Tumbling Dice

[paulr]

I'll put together an AAR after we finish the game next Saturday as well as making some more play aids and making a few minor tweaks to the rules

We didn't play last Saturday, our host was attending a 21^st

We will finish the game tomorrow night. I will have to take over at least one French Squadron as Pierre the Shy has jetted off in the general direction of Middlesbrough for a month or so

Play aids are done and some moderate tweaks have been made to the rules, particularly the layout of the signals to hopefully make them more accessible to land lubbers

[pierre the shy]

Just cause I'm in Hong Kong doesn't mean I'm not here on the forum 

I'm not lost, but Mrs Shy wanted a stop on the way.....interesting place, 32°C and very humid today.

watch out for those British line breakers Paul 

[FierceKitty]

32 degrees? That's our average!

[Techno]

That's quite chilly compared to certain parts of India, at the moment.
Good grief !!!!
Cheers - Phil

[paulr]

if it's any consolation I'm sure Peter is feeling the contrast. In the lead up to his departure we had a number of sub zero mornings

Sorry Peter, I don't think we managed to avoid one collision all game

I will put together an AAR and will need to tweak the rules some more as we got some interesting situations 
e.g. You've captured one of my ship in a boarding action but your ship has surrendered to another of my ships

[FierceKitty]

That's quite chilly compared to certain parts of India, at the moment.
Good grief !!!!
Cheers - Phil

Hmm, I'm a bit concerned. An Indian colleague is visiting her family at present....

[pierre the shy]

if it's any consolation I'm sure Peter is feeling the contrast. In the lead up to his departure we had a number of sub zero mornings

Sorry Peter, I don't think we managed to avoid one collision all game

I will put together an AAR and will need to tweak the rules some more as we got some interesting situations 
e.g. You've captured one of my ship in a boarding action but your ship has surrendered to another of my ships

Hope I traded up to a better ship 

Went to one of the markets today.....could have a genuine fake gshock watch for HK $100 

No one's offered me any cheap 10mm figures so far, though its amazing what you can get. They
even have NZ sav blanc wine and eggs from Levin in the local mini mart 

[paulr]

I've left it too long to do a prorper AAR of our first game, particularly given how complicated the battle got.

The scenario was the Battle of Cape Henry, 16 March 1781. The British were trying to intercept a similar size but slower French force carrying troops and supplies to Lafayette's forces in Virginia. The French were heading ESE with the British about 6 cables behind. The wind was from the North East and as this was the first game for the players the wind was only strong.

The French turned WSW and ran (a sailing term) for the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. The British closed rapidly on the French line in some disorder. As the first squadron approached the French line the second squadron was ordered to act independantly and close the enemy.

The French attempted to maintain their line and slip past the English but despite there being only a 1 in 3 chance of a collision occuring almost every time there was a risk of collision the ships collided and a boarding action followed.

Some photos...

The British "line" approaches flanked by two pairs of Frigates


The lead British squadron approaches the French line


The French try to maintain their line as the British collide, boarding actions are marked with dice showing how many decks have been captured. On the right Robust has collided with the Neptune and Le Romulus has in turn collided with the Robust


A close up of the three drifting ships as the remainder of the French line sails past


During the week between the two halves of the game I made some markers to help record what was going on, here the Neptune, Robust and Le Romulus are locked together after colliding and both Robust and Le Romulus have been captured


I also created some smoke markers to show ships firing. The French line is sailing towards the camera, "lead" by the British London


The action becomes confused with two boarding actions between frigates on the left with another Frigate, Guadelupe, having struck her colours. Two more boarding actions between ships of the line are also being fought


The French captured the Robust and the British flagship Royal Oak and two frigates; Guadelupe and Pearl, and managed to get the Fantasque (the main supply ship) into the Chesapeake.

Unfortunately it was not enough as the British captured Le Jason, L'Ardent, Duc de Bourgogne, Le Romulus, L'Eveille, Provence and the frigate La Hermione. This left the Conquerant, Fantasque and the badly damaged Neptune sheltering in the Chesapeake Bay.

A major but hard won victory to the British and a good time had by all

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Beautiful looking game!

[FierceKitty]

Mmmmm.

[Zippee]

Looks fantastic - but I think if it was me I'd use different coloured labels for the fleets, maybe just a product of spectator photos but I have no idea who's side any of the ships are on (except the close ups). Hopefully the flags stood out in real life 

[toxicpixie]

Dang, they're nice... do I really need to add to the lead pile?!

[paulr]

Looks fantastic - but I think if it was me I'd use different coloured labels for the fleets, maybe just a product of spectator photos but I have no idea who's side any of the ships are on (except the close ups). Hopefully the flags stood out in real life  

A good thought At the request of the players I've added space at the back of the labels for recording speed reductions. It would be a good place for a colour code, particularly for larger games. The flags do stand out more in real life

Dang, they're nice... do I really need to add to the lead pile?!

At 1/4,800 they're only little so it would only be a small addition And Paul at Tumbling Dice is a pleasure to deal with

[Techno]

Terrific looking game, Paul. 
Cheers - Phil

[kustenjaeger]

This looks really appealing.  I might get Osprey's new rules and buy a pack of 1/4800 ships from TD at Bovington in 2 weeks time.

Regards

Edward