[Ken Redington]

Problem with the US fleet is it was a minor league fleet in this era and they are trying to make it competitive. We had like 6 big frigates to use and a SOL 3 we gave to France. Fleet actions of 8 SOL 3 or bigger per side were the standard for other countries and we are not even going to go to the big one with better then 20 SOL 3’s and larger PER SIDE. US players get our ships but will not be able to get any real big battles unless it is a Non Historical point fight. To really bring the US fleet to the table we need sloop and the like type hulls for battles on the Great Lakes. We had naval fleet actions, just in a smaller scale. Also am curious about Russian and Danish fleets or some of the other smaller fleets of the era.

[Ken Redington]

I have to agree there, they really dropped the ball with the cards. the merchant cards in the starter set should have had large merchants on one side and the smaller one on the other. Sol cards should have been 3rd rate large (74 gun) on one side and 3rd rate small (64 gun) on the reverse. Same with frigates and brigs, make the reverse 6th rates and brigandines or the like. Thing is, give us more options right out of the boxes. Maybe down the road have a deck of ship cards of ALL the sizes we could buy, maybe 3 to 5 of each type with different reverses. Like the historical sterns and really wish you could get em through the web shop in groups of 3 or by battle orders. A little more accuracy concerning some of the ship sizes (razee’s in particular) and a 64 gun sprue would also help. Maybe a box set with Sloops and the like also, have 2 sloops and a slightly larger ship per sprue to do some of the lake and coastal fights.

I do realize the game is new and exciting and also seems to be selling well but it has a long way to go if it really wants to fill this niche. Also a book of scenerios with orders of battle, and different ship stats and lists of ship names by size, service date, and country would seriously help and likely sell well. Still trying to figure out the online freebe with orders of battle for ships not released yet.

[Ken Redington]

Crew quality is also a issue that would be used in a historical match up. French were average to poor, Spanish the same leaning towards poor, and the Brits were elite for the most part. This gives you more hulls for the French and a lot more for Spanish but better stats for the British.
Below is my OPFOR till I get my Brits finsihed

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by Ken Redington.

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[Ken Redington]

I do wonder if the US super frigates should qualify as 4th raters though.
As for the comments on WS&IM, Remember it was written almost 50 years ago and research has gotten MUCH better since then.

Also remember the US DID build a 64 gun SoL 3 but gave it to France to replace one they lost. OK, Green wood, poor construction, and it rotted in 3 years, but we built one.

[Ken Redington]

Will try and follow the pics but in my opinion rigging is a must have to stabilize the masts and keep em from breaking off easily.

[Ken Redington]

As you said, it is still early and I am sure we have not seen everything yet. I still fully expect this is a side game like Cruel seas that will not be as well supported as say Bolt Action. But from what I have seen as far as demand goes it just may take off. What they really need is a scenario book listing battles and ships involved. Preferably smaller engagements of 5 or less ships per side including some of the SOL 3 engagements. I have a copy of Wooden Ships and Iron Men by Avalon Hill and most of their engagements require 8 SoL per side or more for the average battles. What we really need is Merchant ship models (Plastic and cheap), some of the smaller gunboats of the 10 to 20 gun size, and Smaller 3rd and 4th rate hulls (Again in plastic). Down the road would also like to see alt masts in white metal for those who want to toughen up their Brigs, Frigs, and SoL 3’s. Just put the masts in the bits list so we can order them like rigging and sails.

[Ken Redington]

Seen more then one game on You tube putting then behind the cards on the sideboard. Sort of like this idea but may start them there then transfer them to the ship as it moves. You can see who has moved already that way.

[Ken Redington]

I think the easiest thing would be to come up with a formula for guns on real ships vs game dice. Things like the difference between a 64 gun and a 74 gun SOL 3 could be maybe a red die (Light Cannon). Once that is formed for guns and HP it would be easy to work up historical lists.

On the other hand looking through their fleet make up list I think I found an error. If I remember right you have a max of 2 SOL 1’s vs a single SOL 2 per fleet of 1K points and feel it should be switched. The Monster SOL 1’s should be rarer then the 90 to 98 gun ships. Of course considering the lack of proper models at this moment and the effort needed to produce them it sort of works out.

Also think the Russian fleet should be folded in as it would be a better fit then the US in many ways. The US has a more colorful history though with it’s super Frigates. Also wonder if they are going to do the single SOL 3 the US had. It never saw action but did exist from what I can find. (will dig a bit deeper on that one)*

*Uss America given to France upon launching to replace ship sunk entering our harbor in Boston. Was made of green timber and had smaller guns so was scrapped after 3 years by the French due to costs to repair. Would make a interesting What IF ship though, that and the 3 SOL 3’s scrapped before being finished.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Ken Redington.

[Ken Redington]

I wonder if sooner or later Warlords will have mast sets in metal you can order on their website? That way you can replace the plastic with metal. Though I wonder how..umm…bendy they will be?

[Ken Redington]

Old hardcore gamer here From the Detroit Mi, USA area. Avalon Hill and SPI board games in the 70’s, WRG 7th and Warhammer 3rd ed in the 80’s, 90’s was assorted stuff and paintball. Started the 21st century as a Pressganger for Privateer and drifted into Bolt Action in the last few years (and SAGA,Flames of War, Cruel Seas, Wing of Glory, ect). Throw in 30 plus years of Historical reinactment (SCA Middle Ages) and been painting mins for people the last 10 years….oh yeah, also did a few articles for this site back in 2015. Now trying Black Seas out (after painting, rigging, basing, and building a fleet or 6) while using the scenerios from my copy of Wooden Ships and Iron Men (AH Late 70’s) to build a fleet list or three.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Ken Redington.

[Ken Redington]

Planning on basing mine as I want to use metal bases so I can store them in a case with magnet strips. Plan is to avoid damage to the rather fragile ship masts that way when moving them around. Will make sure the base is flush with the stern in case I want to use the wake markers but saw some guys on You Tube who just put them behind their ship cards to mark speed. Made for a easier and less cluttered map. This also gives me the option of putting the ship name and faction on the base for ease of tracking them. Again no need for little flags on the ships making the board a little more uncluttered. Just put the name on the base and at the top of the ship card and there you go.

[Ken Redington]

I am wondering when the Spanish fleet box will come out (with the missing Spanish Flag sheet) and maybe the Santísima Trinidad for the big ship box set.

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