4 wild islands with 8 coins apiece, and 4 home forts with 8 cannons apiece.
The game begins, and the Libellule proves feisty indeed! I know how much of a game-winner the gold bonus abilities are, and with a lucky SAT from Roimata I was able to cripple my other fleet on the first turn! The Libellule missed her shots and ram, but the boarding part was what mattered. The chieftain was eliminated and rolled a 6 to eliminate 3 of his native canoes!!
Another SAT, and more carnage in the north: the Libellule wreaks further havoc, blasting masts off the Alquimista and Queen of Sheba and eliminating a canoe.
With more extreme luck on my part, the French absolutely dominate! The Libellule is a one-ship wrecking crew, eliminating the Spanish by taking out their last canoe and dismasting the Alquimista! The Arrogant looks to salvage the Queen of Sheba, while the French have even more luck! The Mermaid finds Turtles in the southeast! However, this allows the Cursed Blade to fly under the radar….
After capturing the Alquimista and QoS, Roimata sets her sights on the Arrogant.
The female named crew of the Libellule prove effective once more, as the Arrogant falls and so do the Corsairs! At this point, the Libellule has single-handedly eliminated half of the starting fleets and captured 3 ships.
The Turtles reached the French home fort, where the Alquimista and QoS looked to repair. The French hastily made plans for a possible attack….
The Pirates continue to run gold, while the French amass an empire relative to the tiny build total! Here they control 45 points total, more than twice what they started with. With 5 now-healthy ships, they look to the southwest and the Pirate fort that is burgeoning with shiny coins.
The Cursed Blade is about to round earth to the southeast, while the Alquimista stays behind to finish a little gold factory operation.
The fun of round earth! The Cursed Blade gets Homing Beacon, but can’t quite use it.
The Mermaid tries to block the Cursed Blade’s route home, while the Libellule waits for an SAT from Roimata to start the assault on the fort.
Attack!! Sudden chaos at the Pirate home fort! The Cursed Blade got home via Homing Beacon (not using round earth), but the French attacked in full force. The first bombardment took out 3 of the fort’s 8 cannons, while the Arrogant, Mermaid, and Alquimista tried to get into position.
The Cursed Blade dismasts the Mermaid and damages the QoS. The fort sank the Libellule, ending her string of luck and taking out the surefire MVS (Most Valuable Ship) of this contest. The Alquimista and Arrogant battled the fort for a few more turns, but eventually were overcome by the superior firepower. The Arrogant barely escaped…
… but she was cornered by the Cursed Blade to end the game! Despite the 10 gold from Turtles and 6 gold from the Alquimista’s bonus, it wasn’t even close. The Pirates had found all the good coins for a whopping 59-31 victory!
This was a fun and unique game that saw absolute domination by a single ship until the actual gold was counted. Repkosai enjoyed the introduction to the Water World rules, and we look forward to playing more unique games in the future! Hope to see you on VASSAL on August 11th-13th!
4 wild islands with 6 coins apiece, and a bunch of terrain with round earth rules:
The English reached the middle island first, but the French were quickly upon them! The French were helped out by Odin’s Revenge, put into the mix by the Spanish. The Vengeance had explored the southern island but got tossed to the middle by Message in a Bottle.
Despite dismasting the Bonne Chance, the English were quickly out of the running! Repkosai scuttled both of his ships, and it was down to the French and Spanish. I was quite happy with how things were turning out, as the Academia and Espada de Dios were able to clear out an island while the other fleets fought.
The Courageux is towing the Bonne Chance, while the Vengeance is looking to dock home her gold. Little do the French know, the Spanish have a devious and evil plan…
With perfect timing, the Academia sails up to the French home island right after the Vengeance docked home her gold, and Fernando Sanchez suddenly emerged from below decks! A coin was loaded aboard the Academia, who can’t be shot at while docked.
The Espada de Dios quickly followed suit with her own raid, revealing Bianco’s Haulers to ensure maximum protection. The Academia stole the final French coin, and the Vengeance and Courageux couldn’t do much but look on in bewilderment.
The Spanish raiders docked home their gold for an even bigger windfall than their first, since the northeastern island didn’t have high value coins on it.
This shows the beginning of the endgame, where things got more complicated and strategic. The Espada looks to explore the northwestern island, while the Vengeance is about to NOT dock home her second haul of gold, knowing the Academia can steal it.
The Academia gives up her useful Relics UT to avoid getting blasted by the Vengeance, who heads south as the Academia ducks into a fog bank and hopes the Vengeance will return soon. The Bonne Chance finally begins repairing, while the Espada is about to unload gold.
