’s mainmast:
The exhausted crew of the Dauphin Royal finally broke free of the Dreadnought, only to run into raking fire from the fresh HMS Leicester!
Only three English frigates still have masts standing, as the French have outmaneuvered and outgunned them from the start. It may have helped that there weren’t any Spanish frigates, as many Spanish SOL’s have yet to enter the main battle or have caused complications for the allies.
Many allied ships have turned southeast in an attempt to join battle, but it may be too late for some of them.
The Magnifique has finally broken free of the fighting to give her crew a short rest, but what she sees is not pleasant: superior English gun crews have led to their dominance in the southern area, while the central area features many shattered French capital ships. As the English columns moved south to crush the French, the Spanish ships with the weather gauge found it difficult to enter the battle, between the logjam in the center and the frigate battle to the north.
The Lord Walpole and Birkenhead sight the Magnifique to the east, and make a beeline towards the flagship, confident in their gun crews.
3 deckers from both sides engage. The Scipion fires upon the Titan, which is now aflame.
The other Spanish 3 deckers finally enter the battle, and the Success is dismasted.
The Concorde duels with the Ville de Paris. Behind them you can see the Hercule and Leicester beating each other to pieces in an evenly matched fight. The fresh HMS Victoria has engaged the battered Dauphin Royal.
The frigate battle is already over! The Saint James was outnumbered 3 to 1, and couldn’t make up the difference. The large crew of the Bonifacio took care of the Patagonia, while the other French frigates surrounded their English counterparts.
War at sea:
Here is generally where the battle reached its peak:
History repeats itself! The battle for the ages: La Magnifique vs HMS Lord Walpole and HMS Birkenhead.
The Ville de Paris was winning her battle against the Concorde, but here the Ajax has begun to fire upon her starboard quarter. At the left, two English 64’s surround a Spanish 3 decker.
Utter devastation. The Hercule and Leicester have dismasted each other but continue to fight. The Dauphin Royal is close to striking her clors to the Victoria. Behind them, the Argonauta has dismasted a small English SOL before being set ablaze by the fresh Belle of Exeter. At the top of the frame, the Dreadnought is slowly winning a battle of attrition against La Gaule, while the French frigates regroup after the English frigates surrender.
The Saint James was in no condition to be taken as a prize, and the French sunk her.
Overeager to get into battle, the Auguste rams one of her allies!
The center of the battle has become very densely packed, with La Valois as the latest entrant. Her and her sister ships are veterans of many battles, but that may not help her against the sheer firepower of HMS King Edward. At the right, the Titan has lost her final mast to Le Superbe, but refuses to surrender.
At the southern edge of the battle, the English have captured 3 French SOL’s.
One of my first four ships ever, the Asesino de la Nave makes the showdown a battle of the classics! The Birkenhead lies derelict, but the Magnifique has been shot to pieces and has half of her crew killed or wounded.
The English continue to clean up in the south, capturing two more French ships. Just north of them, La Toulouse has been dismasted by the mighty HMS Gargantuan. At the right, HMS Victoria delivers a broadside through the stern galleries of the Matthias Vospero.
Carnage in the center:
An ominous sight: the fire aboard the Argonauta spreads, and she drifts south with the wind, crashing into the stern of the Dauphin Royal.
Total carnage!
The entire battlefield, showing the scope of the conflict:
Soon afterwards, ships begin surrendering.
The Argonauta exploded! When the fire reached her powder magazine the big 3 decker blew up, with the force of the explosion capsizing the Dauphin Royal and Hercule and moving the Leicester. The Lord Walpole and Ville de Paris were set aflame by the burning debris.
HMS Success is the first English SOL to surrender, while the English force the Neptune and Delacroix to finally strike their colors.
One of my favorite pictures of the battle, showing the action at mast-level and the beautiful shimmering ocean water.
The end is near…
In a scene of unimaginable carnage of death, the Titan and Superbe refuse to surrender, though their rates of fire have decreased significantly from the battle’s start.
Completely exhausted, both sides retire:
The Magnifique finally surrendered, as did some other French ships.
