The article is from the Close action IO group
SP7: WINDWARD PASSAGE: COURAGE OR COWARDICE? 16 August, 1746 AAR
8 players (all returning)
July 8, 2023
Siebel Center for Design, U of Illinois
SCENARIO NOTES
5 British in B (and the weather gauge)
British have various rates with 70, 60s, and a 44 SOL
4 French in C
French have a large 74, 68, 50, and a 44 SOL
See “pre” pic for pre-scattering positions
RESULTS
British: 168.05 VPs
French: 54.05 VPs
VP difference: 114!
% difference 102.656%
Decisive British Victory!
20 Turns!
ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES
Pre-assigned ships to players (first time I did this)
Pre-wrote three (brief) gameplans for each fleet (first time I did this)
Players moved their own ships every turn (second time)
Players figured and administered gunnery numbers and results each turn (second time)
The new wind icon continues to be a bit hit
With the above, we got 20 turns in ~3 hours! We had the room for two more hours, could have started earlier, but the game was clearly decided at the g-t 20. We could have done 30 tuns easily if need be / If I had a bigger game, we could have also gotten to around 20 turns in with the added time we had
All 3.0 rules in play
THE SCENARIO
The British won a decisive victory by staying together, sailing well together, enacting a contingency plan at the right moment, and sustaining gunnery. The French sailed well together, too, but the British just had the initiative from the start and kept it throughout the entire game–they imposed their will from start to finish. The French could not quite sustain concentrated gunnery as the British kept their line moving, avoiding sustained damage from the big French ships.
Indeed, the British may have won the game in the command conference. They took my options and made them their own, creating five (!) pre-arranged contingency plans. For starters, both fleets moved ahead in their respective starting positions. The British did slip left, ensuring their windward position. The French also moved ahead in C in, I believe, an attempt to out-guess the British. I think, I don't know, but I think the French were hoping the British would turn and attack or crab in first and then have to readjust not expecting the French to trudge ahead close-hauled.
When this did not happen, the French turned into broad-reaching in succession to go broadside for broadside between Terrible and Worcester (the two leading ships). The French formed up, the British advanced and this continued a couple of turns.
By turn 5, Worcester decided that going broadside-for-broadside with the biggest, baddest ship on the board was untenable and enacted one of the contingency plans: cut back hard against the grain. Worcester, still leading the British line, turned starboard twice over the course of two moves. On turn 5, too then, Terrible shot ahead as Worcester ducked back toward the French center.
Fortunately, the British had a plan for this and Worcester signaled his intentions as the British center slowed to avoid collisions and allow this plan to develop (you can see this in the turns 5-7 pictures). This left Terrible without a shot for 2-3 turns as the French flagship was forced to wear back to re-engage. In fact, as a result of their mis-guess on British movement, all the French wore-round in front of the closing British. (administrative note: it was clear the game was moving very fast with player activity in moving ships and figuring gunnery at this point).
In the middle-to-late rounds, the battle became the proverbial general melee, but with each fleet still more or less sailing well together and keeping good order. No mavericks, no rouges at any point in the game. This is where the British just concentrated their force more so than the French and moved their ships along to help protect against sustained damage. The French were unable to do so.
Glorie struck on 15 (finished by the 44-gun Milford). The outcome was pretty clear here, but we kept the gaming going to make it to 20 turns. On turn 20, Neptune struck and that was all she wrote! Oh, yeah, Neptune was victimized by a hull check that turned to rigging check that became “mast may fall”, which did, with the rigging check being… “mast may fall”, but Neptune was at least saved from losing the final section. No British ship lost more than two of any type and Strafford lost no sections.
FURTHER ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES
I (finally) marked the turn # for each picture (in two posts)
I do give a “you’re on your honor here” speech for players moving their own ships and figuring gunnery. I don't think anyone purposefully cheated, but I will probably record players calling out their moves and then comparing ship logs next time as an audit.
Will probably create a master gunnery chart, too, to make sure all modifiers etc are applied.
Thank you for reading!
Barry H
Urbana, IL
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