This is where things got more convoluted. The Courageux went into the fog near the Spanish HI, while the Academia grabbed the final coin from the southern island. The French were playing a bit of cat-and-mouse, unable to dock at their home island while other coins were still in play for fear that the Spanish could take what they wanted. At this point the game was more complex than I can describe.
Eventually something had to give, and it did! The Academia manages to dock home her 3 coin, but the Espada is cornered. If the French could capture one of the Spanish HI raiders, they could potentially use it against the Spanish to tip the gold scale in their favor! Alas, it was not to be, as both fleets rolled poorly and eventually the Espada escaped just in time.
After a few more shenanigans, the French docked home their gold and the game ended. The final gold count was decisive:
A fine victory for the Spanish! This was another improbable gimmick victory for me, though since they’re becoming more common I may have to make a thread about this phenomenon. This particular game went as well as it could have for the Best Raiders of Spain, between the other two fleets fighting to the death right from the start, good UT luck, and a perfect execution of the HI raiding combo at the right time. We hope to play more multiplayer games in the future, and it was great to see a new VASSAL player!
The setup featured some terrain, including an island surrounded by reefs.
The Greed’s Hammer used Coconut the monkey to avoid rolling badly on the reefs, while the Grand Wind and Madagascar looked for gold elsewhere. The Accused got the first shot against the Constitution, sinking her after a brief battle with the help of her firepot specialist.
The Naegling went 1/2 to knock a mast off the Accused, who hurried home for repairs. The GH docked home gold while the GW and Madagascar loaded some of their own.
The game tilts in favor of the Pirates! The Naegling lurks too close to the Pirate HI, and the Accused punishes her with a furious and fiery broadside that dooms the longship.
The Greed’s Hammer lost a mast to a reef on her second gold trip, but it would have been two masts if not for another of Coconut’s successful rerolls. On her way back home, the GH helped the Accused to fight the Grand Wind, who didn’t stand much of a chance against the accurate Pirate gunships.
The Grand Wind was sunk and the game ended with a 35-10 Pirate victory! This game further proved the effectiveness of crew, as my crew setups were far superior to the mast advantage (14-9) that wantkrakens had. Speed also played a big role, which isn’t surprising. It was great to see wantkrakens (krakens on VASSAL) on the module again, and we hope to play again soon!
~~~~~
Second game of July 6th (2 players, 60 points)
7/6/2017
Played my second VASSAL game of the day, this time with pirateaj14, which was also live streamed on my Youtube channel.
I rolled to go first with my Clones of the Barbary Coast fleet, and pirateaj14 followed with captain_vendari’s Jacks-of-All-Trades fleet.
My Corsair fleet swarms toward the archipelago of 7 islands, each brimming with 4 coins of precious loot!
The Morocco uses her ability to scout the center island for the Agha’s Whip, looking for the dreaded Blood Money. Expecting the UT, I purposely put all 6’s for my standard coins to help avoid the effect since the Corsairs were only using low-value crew. I swapped in a firepot specialist for Divers and Raft, since I try to play with no events unless it’s for a tournament like T2. The Gallows was going to escort the Morocco to the southern island.
Seeing Relics on the center island, the Queen of Sheba decided to not escort the Agha’s Whip, thinking the latter ship could handle the Algeciras with the help of the UT. 4 Corsair ships have gold aboard in this picture, while the Santa Isabel takes an entire island aboard for the Spaniards. The Gallows opens the combat phase, knocking two masts off the dangerous Resolucion.
The Griffin gets Wet Gunpowder and Wine, while the Dervish sails home at S+S speed with a cargo hold full of valuable gold. The Agha’s Whip loses a mast to a reef on a 1, but Relics does indeed save her from the Algeciras. The Resolucion dismasts the Gallows, while the Virtuous Wind pursues and attacks the Morocco. The QoS grabs some great gold from the northern island, where in hindsight I should have built a fort.
Continuing my bad luck with rolling 1’s, the Queen of Sheba manages to roll two 1’s in a row against the Algeciras to dismast herself and end any hopes the Corsairs had of being successful in combat! A truly revolting result, that shoot action exemplifies my typical bad luck during shoot actions. The QoS, Gallows, and Morocco were all sunk, leaving the Corsairs with just half of their original fleet. The Agha’s Whip and Dervish returned home with a ton of gold though, giving the Corsairs a big lead in the gold race. With the Spanish sailing straight for them, the Corsairs headed out to meet the Virtuous Wind.
The VW and Algeciras made short work of the last Barbary “clones”, ending the game!
1. Barbary Corsairs: 34 gold
2. Spanish: 18 gold
The Spanish likely would have prevailed if they had left a Corsair ship alone to row around aimlessly, but alas it was a fun time nonetheless! The end of the game was extra fun, as the creator of the Spanish fleet, captain_vendari, joined us after seeing part of the game on Youtube! Both fleets seem pretty effective for 60 point fleets, and it was a good test for them.