The Spanish, having had trouble geting into the battle early on, still have some ships with all their masts standing, but the new allied commander has ordered a retreat.
A final look at the debris, carnage, and what may be my last-ever HFS battle:
The English were victorious! They had captured 12 enemy ships, and sunk 3 of them. The Franco-Spanish allies had captured the entire English frigate squadron as well as one ship of the line, while sinking the Saint James, for a total of 6 ships captured and 1 ship sunk. The English had lost 50 masts in the day’s action, while the Franco-Spanish lost 74 masts. At the close of the battle, the English had 17 seaworthy ships (ships with at least one mast still standing), compared to 21 in the allied fleet. However, only 13 of those 21 were ships of the line, and almost none of them 3 deckers, while the English had all 17 ships of the line and a morale advantage. The English had a superior strategy, hitting the French leeward column very hard while delaying the windward column and the Spanish reserve from coming up to help. They also used superior gunnery to prevail. The allies were not entirely coordinated in their efforts, and the insubordination and general lack of ambition in the Spanish fleet was partially to blame in their loss.
I hope this gives you a better idea of how Historical Fantasy Scenarios were done. Of course, collecting gold, launching ships, expanding harbors, and avoiding battle were all major parts of HFS’s, but the battles were the most memorable part. I would say that this battle size was about average for an HFS, though sometimes the number of masts lost was greater or less depending upon the nature of the battle. Of course, this battle pales in comparison to this one, which may be the biggest battle I’ve ever done. That battle featured around 200 ships and almost exactly twice as many fallen masts, so you can begin to imagine the carnage.
I played a game on 7/5/2016 with Aaron in Singapore. It was his first game of Pirates ever!
He used woelf’s Spanish SM fleet while I used my recent SM English fleet. He wanted a quick and simple game since it was his first game, so we used two wild islands and no terrain.
The English kept their ships together, and the Bolingbroke hit the Joya del Sol.
Both English ships had lost some crew, but the Dover and Bolingbroke had enough firepower to keep the Joya at bay while crippling the Asesino de la Nave.
The Asesino managed to hit the Dover, but in the end English guns won the day!
Americans:
USS Atlanta + captain, helmsman, oarsman, fire shot, grapple shot
Speedy Return + helmsman, oarsman
+ captain on home island
French:
La Bonne Chance + captain
Le Bonaparte + helmsman, explorer
Enfant Terrible + explorer
English Pirates:
Harbinger + captain
HMS Comet + oarsman
HMS Lucy’s Luck + explorer
I purposely used two new ships I had traded for earlier in the year.
The single wild island featured three beaches with 6 coins apiece.
The Americans set out!
The French aren’t willing to sit around, and immediately begin a conflict! Both of the Speedy Return’s outriggers lay in ruins.
The Americans have something to say about that! The Atlanta turns to starboard and sinks the Bonne Chance with a tremendous broadside!
The Atlanta then turned her wrath on the Pirates, hitting the Harbinger twice at sniping range, including a lucky fire shot hit!
Destruction early in the game:
The Harbinger managed to put out her fire, but the French weren’t done with the Americans just yet, with the Bonaparte shooting a mast off the Speedy Return.
The Atlanta tried to hit the Harbinger at extra-long range once again, but this time both of her equipment backfired! The Atlanta’s own guns had set her aflame.
The Atlanta’s fire spread, a concerning sign. However, she wanted to prevent the English Pirates from getting all the gold they had aboard ships. The Harbinger was dismasted, while the Lucy’s Luck had her only mast rammed off.
The Speedy Return and Enfant Terrible returned home with gold, although the Speedy Return had one of her coins stolen by the Bonaparte during their skirmish at the wild island. The Atlanta captured the Harbinger.
Hoping they could return to the derelict Harbinger, the Americans decided to save their own ship rather than risk her burning to the waterline. Their decision was made easier because the Atlanta had stolen a 7 from the Lucy’s Luck. The Speedy Return headed out to resume the war on France.
The Lucy’s Luck and Atlanta returned home to repair, with the Atlanta barely making it back in time (her fourth mast was consumed by fire). The Speedy Return engaged the Bonaparte to no avail.
