I played three games today (11/2), but so it’s not overwhelming I’m going to post them at different times. Also, each game was very unique and featured some interesting setups, not to mention that they were all very good games, so I don’t want any of them to be overshadowed!
The first game was an idea I’ve wanted to try for a while. Being such a big fan of huge games, it may come as some surprise that I like the idea of using 10 point fleets. That’s right, not 30, not even 20, but 10! It’s worth noting that I only have my somewhat limited “traveling collection” right now, so I couldn’t use some of the dirt-cheap ships. All game pieces can be found in the Master Spreadsheet.
It was a 7 fleet game at 10 points each, with no 0LR’s allowed. The fleets went in this order:
Honu Iki + captain
Le Rochefort + captain, helmsman
Bazana
El Raton
Sea Crane + explorer
Black Bear + helmsman
Tripoli
Noble Swan + captain, oarsman
The setup featured 7 home islands and 7 wild islands, with islands being about 1L apart from their neighbours. Since most terrain is either extremely dangerous or completely harmless against such small ships, none was used. Mysterious Island effects were not used.
This one is blurry, but some of the ship have reached islands. Everyone tried to avoid being near the Noble Swan during the setup, as she needed to be hit 3 times (a tall order for this game) since she was immune to ramming.
The Noble Swan trashed the Bazana with a shoot and ram, and it appeared that hopes would be dashed very quickly with every fleet being so fragile.
The Noble Swan’s next target was the Sea Crane, who lost a mast. At the top of the picture the Rochefort has missed hitting the Tripoli.
Major fighting occurred on the next turn, with the Noble Swan finishing off the Sea Crane and eliminating the Pirates from contention. The Rochefort got the better of the Tripoli, while the Black Bear eliminated the Spanish from the game by ramming the Raton and stealing her gold. At the right, the Honu Iki is the only ship yet to be involved in combat.
With such small fleets, every ship was disproportionately valuable, so the Black Bear and Rochefort took their respective prizes in tow. In the meantime, the Noble Swan sunk the Sea Crane, and it appeared that nothing could stop the turtle ship from dominating the game.
From left to right: the Americans gain a ship by repairing the Raton, and the Spanish have scuttled the Bazana to remove themselves from the game. The Rochefort has left the Tripoli to return home on her own oar power, and the Honu Iki carries her second load of three coins.
The Noble Swan attacks the Americans! A shot tears through the Black Bear’s foremast, but the ram against the Raton is unsuccessful.
A turn later, and the Americans are the third fleet to fall to the Noble Swan!
At this point, the French had gotten the Tripoli and Rochefort back home, and the Rochefort headed back out for another coin.
The Honu Iki had no choice but to try and get more gold, but the Noble Swan inevitably took her out.
The Honu Iki carried gold, so the Noble Swan had to try and tow her back. The Jade Rebellion’s aggressive playing left them with just one cargo space open on their only ship, so they would have to tow ships home to win. The French had other plans, and all three one masters converged near the JR HI.
The Noble Swan made quick work of the Rochefort, but was only moving S because of the Honu Iki behind her. The French boxed the turtle ship in, with the Tripoli’s 4S cannon the best hope the French had to end the game.
After another miss by the Tripoli, the Noble Swan just barely couldn’t make it home! A final shot rang out, and the Honu Iki sunk! This denied the JR’s a few coins, but it wouldn’t matter.
In the end, the Honu Iki’s peaceful runs at the beginning of the game won the day for the English, though not by much:
English: 15 gold
French: 14
Americans: 12
Pirates: 4
Jade Rebellion: 3
Spanish and Barbary Corsairs: 0
Hope you liked the change of pace using 10 point fleets! More reports coming soon, so stay tuned!