~~~~~
Third game of July 6th
7/6/2017
Played my third game of the day for July 6th against a third opponent, which sets a new record for me. This time I faced captain_vendari, and we were live on Youtube with Skype commentary and discussion! This also marks my first game/battle report with commentary.
The Bloody Jewel, Hound, and Lightning went looking for gold. The Maryland took a mast off the Selkie (not quite able to ram and get pinned on purpose), before being captured by the Cursed Blade and then chain towed a tiny bit by the Carrion Crow to move her out of harm’s way. The Arrogant and Algeciras approached, but between my mast and named crew advantage, I figured I could prevail. As is typical, my dice luck proved me wrong…
The Arrogant rams the Cursed Blade, taking off a mast, while the Algeciras dismasts the Selkie! The Cursed Blade hit 1/2 on her turn, while the Carrion Crow failed to ram the lone mast off the Arrogant.
The Bloody Jewel brought home a bunch of gold with the help of the Jade UT, and the Hound eventually brought back a bunch more.
The Lightning came over to ram the Arrogant derelict, and the Crow captured her. However, at this point the game had been decided, as the Coalition of Nations had an insurmountable lead in gold. They won a blowout 30-0 victory!
Although disappointed with the game itself, I thought this was a great step towards a new kind of battle report with the live commentary. I’d like to try various other combinations, such as my personal commentary with low-level music in the background. Ideas are welcome!
Just played a game with Repkosai on the 4th of July! Check out the video of the VASSAL game, which was live streamed on YouTube complete with thematic music!
Repkosai wanted to be the Americans, so I played the English/British and rolled to go first:
English
HMS Algiers + Hermione Gold, firepot specialist, oarsman
The Algiers got an extra action (EA) on her first turn, and I promptly decided to try a strategy I haven’t used very often. The firepot specialist and oarsman were left at the English home island, allowing the Algiers to load up Hardwicke the marine and drop him off at the center wild island! Hardwicke, especially with his hatred of the Americans, was to deter the colonists from getting gold from “his” island. In the meantime, the Greyhound decided to escort the Frolic to the northeastern island, which looked like it was going to be hotly contested after Preble gave the Plymouth Rock an AA (Admiral’s Action) to approach it.
The Algiers quickly sails back home to pick up her other crew, while it appears that both early-game wild islands will be fought over. (whether through naval battles and/or amphibious operations!)
The English take the initiative and fire upon the Americans! Hardwicke misses, but the Greyhound maneuvers well enough to score a hit on the Plymouth Rock, dealing a blow to the US gold cause. The Freedom and Concord will now have a free pass at the exposed English marine, but the Algiers has picked up her full crew complement and is lurking nearby….
A closeup of the action at the northeastern wild island, with English gunnery prevailing.
The Freedom approached the wild island and easily eliminated Hardwicke! However, my luck was far better than usual, as the Algiers received an EA. Not only that, I revealed my firepot specialist and hit 3 times out of 4 to cripple the Freedom!
The Greyhound captures the Plymouth Rock, as part of another plan I hatched….
The superior speed of the Algiers proves effective, as the English are able to set another American gunship on fire! With the Freedom’s final mast succumbing to the flames, the Plymouth Rock captured, and now the Concord also aflame, the Americans are in deep trouble.
But just as the American music turned to a more upbeat march, the Americans fought back hard! The Concord’s crew watched the Freedom burn to the waterline and were determined not to suffer the same fate! Simultaneously fighting fires and firing their cannons, they plowed the schooner into the dreaded Algiers. With a successful shoot, ram, and board, Repkosai’s Americans went 3 for 3 to dismast the Algiers and eliminate her oarsman! (in hindsight I should have eliminated the firepot specialist) The English had lost their primary gunship, but another plan had come to fruition: after the Frolic docked home her gold, the English built Ramsgate in the northeast! My plan was to establish a second base of operations while also letting the captured Plymouth Rock repair so the Greyhound wouldn’t have to tow her home at just S speed.
Alas, it was too late. The Concord’s crew were exhausted from the dual fight against the flames and the Algiers, and the ship was lost to fire. In a surprisingly short game, the English had won an exciting victory! (final score was technically 12-0, with 3 gold on the English HI and 9 total in the fort)
We discussed afterwards that although Repkosai seemed to have better fleet construction (my fleet had just 5 total masts along with an expensive and ineffective Marine), I had almost all the luck. Rolling to go first was just the start, as the Algiers rolled for a couple of well-timed EA’s and my cannons hit something like 6/7, which is nearly unheard of for me. Despite the shortness of it, we had fun and look forward to more soon! Hope you had a great 4th of July!