HMS Comet had initially run away from the Atlanta with round earth rules in mind, but she turned back to the Harbinger, looking to transfer her oarsman to the Pirate flagship.
The Americans were having a tough time in this middle part of the game, with the Atlanta out of action following her fire mishap. The Speedy Return was outgunned by the Bonaparte, so she fled north to look for gold. The Comet completed her crew transfer while the Lucy’s Luck sailed back out.
A handful of turns later, and the Speedy Return dismasts the Lucy’s Luck with a ram, but only after she had sunk the Enfant Terrible! The Bonaparte approaches for revenge, but the Atlanta is back in the area and ready to fight once more. In the meantime, the Comet and Harbinger returned home with gold for the English Pirates.
The Bonaparte and Lucy’s Luck grabbed some of the last coins, and the Speedy Return and Atlanta headed to intercept the Bonaparte via round earth.
Late game carnage! The Atlanta dismasted the Bonaparte, allowing the Speedy Return to capture the Frenchman and eliminate the French from active play. However, the English Pirates weren’t done, with the Harbinger having repaired a couple masts. She hit twice to sink the Speedy Return after making the round earth trip herself! The Comet approached off the Atlanta’s starboard side.
The Atlanta proved that she was the most dominant ship in these waters, dismasting the Harbinger for the second time and sinking her once and for all. The Comet was outgunned, and the American flagship had the situation under control.
The final confrontation: HMS Lucy’s Luck vs. USS Atlanta! Alas, the Lucy’s Luck couldn’t quite block the American ship, so the captured Bonaparte and her 3 coins were docked safely.
However, all 3 coins were 1’s, which didn’t help the Americans much.
The final gold count:
1. English Pirates: 16 gold
1. French: 16 gold
3. Americans: 15 gold
!
The final scores were as close as they could possibly be! What a finish to a great game. This game was memorable for something I don’t see all that often – the game was truly played to completion. All coins were unloaded at home islands, all ships were in combat in some way, and all fleets played major roles in the game. You can’t ask for much more in a relatively short game of Pirates! (Normally a short game would have decided the tie, but it didn’t happen; the English Pirates win the tiebreakers of most masts standing and most points in play.)
The Locker and Cazador del Pirata got busy gathering gold, while the Divine Dragon headed straight for the Resolucion. The Locker loaded more gold than she could handle, but it was C.K.’s first game in around 8 years, so I let it slide.
The Resolucion and Divine Dragon duke it out. I sent the Cazador del Pirata into a fog bank in order to attack the Dragon’s port side.
The Locker returned home, but her comrade was struggling against the combined power of the Spanish guns.
The Resolucion captures the Dragon, and the Locker’s crew vow revenge.
The Locker heads for some gold, with the Cazador shadowing her.
The Locker surfaces to explore, which allows the Cazador to score a hit while the still-damaged Resolucion and Divine Dragon prepare to take up a chase.
The Locker submerged and avoided the Spanish for a few turns, but eventually Nemesio Diaz cancelled her to the surface and she was blasted to pieces! The Spanish defeat the Cursed 16-8.
For the second game the build total was increased to 60.
C.K.
Divine Dragon + El Fantasma, Sammy the Skull
Locker + Edward Low helmsman, firepot specialist
Lizard’s Sting + cannoneer, firepot specialist
My strategy was to engage the Divine Dragon with my two primary gunships, the Gallows and Queen of Sheba. The gold runners split up and headed towards 3 of the 4 wild islands.
The Divine Dragon was quickly crippled, as my luck was above average today. However, the Corsairs nearly lost the Gallows in the process.
Some Corsairs are headed home with loot, while the Cursed are still distracted by the Queen of Sheba, who is set aflame by the Lizard’s Sting.
The Griffin captures the Divine Dragon, but the Queen of Sheba burns to the waterline. While all of that is going on, the Gallows returns home to repair as the Corsairs begin to pile up gold.
The Corsairs used Fantasma’s Fear to slow down the Lizard’s Sting, which allowed the Griffin to escape. With an advantage in the gold game, the Corsairs weren’t concerned with keeping the Divine Dragon.
