Sails Of Glory

[Cyrano]

Strictly speaking, SoG isn't a boardgame, particularly (and this is no small matter) because movement isn't regulated by hexes, squares, &c., but by a hand of movement cards placed under the ships much like its aeronautic predecessors.

I have the game and most of the ships, but, in the end, two things have left me preferring the boardgames "Flying Colours" and "Close Action".

The first is the ship choices.  I was very surprised when Ares released -- to its credit, for free -- a booklet of scenarios based on historic battles and discovered that the majority of the ships needed for those battles had to be doubled by the ships actually released by the company.  This strikes me as very poor planning indeed.  Cape Oretgal, my annual "little Trafalgar", is particularly grievous in this respect.

The second is that it wound up being too much fiddle for the effort.  By the time you get to the advanced rules, all the bits, parts, and tokens make commanding more than two ships per person all but impossible.  Mind, it's not that the rules are that complicated -- they're not -- but fuss factor of the components just didn't seem worth it.

So, for me, until HPS fulfills my wish and creates a MP-capable AoS game, it's "Flying Colours" for fleet actions and "Close Action" for smaller actions.  The only exception to the former is cool MP games of "Close Action" run by a good GM...

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[Jack Nastyface]

Just IMHO regarding both Wings and Sails of War and/ or Glory..
I think the "movement card" mechanic is splendidly suitable for air combat.  Unless you are dealing with bombers, the entire essence of air combat is based on the application of superior air combat maneuvering (ACM) in order to gain an advantaged position.  There are few things more exciting than to plan out a series of moves that pulls you out of harms way and puts you back on the six of your enemy.  Indeed, I can appreciate good "piloting" even when I am on the losing side of the equation.

Compare that vis-a-vis age of sail, where IMHO sometimes very few opportunities for superior naval maneuvering may present themselves.  In a situation where, for example, you have two 74's sailing abeam of each other on a beam reach, sometimes the best strategy is to slug it out and wait for a lucky, crippling shot (mast, rudder, wheel, etc).  Nelson's advice "No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy." often rings true.   I would venture that this is precisely why Sails of Glory NEEDS all those fiddly counter-chits, etc, because the pleasure is in more in ship management than in combat maneuvering.

[Nefaro]

Yeah.  Most such wooden ship wargames have many similarities anyway.  It's just a matter of how they track all the inner workings and status (lotsa counters, big sheets?) and the level of detail for certain internal aspects.  More so than maneuvering. 

The various crew actions, often limiting the choice of their extra uses during combat, is usually a big facet of the genre.  I'm pretty sure all three games mentioned thus far have a sizable focus on it. 

[Cyrano]

Pounding matches are absolutely part of how any of these games play out, but Flying Colours, as a fleet game, spends a fair amount of effort limiting the small stuff and encouraging a measure of turning about -- all ships move the same number of hexes under identical wind conditions, for example -- while Close Action revels in it.  I've heard the latter referred to alternatively as Star Fleet Battles on the sea and ASL for the nautically inclined.

I've spoken of my dislike of the imprecision of the card system elsewhere and it hasn't abated -- courses for horses, of course -- but I would add that SoG makes it quite difficult to form line ahead and manuever...problematic for the period.

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[TacticalWargames]

Here is another new Sail wargame.

http://wargame-process-edition.com/

[bayonetbrant]

Here is another new Sail wargame.

http://wargame-process-edition.com/

this was in GARPA 2 weeks ago...

http://grogheads.com/?p=6418

[TacticalWargames]

Here is another new Sail wargame.

http://wargame-process-edition.com/

this was in GARPA 2 weeks ago...

http://grogheads.com/?p=6418

Was it? I don't read that. I came across it abit ago and this thread jogged my memory. A link to your article might be useful.

[bayonetbrant]

well you should!  O0

[TacticalWargames]

The forum is a favoutirte link..not the main website.

[RedArgo]

We haven't played SoG in a while, but with the new table one of my boys and I pulled it out.  We played the basic rule, a British frigate and SoL, me, versus a French frigate and Sol, my son.

Here are the ships approaching each other, mine on the bottom right.



Here are my ships with their movement cards.



SoL have opened up on each other.



After reloading Sol firing again.  The frigates has fired some ineffective long range shots in between.  The French are on the right in this picture.



This is the ship card for my SoL.  You can see at the top I only have 2 undamaged boxes left which means my firepower is greatly reduced.  The French SoL is damaged, but not quite as badly.  Neither frigate has taken any damage.



My frigate is firing with my SoL following, the French frigate took a wrong turn and is far away now.



SoL blasting away at point blank range.  Both are heavily damaged now.



Inexplicably, my frigate captain went port instead of starboard and sailed off the map, removing that ship from the game.  Now, both SoL are about to leave the map, but get in one more broadside.



A small victory for me as my SoL finishes off his, before leaving the map and leaving the French in control of the seas with their frigate on the other side of the map.



Fun game, I think next time, we'll move up to standard rules, with different kinds of shot, sails, and having to plan your moves one turn ahead.

[Nefaro]

Nice shots!

I think the flavor will really start coming out with the Standard Rules.  That's where all the basic staples of the genre start kicking in.  ^-^

[RedArgo]

We played our first game with standard rules, one SoL vs one SoL.  Definately more challenging having to plan one turn ahead.  I was able to rake him twice, which is also new from the basic rules.  We probably need another game or two at standard, then on to advanced and optional.  This may not appeal to a hardcore age of sails player, but it is good for us light weights.