Cursed (agiantpie):
Loki’s Revenge, Baba Yaga, Serpent’s Fang
French (xerecs):
La Delacroix, Marie Antoinette, La Dijon
Vikings (a7xfanben):
Muninn, Donar, Sleipnir
We changed the setup rules slightly, with 4 wild islands (just like a 2 player game) and 6 coins of any value or type (as long as the UT’s were from FN) on each island. The VASSAL module doesn’t have icebergs, but the fog banks look great as icebergs and even have the same dice markings on the edges, so fog was ice in this game.
The fleets after a turn:
I forgot to take pictures for a while, and you can see here that a lot of UT’s have been discovered and played. Of the 8 coins that I contributed to the mix, all were UT’s from FN! Throw in an extra Runes of Death and one Odin’s Revenge, and things were bound to get crazy. The Dijon found the first Runes of Death very early in the game. However, she was very close to her home island… but the Loki’s Revenge sank her! A whopping 13 gold was sent to the bottom of the sea, and the French had their main gold runner sunk. The French experienced further woes when the Marie Antoinette found many UT’s at the northeastern island, among them Odin’s Revenge. That UT hurt the Vikings the most, dismasting the Sleipnir. The Vikings were smart to explore with the Sleipnir on their turn, for she found the second Runes of Death that could have been loaded by the Donar! With no crew or masts remaining, death was averted, at least for the time being.
However, the Cursed soon played Runes of Magic, moving an iceberg towards the fragile Viking fleet, whose Muninn and Donar would take damage from the iceberg. The Delacroix and Marie Antoinette descended upon the crippled Viking fleet, but they weren’t as successful as anticipated. The Delacroix took damage from an iceberg and a ram from the Sleipnir, while the Muninn engaged the Marie Antoinette. Runes of Thor was played on the Vikings’ Sigurd Andersen to guarantee an Admiral’s Action, since it looked like the Donar (the ship carrying Runes of Thor) would be captured by the MA.
This is when the game began to turn odd. The Delacroix and Marie Antoinette captured the Sleipnir and Donar respectively, temporarily giving the French 4 ships. However, this was but a mirage of success for France, as the Muninn dismasted and captured the MA, while the Delacroix lost her final mast to an iceberg! Suddenly the French only had two usable ships, both former Viking ships with gold aboard. In the west, the Cursed have set out once more, while a double iceberg has been formed between the 3 home islands.
The miraculous Viking comeback continues! The Muninn recaptures the Donar, brings her back to unload gold, and uses her reverse captain ability to cripple the Baba Yaga only after the Baba Yaga missed the derelict Donar twice in a row! Not to mention the Marie Antoinette being repaired to full strength, and the mega iceberg dismasting the Baba Yaga! #tombrady #johncena #nevergiveup. lol. (just kidding, the Vikings never had much of a chance in this game, and unfortunately for me they didn’t win at the end heh)
The Muninn and MA stopped the Loki’s Revenge from getting home with a coin, but the Serpent’s Fang brought home a few more for the Cursed. The final coins on the northeastern island wouldn’t have mattered, as the game had been decided.
1. Cursed: 16 gold
2. French: 5
3. Vikings: 2
The Cursed win a fun one! The French and Vikings got embroiled with UT’s and each other, while the Cursed found a 6 and a 4 early in the game. The Cursed essentially clinched their victory by sinking the Dijon and her 13 gold. The late-game surge by the Vikings (“Frozen North Pirates” of this game) was fitting considering it was an FN-only game, but it turned out to just be some late fireworks. The icebergs were a big factor, and between them and the Runes, it was a very thematic way to celebrate Pirates of the Frozen North.
I was joined on VASSAL by agiantpie! The setup was for 80 points.
I went with a French fleet that had also hired El Fantasma aboard the Hades’ Realm, while agiantpie went with an all-SM English fleet. Plenty of fog was around. (you can find all the game pieces in the Master Spreadsheet)
In addition, we decided to experiment using basic return fire rules! Once a ship was done shooting at another ship, the second ship could return fire with any cannons it had left, though they would get -1 to their rolls.
With an SAT, the Hades’ Realm (HR) made it into a fog bank near the English home island.
The Soleil Royal, Royal Louis, and King Edward all reached wild islands. The HR got an SAT coming out of the fog, and hit the Dover and King Edward with consecutive attacks! The Dover only lost one mast, but the King Edward was nearly dismasted, and Fantasma stole a 5 coin.
With yet another SAT, the HR eventually sank the Dover! This was too much for the English, and the Titan finally caught the Cursed menace and dismasted her. In the meantime, the Montreal had taken up station in the fog bank where the HR was hiding earlier.
