Squadron rules ?

[JackAubrey1805]

I would like to collect your ideas for squadron rules for sails of glory.
After all, there must be advantages to being part of a squadron.
Dobbs gave me an idea and I look forward to further contributions. After all, many scenarios have certainly already been played and one or the other house rules on this topic have been used.

[Dobbs]

Things I've learned in my engagement so far...

Line ahead is more a defensive position than offensive. The adjacent ships offer support and protection.

The windward ships have an advantage in they can close range faster. I found that turning line abreast toward the leeward fleet on the reloading turn, then turning back to line ahead on the firing turn was a pretty ferocious way of closing range.

If you break out of the line, you better be sure that you have spotted an advantage. I would suggest that a penalty if someone breaks the line and it goes pear-shaped is a good idea. Maybe something like in the next game that player gets the smallest ship or worst position.

In my house rules, ships have port and starboard broadsides that are damaged independently of each other, so breaking the enemy line can expose you to an unfired and mostly intact broadside. That's a real eye opener!

[Dobbs]

My house rules required planning a turn ahead for sail changes, but being able to pick the course card during plotting for the current turn.

I also spaced the ships approximately 1 base length apart to give room to maneuver but be close enough to support.

[Bligh]

I generally have all ships conforming to the actions of the foremost ship and all at the speed of the slowest ship in the line until general chase is signalled from the Squadron commander. Then each player on that side decides on the actions for the number of ships which he commands.
I am also toying with the idea that ships with the windward position if two or three deckers may only fire at half power if the wind indicator shows top strength.

Rob.

[JackAubrey1805]

Based on using the normal advanced rules for the maneuvers, I'm looking for a solution to make it easier to control ships organized as a division or squadron.
And that's when I found the idea of ​​having only the lead ship play 2 course cards ahead and the followers only need to play 1 course card ahead, a pleasant thought. This would even be independent of the type of formation: Line Ahead, Line Abreast, etc.
However, there should be clear guidelines as to when a ship leaves the formation/division and then of course loses the advantages.
Perhaps we should discuss the terms formation and division/squadron independently, or just give away the benefits of holding a formation.
Do you have any ideas?

[JackAubrey1805]

I also find this idea extremely interesting. Easily plan sail status changes as a round-spanning action and only adjust the sail status at the beginning of the following round.
So far I've only had changes to the Full Sails sailing status, where the ships have to place the blank marker as an additional action to set Full Sails and maneuver with Full Sails. When reducing the sail status from full to medium sails, the standard marker is sufficient.

I don't yet have a new marker for "special" sailing maneuvers such as tacking/jibing and full sail, but that sounds very good.

[Bligh]

That is odd Uwe.:dazed:I posted that very thing in answer to you earlier on today and it has come up under your name?:question: O.K. found it Uwe it was under the Promotions heading instead of here. I have now moved it to here.

Rob.

[MWBell]

As usual, I'm coming into this discussion late so please forgive me for any redundancies.

I try to hold to linear battles (especially when using SOLs) as much as possible, since that was the norm for the era. Sadly, the detail of the game (which is GREAT) limits pragmatic play of more than a couple ships at a time by any contestant (which is a bummer), so I generally use a Flagship and either one or two (maximum) other ships to operate as a squadron. The number of squadrons is dictated by the number of players. Game balance is worked out with ship sizes.

Like Rob, I have the leading ship determine direction, but use the slowest ship's maneuver cards until a general chase is ordered.

I stick to Line Ahead (using markers to denote points of turning for following ships), "Mimic" Ahead (i.e.: play the same card as the leading ship), Echelon Right (or Left) Ahead, Line Abreast and "Mimic" Abreast.

Any ship that suffers damage enough to fall out of the line backs off as any following ships close up automatically toward the van.

A Flagship dictates the crew commands for its squadron, again until a general chase is ordered.

Things I'VE learned (as you are already well aware of if you've seen ANY of my AARs):
1-Leave PLENTY of space between ships...pile-ups are quite common otherwise so pay VERY close attention to the cards you're playing.
2-Get in CLOSE to your opponent before your first fire!
3-Make the most of your "national" gunnery doctrines...there's a reason for them.
4-Don't break out of formation too soon. Having to manage too many ships at a time can really bog down your game.

I hope this helps.

[Bligh]

I endorse every thing you suggest Mike, especially the distance between ships from sad experience. There are one or two tips about cutting the line to avoid being raked by two enemy ships before you can return fire. I try to approach from an oblique angle and exchange broadsides, before turning in to cut the line. Try to time your reloading so that you have both broadsides loaded, and ensure that the previously unengaged side is double shotted. Add to that the first time of firing bonus and a rake can virtually disable a 74 in one pass.

Rob.