As the Corsairs regroup and repair, the Lizard’s Sting takes back the Divine Dragon. The Cursed don’t want to lose her twice in as many games!
The Gallows heads out for another raid, this time hurting the Locker. However, she is once again dismasted!
The Corsairs are able to gather ALL of the gold on the map, and emerge with a whopping 40-0 victory!
These 2 VASSAL games were fun, and both of us were extremely happy to see Christian playing again. Like a lot of new or inexperienced players, he went for the “cool” and combative stuff, which is fun. I personally was happy to see two of my past challenge fleets do quite well.
As always, looking forward to more!!
Current VASSAL standings:
1. a7xfanben: 8 wins in 13 games
2. Ownage98: 2 wins in 2 games
3. Xerecs: 2 wins in 9 games
4. El Cazador: 1 win in 2 games
4. Captain Vendari: 1 win in 2 games
6. Volt: 0 wins in 1 game
7. C.K.: 0 wins in 2 games
The MS comes out and tries to distract the Scorn, while the San Cristobal and Neptuno head towards the enemy gold runners!
The Algeciras was dismasted, but the Lady’s Scorn predictably won her battle against the Morning Star.
At this point, it looked like my game to lose. However, luck made that happen. The Scorn damaged the SC, who did no damage whatsoever in return. On the next turn, the Scorn used an EA to cripple both ships. After the San Pedro was sunk, Vendari used her gold to build Fortaleza Dorada, sealing his victory! You can also check out his BR of the game.
Current VASSAL standings:
1. a7xfanben: 6 wins in 11 games
2. Ownage98: 2 wins in 2 games
3. Xerecs: 2 wins in 9 games
4. El Cazador: 1 win in 2 games
4. Captain Vendari: 1 win in 2 games
6. Volt: 0 wins in 1 game
Xerecs and I played a game on the VASSAL module to commemorate the occasion (though it was played about a week in advance).
The game had a 60 point build total, and only game pieces from DJC were allowed.
Xerecs played as the Cursed, I as the Americans.
Cursed:
Executioner + El Fantasma, captain, helmsman, oarsman
Spilled Salt + explorer, oarsman
Fiddler’s Green + explorer
Americans:
Paul Revere + captain, helmsman, oarsman
Swamp Fox + captain, helmsman
Saratoga + captain
Brandywine
The Americans got the first shot, blasting two masts off the Executioner.
The Executioner and Paul Revere duked it out, with the Paul Revere finally winning the battle. However, she was severely damaged from the encounter. The Brandywine and Spilled Salt explored for their respective fleets, while the Swamp Fox missed a Broadsides Attack against the Spilled Salt. The Fiddler’s Green has turned north.
The Cursed gained a bit of momentum, with the Fiddler’s Green holding up the Paul Revere while the Spilled Salt hit twice on the Swamp Fox, who missed another BA.
The Swamp Fox finally hit with a Broadsides Attack! Combined with a successful ram, and the Spilled Salt was derelict. The Fiddler’s Green had sunk the Paul Revere and dismasted the Swamp Fox with a ram, but the Cursed were running out of options. The Brandywine had unloaded gold for the Americans and was headed towards the battle area.
The Saratoga finally got into action and sunk the Spilled Salt! This left the Cursed with no gold on their home island or ships, and the Saratoga and Brandywine were still in the way.
After a short battle the Americans won the game 10-0!
My favorite part of this Davy Jones’ Curse game was that every ship was able to play a combat role – no ships were left unnoticed.
A 150 point game has been played! This was a new record high build total for my opponent.
He rolled to go first, using a Cursed American fleet. He used some new ships, such as the Poor Adams, Locker and Pyre. He also pulled a Needle from an RotF pack, giving him a fog hopper.
I was finally able to use the fleet I’d been looking forward to for a while.
Slarg Gubbit was subbed in for Champ, allowing for a third oarsman on the Serpent’s Fang. One of my Cursed canoes has disappeared, so the Scepter was used as a proxy canoe.
The outer four islands contained 8 coins apiece, with the center island having 10.