The Titan captured the HR and towed her into a fog bank to avoid the Montreal and get the stolen 5 back in English possession. The King Edward docked home gold and started repairing, while the Lord Algernon would explore the middle island. The Royal Louis and Soleil Royal sought the untouched southern island.
The Royal Louis has loaded gold, while the Soleil Royal prepares to defend her, waiting in the fog. The remaining English ships head southwest, while the captured HR repairs.
The Royal Louis parleyed her way out of some sticky situations, but that started to decrease the French gold advantage. The Soleil Royal lost a battle to the Titan after going 2/5 (including losing her grape shot on a 1) and taking major return fire damage (the Titan went 3/3). The Montreal did what she could to help, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Royal Louis ended up pinned, which further ruined French hopes. In the end, although the French parley gamble worked for a while (the lowest value coins from the HI were given up), the gold differential kept tilting towards the English, while the French fleet was soundly defeated in the south. The Royal Louis’ masts finally fell when she couldn’t afford to give away more gold, and the game was over!
The English were up 21-15 at that point, when we decided to call it. The Montreal would have rowed home to repair, allowing the English to get the rest of their gold home and make the final score 33-15.
It was definitely a good game, if not frustrating for both of us lol. The return fire aspect was interesting, though I’m not sure the -1 to cannon rolls is enough moving forward… more playtesting is needed, and hopefully other forms of this oft-discussed but rarely-played house rule will see the light of play.
El Cazador’s fleet went first, and both ships quickly reached wild islands.
The Nubian Prince cornered the Grand Path, and went 3/3 in the first fleet challenge shoot action we’ve seen in quite a while!
The Grand Path rammed the Nubian Prince, unable to shoot with her S range guns. In a huge turn of events and momentum, Dragon Eyes captured Aruj Barbarossa! This gave the Jade Rebels 10 gold (if they could bring him back home), while also denying his further usage by the Pirates. In addition, the Tiger’s Breath brought home gold, while the Darkhawk II found the Rats UT.
The Darkhawk sunk the Tiger’s Breath. After depositing the captured Barbarossa on the Jade HI, the Grand Path sailed out for a stealth raid on the Nubian Prince, but it failed.
After another raid by the Grand Path, the Nubian Prince finally escaped for good.
All remaining gold was unloaded, and the game ended! El Cazador’s fleet won 28-15!
Game 2
Xerecs – VASSAL Pirates
Volt – VASSAL La dominación española(this fleet was played by a7xfanben)
This time Xerecs went first. For simplicity and fairness we used the same setup.
The Darkhawk docked at the middle island, while the Spanish gunships moved into the fog.
The Darkhawk found the Turtles UT! This seemed to give the Pirates a great advantage with their home island so nearby, but when the Nubian Prince moved north towards the Spanish HI, the Santo Columba was able to swoop in and sink the Darkhawk with a double action! The Algeciras killed a turtle while the Joya del Sol docked at the northwestern island.
Poor turtles!
The Nubian Prince shot two masts off the Santo Columba, and won a boarding party against the Algeciras to capture Luis Zuan.
The battle raged, allowing a few turtles to reach the safe shore of the Pirate home island.
The Spanish decided to cut their losses and flee, knowing that 2 more turtles getting home would only mean 2 gold for the Pirates. However, if Aruj managed to capture some of the Columba’s crew, it could tip the gold balance in favor of the Pirates.
The Nubian Prince dismasted the Algeciras, but the Santo Columba had escaped through a whirlpool while the Joya del Sol sailed out for another gold run.
Knowing she can’t be shot at by the Santo Columba, the Nubian Prince rams the Spaniard but can’t capture any crew. The yellow token at the stern of El Algeciras signifies that the Spanish are scuttling her.
The Santo Columba resumed the battle with a double ram, but the Nubian Prince was too tough to take out. However, she lost Aruj Barbarossa and Luis Zuan in boarding parties, dooming the Pirate efforts.
After another skirmish, the Santo Columba had to repair again.
The Joya made a successful trip to the southwestern island, and the Santo Columba protected her return trip.
Volt’s fleet won 32-9!
At this point, Xerecs has lost both of his games and is out of the challenge tournament. This leaves only Volt and El Cazador, meaning that the third game will be a tiebreaker to decide the winner of the fleet challenge!
I didn’t do a battle report for the third game, but these should be the pictures from that game. El Cazador won the game and therefore the VASSAL Fleet Challenge Tournament!
4 competitors would face the Spanish Main version of El Acorazado in this setup to determine the winner of the Sink the Battleship fleet challenge!
First up: The Dread… (Xerecs)
The Acorazado maneuvered to get the first shot, and took out three masts.
The Dreadnought returned fire twice with all cannons but missed a few times! This left the Acorazado with two masts, which was enough to sink the Dreadnought with an SAT. The Patagonia was also eliminated, and Xerecs was out of the challenge!
