Armada is the new naval wargame from Mantic, based on Warlord’s own award-winning Black Seas rules system, but with revisions to embed the action into a fantasy setting. That setting is Pannithor, from Mantic’s own popular mass battle game, Kings of War. In essence, the game plays very much Black Seas, so much so, that…
Britain’s Royal Navy introduced a system of rating the ships of its fleet based on the number of guns they carried. This rating system takes its name from the capability of ships to stand in a line of battle (Ship-of-the-Line). Initially introduced by Samuel Pepys in 1677, the rating system underwent numerous revisions until the…
We’re taking a look at one of the most iconic periods covered by Black Seas – the Napoleonic Wars. This article provides an overview of the conflict. One of the most heavily studied eras of European history, the French wars which began in 1803 were effectively a continuation of those which had preceded them, involving…
The 21st October marks the anniversary of the greatest naval battle in military history. We take a look at the celebrated battle, and look at replicating the game using the Black Seas rules system! After pursuing the Admiral in charge of the Franco–Spanish Fleet, Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, to the Caribbean and back, Admirals Lord Nelson and…
Good day readers. Black Seas is becoming a staple game for me down at the local club. So much so there’s always a few tables laid out for a few games during the age of carronade. Now, what great gaming table would be complete without some awesome looking terrain? Well, Black Seas is no different….
The Age of Sail was dangerous enough when contending only with the bellow of carronades, the clash of steel from enemy boarders in the heat of close-quarters combat and the threat posed by the fickle climate – where a light rain might become a storm in the blink of an eye and threaten to drown…
Words and Images provided by Norm Flam of Toy Soldier Gallery in PA. First, I get steel wire. I use 36” Music Wire, 0.015 dia. It’s the perfect size to use as rigging for the ships and it doesn’t sag over time. I then spray paint it black. This can take several sprays but it’s…
Since the dawn of civilisation, the sea has been both a blessing and a curse to military planners. On the one hand, it allowed the rapid redeployment of troops across a continent-spanning empire, while on the other it provided a near-insurmountable obstacle, stronger than even the toughest fortification. At many points across history, it has…
Sailors have swapped stories of the horrors that inhabit the seas for centuries, creating legends of monsters that come up from the murky depths to drag whole ships down to Davy Jones’ Locker and ghostly ships of the damned that accurse all who see them. Sailors are nothing if not superstitious (and rightly so -…
In the Carronade Era, there wasn’t a clearly defined painting scheme consistently used by specific nations, but rather a fairly limited pallet of colours that could be used in various combinations by each Captain. Captains of Unrated Vessels and most Frigates could paint their ships in a variety of colours like all white, all yellow…
Dan Hewitson
Tom Mecredy
Charlie Monaghan