All three sea monsters got both +L bonuses on the first turn, swimming submerged across the sea and towards the enemy fleet. To my dismay the Pequod found the Cursed Conch!
Master Scribe put a trade current in front of the Cursed gunships, while the Buscador hoisted gold from the center island.
The Pequod tried to return home but was quickly struck by Slarg Gubbit and Tiamat! The Cursed couldn’t eliminate the Conch, but at least they had the ship pinned.
At this point, chaos reigned for a while. Slarg Gubbit was quickly taken out, while Tiamat suffered damage.
The sea monster assault allowed the Cursed to run gold without any threat of interference.
The Nightmare and Tiamat teamed up to sink the Pequod, but not before the Nightmare stole the Cursed Conch. El Fantasma sacced an oarsman to get the Serpent’s Fang in on the carnage, hitting the Needle. Calypsos surfaced and rammed the Shark, winning a boarding party to eliminate DNT and a captain.
The Americans fight back, killing Tiamat and damaging both Calypsos and the Serpent’s Fang.
Calypsos was killed, meaning all three Cursed sea monsters were dead. The Serpent’s Fang and Nightmare used abilities (sac and Ghost Ship) to move over and target the Locker. However, they were ineffective.
The Serpent’s Fang was sunk, while the Nightmare was captured.
The Grampus managed to eliminate some Cursed canoes, but the game was essentially over.
The Cursed conceded the remaining gold to the Americans, and won by a score of 47-14!
This was a fun game, especially the first 2/3 of it. I was happy to execute my strategy correctly, which allowed the gold game to go uncontested. The Cursed Americans fought well however, capturing or eliminating the entire attack squadron.
After such a large game, we may go the complete opposite route and play tiny games next time to change it up once again!
The Americans used the Grampus and USS Sea Tiger, while the Spanish Corsairs went with the Pescados de Plata, Halcon, and Sahara. Both fleets had numerous crew on their home islands to start the game.
The Grampus got the Americans off to a fast start in the gold game, while the Sea Tiger took out the only opposing gunship.
The Halcon tried to run interference while the Pescado grabbed gold, but was entirely unsuccessful.
The Halcon was quickly dismasted as well, but the Pescado was able to transfer home some gold with the classic SM-only Master Bianco/Bianco’s Haulers combo.
The Sea Tiger continued her assault, sinking the Sahara and damaging the Pescado.
The Pescado was sunk, which technically gave the Spanish Corsairs a 14-10 win. However, my opponent was unaware that the game could end in such a way, since in the past we used the house rule where the rest of the game is simulated to give the lone player the remainder of the coins. As a result, the game wasn’t counted.
Game 2: Free ships totalling 10 masts; 4 free crew (No more than 3 ships)
The second game featured a setup I had used before, and once again it was a good opportunity to bring out my Viking ships. This time, I used two new ones I got in a trade: Wodin and Donar, with the Grand Mountain taking up the other 6 masts. The Americans stuck with the Grampus and Sea Tiger, adding the Pequod.
The Grand Mountain and Grampus quickly engaged, pitting the two flagships against each other.
The Grand Mountain won the battle of attrition, but couldn’t capture any crew with Dragon Eyes.
The Donar was going long, far to the east, while the Sea Tiger and Grand Mountain battled it out.
The minor faction alliance appeared to prevail, but unsurprisingly, my horrid die rolls ruined the day for my fleets.
The Wodin managed to snag Diamond Nelson Turner off the Grampus, but Dragon Eyes and the Jade helmsman had fallen in other boarding parties, which meant that the mighty Grand Mountain couldn’t capture any crew.
The Grand Mountain was able to sink the Sea Tiger and run interference for the Wodin, but the Pequod was coming!
The Pequod began her reign of terror, first dismantling the Grand Mountain. The Donar has begun her voyage back.
The Pequod then crushed the Wodin and killed Shayna Deux:
The Pequod then captured the Donar and prepared to fight the Wodin once more.
Without a captain, the best the Wodin could do was ram the Donar and hope to steal gold. This allowed the Pequod to dock home her prize. Then the Pequod sailed back out and predictably dismasted the Wodin once more!