Next up: Allies in Fire (Volt)
The Acorazado maneuvered, staying close to her home island and waiting for a chance to strike.
She struck the Victor, since I believed the Victor’s Exploding Shot to be the most dangerous weapon that I could not cancel or deal with. The Fortune had to come within S to shoot firepots, and so the Victor was sunk.
Volt’s fleet struck hard afterwards, and there was simply too much to cancel. I decided to cancel the Fortune’s captain if she came within S range, but in the meantime the Glorious Treasure and Maryland eliminated masts. The Battleship was soon ablaze!
The Acorazado didn’t get Castro’s SAT, so she had to stand and fight. Dismasting the Glorious Treasure and Coeur was the best I could do.
The smaller ships closed in and dismasted the Acorazado! Volt’s fleet has beaten the ship in 4 turns!
The third challenger: Gonna Sink You!
With no extra action or canceller capabilities, it was difficult for the smaller ships to get the first shot. The Acorazado struck with a double action, and purposely shot a mast off each of the two masters, meaning that their guns would be completely useless for the rest of the battle.
The ships had no choice but to ram. All 4 rams failed, and the Acorazado quickly destroyed the fleet and claimed a second victory in three games!
The final test for the Acorazado: Cheeseland VS The Battleship
The Swallow made sure to stay out of the Acorazado’s range.
The Acorazado simply sailed away from the Swallow, looking to frustrate the English and leave her vulnerable. The Swallow took the bait, but not only because Griffin and Lawrence were frustrated – they knew that Thomas Gunn’s fleet had already beaten the Acorazado in 4 turns, and time was running out. They had to make a move in order to make El Cazador victorious. Sailing up to the Acorazado on the third turn, they loosed a Broadsides Attack and missed with a 1!
The Acorazado only hit 3 times after failing to get the SAT from Castro. This opened the door for the English, who could tie Volt’s fleet if they sank the Battleship this turn. Turn 4 proved to be the climactic (or anticlimactic) one: the Swallow hit with her first broadside (a 4), but missed with her second on a 3!
Turn 5 wasn’t necessary, but the Acorazado finished off the Swallow just to prove a point. Not only did the Acorazado win 3 out of the 4 games with a considerable point disadvantage, she had also sunk or dismasted 3/5 of Volt’s fleet in her only loss!
@El Cazador: I forgot to copy and paste the chat transcript for the final game before I closed VASSAL. What’s funny is that I forgot about the Swallow’s strategy at first: before undoing the turn, I had the Swallow sail up and broadside the Acorazado on the very first turn (with her second action, after the Acorazado had gone first). However, that BA roll was a hilarious 1. Looks like the Swallow needs some more gunnery practice!
Volt has sank The Battleship and won the Fleet Challenge!! Congratulations! Now it’s up to you to determine the next challenge. Thanks again to all who entered.
10/3/2016
The Acorazado faced another English fleet (created by El Cazador) in a deathmatch. This one tried to utilize the Gargantuan’s reverse captain ability, L-range guns, and double cannon bonus (via TGunn the Elder and Griffin) when combined with Mycron on the Patagonia. The Victor served as support with more L-range firepower.
The Acorazado decided to chance an early attack, and hit 2/2 against the Victor.
The Victor rammed a mast off the Acorazado, who had a new strategy: eliminate Lord Mycron. However, the Gargantuan caught her and was able to blast some masts off. Eventually the Battleship fell to the English.
Thanks for reading! Do you think you can Sink The Battleship? Feel free to post any fleets below that you think would be victorious!
With the World game in limbo until Xerecs can get a computer upgrade or something, we decided to play a “regular” game. However, we wanted it to be special and memorable. Each of us would control two 80 point fleets, which would function independently (so effectively 4 “players”).
The order of play:
Fleet 1 (Xerecs)
HMS Apollo + Thomas Gunn
Black Pearl + Griffin, Calico Cat, “Cannonball” Gallows, helmsman
Tiger’s Eye + helmsman, explorer
Hai Peng + Captain Jack Sparrow, explorer
French Mercenaries (a7xfanben)
Le Gaule + Captain Nemo, Lenoir, captain, helmsman
Tenfold* + Zedekiah*, helmsman, oarsman
Le Triton + captain
*Both customs courtesy of El_Cazador Tenfold
Type: 3-mast hoist
Nation: Mercenary
Points: 22
Masts: 3
Cargo: 5
Move: S+S
Cannons: 4L,3S,3S
Link: Zedekiah Mercenary, Hostile: Caesar, Hoist, Turbine. Two hits from the same shoot action are required to eliminate one of this ship’s masts. This ship ignores the first hit she takes each turn if she has all of her masts.
