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View Full Version : Some belated first impressions



fredmiracle
04-14-2014, 12:08
FINALLY had the chance to play some actual games!

This was with the kids, so for now we have just stuck to basic rules.


I thought I would offer my first impressions (many of which echo what others have said of course):

- I'm looking forward to layering in the advanced rules, but I was surprised how fun it is even with just basic. Simply figuring out how to get where you need to be had enough subtlety to generate interest.

- Logistically, the chits worked fine for us. The system does eat up table real-estate, but we just had ship logs laid out on every flat surface around the room

- Frankly, I don't see SOG as unsuitable for sizable fleet actions IF you stick to basic rules. By the second game, my 11 year old and I were playing four ships on a side and it was flying. Other than the space required for maps and logs, I wouldn't see much to prevent each player running 10 ships.

- I thought that in aggregate, the damage levels were not bad, in basic rules. Only one or two ships were taken out by crew damage, but several came close. Generally speaking, ships seemed to stand up to a reasonable amount of damage--not "realistic," certainly, but at a pace that made for a good game.

- But I can see that if you take this starting point, and simply bolt on critical hits, damage multipliers, effects of crew-loss, and ammunition types, then ships may well die too easily to make a good game. I guess that is the point at which you need to do things like double the damage capacity, adjust the chit mix, etc. Although such house-rules are readily available, it seems like a sufficiently clear-cut issue that I would appreciate it if Ares acknowledged it and provided some "official" suggestions.

- In addition, the variability of damage seemed extreme enough to potentially detract from the fun. Not sure what to do about that. But it can get pretty frustrating when you draw all 4s, 5s and 6s, and your opponent has a nice proportion of zeros...

- I was interested to see that sometimes our engagements ended up hinging mostly on long range fire, and sometimes the ships closed quickly and had lots of B and E fire. Frankly I'm not sure what drove this, but it was nice to see some variety emerging from the system.

- One thing that definitely did not "feel right" to me was the firing arcs. Way too big. I want to try it with the "mainmast in firing arc" restriction and see if that helps.

- The related issue was the issue of LOS. In basic the LOS rules felt far too relaxed. It's easy to have a friendly squarely between your ship and the enemy and still find a crack of light by which to take a shot. On the other hand, although I haven't tried the "forced aim" rule, it reads as too restrictive. I don't recall seeing a a good suggestion for house-ruling this yet, which finds a middle ground, and is also compatible with reducing the firing arcs. Needs some thought.

- I also thought the collision rules were not working well for us in practice. Confusing, time-consuming, fiddly, and didn't lead to satisfying outcomes.

- I like the ideas on having some strings around, etc. Trying to work the ruler in among the sails was problematic from time to time

Overall it was a lot of fun and the kids seem hooked!

Nightmoss
04-14-2014, 18:29
Thanks Fred for your commentary. Some of your observations certainly line up with what I've read elsewhere here on the forums. I'm especially happy to see another person describing the game as 'fun', which is going to be what brings people back to the table. I was intrigued by your thoughts on large fleet actions being possible if you stick to basic rules. I know David was planning a Battle of the Nile game, but I doubt he will be using only basic rules.

Thanks again for sharing. Cheers!

7eat51
04-14-2014, 21:20
Glad you had a fun time, Fred, and that your kids did as well. I think that speaks highly of the game to see such a broad range of ages engaged.

As for rulers, I am going to play around with pipe cleaners of different lengths. If the question is whether a given target is within a half-ruler, for example, all you really need is a ruler of half-length. If the ship is beyond that, you know it is within the full range. The only time the full ruler is needed is when measuring to see if a ship is in range at all. Pipe cleaners, or something similar, are thin enough, yet can be sturdy enough, and one does not have to measure afterwards, like with a string. I guess one could knot a string at the different ruler segments as well. Maybe even put some type of metal clasp at the string ends to keep them from fraying.

Naharaht
04-14-2014, 22:14
It is good to hear that you and your family enjoyed playing the game, Fred. There is certainly room for thought in your comments.

Cmmdre
04-15-2014, 07:40
I concur with your impressions from my experineces. This is a fast, fun game that is easily picked up at the basic level. :thumbsup: