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Thread: Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War...

  1. #1
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    Default Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War...

    Running my first Sails of Glory game Friday at Havoc! outside of Boston -- my first time at this Con, but I hear its a good one. Peter (Twosheets on here/Teaticket on Wings site) is running four Wings of Glory games over the weekend (including a VERY creative Godzilla game) -- can't wait ! -- I'll post photos when I get back.
    Bill

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    Admiral. R.I.P.
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    Safe journeys and I hope that it will go well for all of you. May you have exciting games and attract many new players.

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    May you have a fair wind in your sails for the weekend Bill, and try to get us a picture or two if you get the time.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Thank you both and I'll try not to get a close up of my thumb !
    Bill

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    Hope all goes well

  6. #6
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    Havoc! After Action Report
    The 35th annual Havoc! Game Convention was held in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) on Friday night April 5 through Sunday afternoon April 7. I GM'd my first Sails of Glory game for convention participants in the Friday night slot. Bligh graciously allowed me to use his "The Enemy are Out" scenario from the 2018 solo campaign game. The game was described in the convention materials as:
    02 The Enemy Are Out!
    players 8 Sails of Glory 1:1000 Napoleonic Naval William Brown
    Description: The French Napoleonic fleet has been blockaded in port by the Royal Navy. A severe storm has dispersed the Royal Navy forces and a French commodore seizes the opportunity to make a run for the open sea. If the French squadron can make it to the open sea they will wreak havoc on the British shipping lanes. One British squadron stands in the way of the French plan. To win the game the British must take or sink at least two more ships than they lose. The French must exit as many ships as they can from upper left corner of the table in order to create havoc amongst the British convoys of merchant men using the trade routes.
    Fast play basic rules easily taught. All materials provided.

    The British squadron of HMS Defence, HMS Britannia, HMS Royal George, and HMS Zealous enters in line of battle:

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    The French squadron of Aquilon, Orient, Montagne, and Le Swiftsure enter in battle line as well:

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    The French brain trust considers their strategy:

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    So its either a Napoleon complex or he got a bad Taco....

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    The game's afoot !

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    The enemy approaches....

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    The battle lines close with each other:

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    The French punch through the British:

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    The British get too far upwind of the French and cannot maneuver effectively to stop them:

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    The French break through and head for the open seas:

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    The game is declared a French victory. On a side note, as GM I ran a British ship to round things out. Coincidentally (really!) that ship drew an inordinate number of "0" damage chits -- raising suspicions among the French players (I swear it was totally random)...

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    I am thinking of changing my middle name to Zero......perhaps the Marvel cinematic universe could use a new superhero: "Zero Man" !!! Interestingly, on Saturday I continued to get an unusual number of zero damage chits in the Wings games (where I was not the GM)....don't you just love random probability ??? In any event, the entire weekend was great fun.
    Last edited by Wentworth; 04-12-2019 at 11:41.

  7. #7
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    Thank you for the A.A.R., Bill. You seem to have had a good time and been very fortunate. Are you sure that you weren't captaining 'Old Ironsides', the U.S.S. Constitution to get away with zero damage? :)

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    Bill:

    Glad to hear that the game went well! I was planning on showing up for the game until work interfered. This whole earning a living nonsense just takes up far too much time...

    Michael

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    Quote Originally Posted by Knighttyme View Post
    Bill:

    Glad to hear that the game went well! I was planning on showing up for the game until work interfered. This whole earning a living nonsense just takes up far too much time...

    Michael
    If only we had been born rich instead of good looking ... would love to have had you in the game.
    Until we share a port again,
    Bill

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Naharaht View Post
    Thank you for the A.A.R., Bill. You seem to have had a good time and been very fortunate. Are you sure that you weren't captaining 'Old Ironsides', the U.S.S. Constitution to get away with zero damage? :)
    Well, it went suspiciously well for quite a while and then the roof fell in on that ship -- I started pulling large damage chits on a regular basis -- so there was some "statistical regression to the mean" in my GM efforts.
    B.

  11. #11
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    Glad you enjoyed the game Bill.
    The whole secret to it is the need for the British Line to hold its integrity, and deny the French the Wind gauge.
    If you ignore the first or last French ship and can corner the other three with your four, you can usually get a win for the Brits, but that of course depends a lot on your French Commodore and the expertise of his Captains.

    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  12. #12

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    Bill that looks like Pete Landry striking the Napoleon pose. Was he the Wings GM by chance? He is always running Wings games at our HMGS cons in PA.

  13. #13
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    Hi Eric,
    Yes that is Monsieur Landry -- he GM'd four Wings events at Havoc! If you go over to the Wings site, Peter posted some pretty cool pictures of his events (especially the WW II Godzilla game).
    Bill

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bligh View Post
    Glad you enjoyed the game Bill.
    The whole secret to it is the need for the British Line to hold its integrity, and deny the French the Wind gauge.
    If you ignore the first or last French ship and can corner the other three with your four, you can usually get a win for the Brits, but that of course depends a lot on your French Commodore and the expertise of his Captains.

    Rob.
    Hi Rob,
    Yes the British lost the integrity of their line early and then got upwind of the French -- a recipe for disaster! Thanks for the scenario!
    Bill

  15. #15
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    As Eric says, good to see Pete involved in one of my scenarios too.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bligh View Post
    As Eric says, good to see Pete involved in one of my scenarios too.
    Rob.
    Yes, but his Napoleon impression needs a bit of work...
    B.

  17. #17
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    Needs to put a bit of weight on and get a triangular head Bill.

    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bligh View Post
    Needs to put a bit of weight on and get a triangular head Bill.

    Rob.

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