Flavor: Zedekiah’s ironclad ship has been in the employ of several nations, most recently the French. His hope is to repurchase the ancient land of the Jews with the lucrative profits he makes from shipping. As he is fond of saying, if you hire him, your investment will repay tenfold.
Zedekiah
Type: Crew
Nation: Mercenary
Points: 8
Link: Tenfold Ex-Patriot, Hostile: Barbary Corsairs, Cursed, Pirate, Viking; Captain. One of this ship’s treasures is worth +2 gold when unloaded at your home island.
Flavor: Zedekiah has had run-ins with all the worst on the seas yet always comes out ahead. He captains his ship well but prefers to play the tunes of his people on his clarinet.
Fleet 2 (Xerecs)
San Cristobal + Victor de Alva, Duque Marcus Vaccaro, helmsman
HMS Morning Star + Hermione Gold, Lawrence, Sir Christopher Myngs
La Santa Isabel + Dominic Freda, helmsman
Longshanks + explorer
Mind Control (a7xfanben)
+ additional ships
Banshee’s Cry + helmsman, explorer
Mermaid
English Letter of Marque x2: one on the Kentucky, one on the Cyclone (the nationality was determined at random by die rolls – it just happened to come up English both times)
Xerecs created a great map, with 8 total islands. The home islands were selected in reverse play order, and the wild islands were towards the edges. Round earth rules were in effect, and my Mind Control fleet made sure there was plenty of terrain around.
Play begins! The effects of the mind controllers were felt immediately: GWL on the Kentucky rolled to move any ship L! The San Cristobal was the closest big ship to a reef, and incredibly she rolled two 1’s in a row (with Vaccaro’s reroll) to lose 4 of her 5 masts! The brainwashed Americans aboard the Kentucky exclaimed with glee, and Davy Jones offered a rare smile. In the meantime, Fleet 1 was the only fleet that didn’t appear to scatter on the first turn.
Early on the next turn, the Tenfold was the first ship to reach an island! Using her hoist to explore, she found an alarming cache of UT’s! First, Plague eliminated her three crew. Then, she rolled a 3 for Lost! Reefs appeared under the Divine Dragon, Apollo, and Morning Star! Just like the San Cristobal, the Dragon rolled a 1 to lose all but one of her masts! The English 5 masters were more fortunate, losing 1 mast between the two of them.
The San Cristobal and Divine Dragon returned home to repair. Especially with a severe loss in durability, Davy Jones knew that Captain Nemo aboard the Gaule was sailing for him.
The next ship to explore was the Banshee’s Cry, and what a haul she found! Maps of Hades backfired, being found by the mind controllers themselves. Ammunition was turned into a Spanish Letter of Marque in exchange for marooning the explorer on the island, in anticipation of a possible attack by the approaching Santa Isabel. However, two UT’s proved to be even more interesting: Maps of Alexandria and Nemo’s Plans. The Maps revealed all treasure on the other two wild islands! In the northeast, it showed that both Runes of Odin and Runes of Magic were on the same island, which could give the ship exploring the island the opportunity to play both at the same time and eliminate any one ship in the game virtually at will! The mind controllers were very excited, because the Mermaid and Rover were already headed towards that island. If they could get both Runes on the ship with Nemo’s Plans, nothing would be able to stop them!
The northwestern island had an interesting mix of UT’s, including Bad Maps (lots of maps in this game haha). This forced Fleet 1 to make a decision – would they explore the island and get wrenched around by the French Mercenaries, and if so, which ship would do the deed?
In the end, the Tiger’s Eye and Black Pearl continued west while the Hai Peng explored the wild island. The French Mercenaries moved it south, while the Hai Peng was saddled with some other UT’s, including Nemo’s Charts, Runes of Thor, and Weapons. The mysterious island also took a mast from the Hai Peng.
The French Mercs were next. The Tenfold headed home, with the Triton’s captain putting his ship between the Tenfold and the enemy ships. A battle was imminent. To the northeast, the Gaule just barely managed to S-board the Kentucky! The Gaule won the boarding party, and Nemo captured GWL! Now the mind controllers could possibly have their strategy used against them!
