Originally Posted by
Blastwall
Interesting discussion regarding the two card versus one card. I have only played three games so far, Basic, Standard and Advanced with just the ships in the main box - the other ships are waiting to join the fray. I've not yet formed an opinion yet one way or the other. Certainly what the two card system does do is create some sort of representation of forward thinking - where do you want your ship to be to close with the enemy or escape from them? The beauty of the two card system is that you are trying to second guess what your opponent will do and often you get it wrong! That feels like it has some element of reality to it, and perhaps that is why some of the posts here feel frustrated by it? The main thing lacking so far in the game is a sense of crew ability. I haven't added in the poor gunnery option yet but I will, as this was a key element to many of the victories in the era. But so was poor sailing for the same reason. An ill trained or undermanned crew was often the key difference and this element is missing so far. All the ships move and manoeuvre the same, fire to the same effect. I'm toying with the idea of rating the ships. One of the options then might be to allow the better rate ship to redraw the second planned card in the light of the poorer ships move - reflecting a more efficient, better trained crew that can react quicker to events.
The damage can be brutal, but then I think it possibly needs to be. The last game using the advanced rules was over two hours long, mostly with little firing going on - admittedly partly because the British ships were loaded with double shot and were doggedly determined to get close enough to make use of them. When they did, the results were devastating. But if you lessen the damage you may find yourself playing games that have no end - especially with larger numbers of ships. I have also toyed with the idea of striking colours, or attempting to escape when a ship gets to the point where it is perhaps one or two damage boxes from total destruction - possibly more realistic?