The Americans ended up winning 25-15. The Viking Rebels were only able to get 15 between Turner (worth 8 gold) and a stolen 7 from the Donar.
~~~~~
Since we were running out of time, for the last game we decided to choose the most simple option from the table rather than rolling.
Game 3: 30 points; roll on Normal Crew (No limits or bonuses; single-nation fleets)
The Americans relied on the Grampus and Sea Tiger, while the Corsairs made a return with the Nubian Prince and Sahara.
Once again the two flagships faced off, and once again the Americans came out on top.
The Grampus sunk the Sahara, and the Nubian Prince was barely able to make it home after a chase around the big island.
The Americans won 23-6!
These games further demonstrated the excitement of using CCM’s tables; they really throw you for a loop in terms of fleet construction and pregame strategy. I’d highly recommend them for a change of pace!
A year after the first one, a second “Other Worlds” game has been played! My opponent was different, but the setup remained quite similar. The fleets were 100 points instead of 80. For a change, the winner of the initial die roll deferred to let the other player go first.
French Americans:
USS Hudson + Gus Schultz, captain, helmsman, oarsman
Freedom + captain
USS New Orleans + captain, helmsman, oarsman
Hessian + helmsman
Libellule
La Cleopatre + captain, helmsman, oarsman
L’Emeraude
English Americans:
Grampus + Master CPO Charles Richard, Diamond Nelson Turner, firepot specialist
Pequod + explorer
HMS Dunlap + Major Peter Sharpe, captain
HMS Henry VIII
USS Oregon
USS Shark
Once again the setup featured home islands in one ocean, with one whirlpool that led to two other oceans where the gold was.
I didn’t have much luck with whirlpool rolls at first, but that changed on the return trip. Many an oarsman were lost on this day.
The French Americans were eager to get gold, while the English Americans had a different strategy.
As the Freedom and New Orleans collected gold, the Hudson opened fire on the Henry VIII!
The French Americans were trying to capture the Englishman with the New Orleans’ ability, which may sound familiar…
And there it is! I made the apparent mistake of sending the battle report of the last game (linked above) to my opponent beforehand. I assumed it would deter them from trying to use a blockade strategy, but I was wrong. Instead, they were inspired to try it because a blockade understandably sounded and looked cool. Though disappointed, I was just as determined as last time to teach a lesson and deter such tactics in the future.
The other ocean saw lots of French American ships collecting lots of gold.
After a few turns of waiting, I finally was forced to return home. The Henry VIII continued to hide in the fog, so the New Orleans gave up her pursuit.
The Freedom started the battle, but missed all three shots.
The English Americans brought the Pequod home, and the Hudson and New Orleans pounced!
Deja vu! The New Orleans is given an explore action, and she teleports home with the Pequod and all of the gold aboard both ships. However, the Oregon has sank the Freedom.
The Oregon and Shark were doing rather well holding off the French Americans, partly because of my typically bad gun rolls. However, the English Americans had a major problem when the New Orleans began shooting at the Dunlap.
The Libellule towed the Shark to allow the Emeraude to dock home, and the Oregon was sunk. The Grampus sank the Cleopatre, but the English American blockade had failed miserably and they were now fighting an unwinnable fight.
The Hudson took on the Grampus, weakening both ships. This allowed the New Orleans to sail back out and dismast the Grampus, while the other French American ships went after the Henry VIII, who was trying to sneak home.
The game ended in an absolute French American victory after they towed the Henry VIII. The final score was 31-0, mirroring last year’s 32-2 score in a very similar game.
I was disappointed with how similar the game turned out, but it taught me a lesson as well as my opponent. For the next Other World game, I’m going to change the setup a lot, partly to disincentivize the blockade strategy (which seems particularly alluring with whirlpools around!) and also to incentivize more fighting around the wild islands. One idea I have is to make the HI’s on separate tables, and then have all the gold on one table, possibly with each player controlling 2 or 3 independent fleets.
PS: I may get to use one of my 150 point fleets in April, which is exciting. There may be another game this weekend or next week, but other than that, the attention shifts back to the VASSAL campaign games!