The mind controllers made a nice strategy decision with Nemo’s Plans. Knowing they didn’t want the Plans to be on a ship with Maps of Hades (the Banshee’s Cry, which could get wrenched around by Fleet 2), they had the Cyclone use her ability. The ability specifically allows the Cyclone to take unique treasures that otherwise can’t be removed, namely the Plans. Now the mind controllers had Nemo’s Plans aboard a more durable ship, which also had an English Letter of Marque aboard, and which wasn’t near enemy gunships. To complete the plan, the Mermaid and Rover docked at the northeastern island and prepared to explore. However, the round earth rules would soon prove problematic, and even the best-laid plans go wrong…
Fleet 1 attacks! The Black Pearl uses the Runes of Thor (aboard the Hai Peng) to force an extra action from Calico Cat, which allows the ship to get in range of both the Rover and Mermaid! The Rover is quickly sunk, while Griffin’s reroll is used to dismast the Mermaid. The mind controllers’ fragile fleet was crumbling, and things were about to get worse…
Captain Nemo captures Davy Jones!! The Divine Dragon had little choice but to repair on the previous turn, but it wasn’t enough against Le Gaule, who was actually able to use her +1 to boarding rolls against the Cursed ability. This left the mind controllers with no crew essential to their strategy.
Combat also erupted in the south. The Triton positioned herself between the Morning Star and Longshanks, but her captain was cancelled by Lawrence. The Tenfold took matters into her own hands, ramming the Morning Star! This gave the English the Plague, and Lawrence paid the price for his cancelling. All the crew died, but now the Tenfold was pinned to a larger ship.
Fleet 2 quickly retaliated, sinking the Triton. The San Cristobal fully repaired, and the Santa Isabel sailed home with gold. The mind controllers had an eventful turn. The Kentucky and Divine Dragon combined to go 3/4 to weaken the Gaule. The Banshee’s Cry was able to emerge from a fog bank (previously hiding from the Gaule) and dock home gold, also transferring the Spanish Letter of Marque to the Divine Dragon. The Cyclone, seeing the now-dismal situation in the northeast, simply picked up a 1 from the nearby island. The Mermaid had one clear choice. She couldn’t pick up the abandoned shipwright to repair, since she can’t carry crew. In addition, the Black Pearl could easily sink her on the next turn regardless. Therefore, picking up regular gold wasn’t a good option either. She decided to put as much of the Rune combo into play as possible, without having a second ship to assist her. She explored the island, loading Runes of Odin. Then the UT was flipped, and a big wall of icy death appeared off the stern of the San Cristobal, still docked at Fleet 2’s home island!
The ball was now in Xerecs’ court: the Tiger’s Eye sailed to the northeastern island and explored it. The ship loaded 4 regular treasures and a unique treasure, but not Runes of Magic. Xerecs had an opportunity to eliminate a fully-loaded San Cristobal (!) from the game. He didn’t take it.
The chaos continued. Lenoir, having no place for Captain Nemo to dock, decided on a dual mission: engage the Black Pearl on the way to pick up the abandoned shipwright. The BP lost 2 masts, but the Gaule didn’t S-board. The Longshanks and Morning Star began wearing down the Tenfold, and things were not looking good for the French Mercenaries. The San Cristobal escaped the deadly iceberg, but the Santa Isabel did not. The Mermaid, surprised to be afloat after the Black Pearl turned south, re-explored the northeastern island to load and use Runes of Magic, and the iceberg sank the Santa Isabel with lots of gold aboard! The Cyclone headed home with gold, the Kentucky finally departed her HI, the Divine Dragon continued repairing, and the Banshee’s Cry finally rolled badly for Maps of Hades and was forced onto a sargasso sea.
The San Cristobal dismasts the Hai Peng!
The SC is then dismasted by the Apollo! The BC makes it to the northwestern island. The mind controllers have captured the Black Pearl, and the Divine Dragon seeks revenge on the French!
The Gaule prevails with Lenoir’s cancelling, and cripples the Divine Dragon.
The Cyclone somehow makes it home with the Black Pearl, but the Dragon is sunk. Fleet 1 unloads a ton of gold all at once!
The BC slips by the Gaule after winning a boarding action! The Gaule rolled a 1 when S-boarding to lose 6-4! Unfortunately, the BC can’t quite make it into the fog.
The Gaule somehow can’t sink the BC on her next turn, allowing the Black Pearl to get in range. However, the Pearl only hits once. The Gaule then sank the BC with 6 gold aboard! In the meantime, the Tiger’s Eye and Cyclone gathered gold while the Apollo and Morning Star fought in the south.
The Black Pearl sank the Gaule but could only delay the Tiger’s Eye so long with MI effects. Fleet 1 further proved their dominance, with the Apollo eliminating the remnants of Fleet 2.
In the end there could be only one winner!
The final tally:
Fleet 1: 26 gold
Mind Control: 15
Fleet 2: 3
French Mercenaries: 0
This was a good game that saw a lot of interesting UT interactions and some rules questions. My Mind Control fleet continues to prove its worth in multiplayer games, coming in second after a string of victories a few years ago. Despite losing their controllers, they were able to salvage a decent game. In the end, it came as no surprise that a fleet with the Tiger’s Eye and Hai Peng would emerge victorious, and Xerecs has his third win on VASSAL!
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!
