Windage

[The Barrelman]

I don't know if I am interpreting the wind direction wrong or there is an error with a scenario setup image in the rule book.

It says in a basic game the wind always comes from the right of the British side. Yet the scenario setup picture from the example shows the wind gauge as West (the left side). It should be an East wind? Am I reading this wrong?

Then there is the wind gauge placement. It says parallel to the side of the table. Does it matter which side? I assume not to allow for various mat layouts (narrow and long, square, etc).

Also, I never saw an example image of using the wind gauge and attitude indicator together. I assume the attitude indicator is positioned like a weather vane to the wind gauge.

[The Royal Hajj]

For reference:

In the basic game, the wind always comes from the right of the British side of the table. To show the wind direction, place the wind gauge on the gaming field, with its arrow parallel to the starting lines, pointing toward the right of the English fleet.

To answer your questions:

It says in a basic game the wind always comes from the right of the British side. Yet the scenario setup picture from the example shows the wind gauge as West (the left side). It should be an East wind? Am I reading this wrong?

They never say if it is an East or West wind. But, if the wind gauge points to the west, the wind is actually coming out of the east.... and thus pointing to or hitting the British on the right. Not the clearest way of saying/showing it, but then the terms West and East winds are not super clear to the average non-sailing person.

Then there is the wind gauge placement. It says parallel to the side of the table. Does it matter which side? I assume not to allow for various mat layouts (narrow and long, square, etc).

It says parallel to the starting lines... which is the long edge of the table. The important thing to take away here is that the wind is equally fair for both sides. No one gets the weather gauge so to speak.

Also, I never saw an example image of using the wind gauge and attitude indicator together. I assume the attitude indicator is positioned like a weather vane to the wind gauge.

Pretty much. The points of the wind gauge should lineup with one of the grid lines on the mat. You can then use a parallel line anywhere on the mat to ensure your AI is aimed correctly at the cent mast of a ship. If you are not using the mat or some type of grid system, you will just have to eyeball that the AI is pointing in the same direction as the wind game.

The wind gauge is meant to be a stationary reference point that should never be moved (except the pointer on it) so that the mobile AI can be placed anywhere it is needed and still be aligned true to the wind. This is all make more sense with game in hand.

[The Barrelman]

I'll work with it. I do think the arrow is backwards in the above image. It should point toward the direction of the wind, not away. From the above image and the gauge orientation, it would be an East wind and the arrow point toward it.

[David Manley]

The wind direction convention in the rules is not the same as that of a traditional weather vane (and is in keeping with just about every AoS set of rules I've come across). The direction in which the wind is blowing is shown, rather than the direction from which the wind is blowing. So in the example shown above the wind is blowing from right to left.

[The Barrelman]

Okay. If that is how AoS games work, then that's how it works. Thanks.

This is my first AoS game. I was just confused to how it is compared to really reading weather for plotting and navigation (aviation for me).