Demo Games Day

I ran a day of demo games with a group of tabletop gaming fans showcasing their favorite "alternative" games in a store devoted to the top couple of miniature companies.  I set up a basic scenario which could accomodate 2-5 players. 



On the "starboard" side of the table I had a rocky cove set up, flanked by some crumbling ruins and centered around a lighthouse; on the "port" side was deployed a damaged Elven flagship with only a single squadron of destroyers running escort duty.  The objective for the Elven player was simple--get the flagship with the First Sea Lord to any place between the ruined pillars behind the lighthouse where Elven shore batteries could drive off any attackers.  Other players would either play allied squadrons of Elven ships helping to ward off attackers or Dwarven, SM, or BG squadrons attempting to sink or capture the Elven flagship.

I had two very interested players, and although one was interested in playing the Bone Griffons, the other really preferred to play Dwarves, particularly the "magic" Dwarves in the cast iron ships.  They also wanted to play against each other.  So, I quickly modified the scenario, removed most of the other squadrons, and the SM player had the objective of moving the "heavy cruiser" (yes, it's a SM battleship but I had a card printed out with stats for a heavy cruiser) to the safe haven behind the lighthouse while the BG ships attempted to sink or capture it.



I restricted the space on the table, and the Shroud Mages started 12" in from one corner while the Bone Griffons started 12" in from the other corner on the same table edge.  The fleet of Iron Dwarves among the STAR cards deck marked off the 12" out of bounds, so the players were effectively playing on a 3x3 foot area.  All the better to get them to the meat of the action, and by the end of turn 1 we had the heavy cruiser firing at submerged undead whales (to no effect), and a squadron of SM frigates closing on the squadron of BG cruisers.

The center of the board represented shallows, and I explained that only small surface models could move across that area, between the volcano and rocky island.  The BG player, on turn 2, surfaced his orca, deciding not to circle around to intercept the heavy cruiser (especially after the heavy cruiser changed course to follow the frigates and take chances with the oared galleys), and moved across the shallows to head directly toward their objective.

 The sea monsters, by the way, are only obstacles in this game, like terrain.  Turn 3 was quite exciting:  the squadron of orca moved to ram and board the heavy cruiser, but only 2 managed to reach the SM ship; a fast and furious boarding action damaged the target, but the boarding parties from both orca were absolutely destroyed.  The heavy cruiser moved to trade broadsides with the squadron of oared galleys:  all ships took some damage, but no criticals.  During the 4th turn the heavy cruiser moved to a stern raking position on one oared galley, and a double critical hit damaged the propulsion and rudder both, leaving it to drift ahead only 2".

The last remaining orca moves to collide with 2 SM frigates at once; it was a gamble, and it didn't pay out--one frigate was lost to the ramming, but the other managed to resist the boarding action and destroy the last of the undead crew on the whale.

Finally, with only 1 cruiser limping in the water with a single hull point while the heavy cruiser still had more than 50% hull points and was within sight of the harbour, the player of the Bone Griffons conceded the game.  The two new players had completed 5 turns in under an hour with fewer than 300 points worth of ships per side.

New Uncharted Seas Campaign

The goal of this campaign is to develop a fleet and engage in missions to secure gold by transporting cargo to and from the Old World or simply seizing it by raiding villages or securing valuable cargo from shipwrecks.  The first player to accumulate 10,000 Gold Bars is declared the winner of the campaign.

Cauldron of Silence

After a month of regular battle reports from the Cauldron of Silence campaign for Uncharted Seas, the final battle between two massive fleets was reported today on the Spartan Games BLOG.

The NEW Uncharted Seas Templates

The hardcover rule book for Uncharted Seas is available for pre-order from the Spartan Games website, and these special orders will include a set of the limited edition clear acrylic templates.

Now that's a Battle Report!

Craig from the D6G has been writing some fun narrative battle reports on the blog over on the Spartan Games website, part of a tsunami of new material for Uncharted Seas, including some new options for Captains of Renown and featuring some awesome pictures of ships on the tabletop.  Here is a link for the most recent report:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/battle-report-deep-within

I especially enjoy the conflict between my two favorite factions in the Uncharted Seas, something I have never witnessed because I'm always playing either one or the other but usually against Orcs or Dwarves.

Finally, Uncharted Seas!

I haven't played a game of Uncharted Seas for some time now, and I have been trying not to post anything not directly related to Uncharted Seas (Dystopian Wars is a stretch, but after posting about a game of Warmachine, I realized I was steering away from my original intention for this blog).  Anyway, I finally received my first box of the new Imperial Human ships, and I'm very pleased with the product.

The picture is just a quick snapshot of the model on a kitchen table with the sails set in place; no cleaning or actual assembly has been done.  I was just looking for something to post for Uncharted Seas!

Meanwhile, I'm preparing to host another DW tournament at the Game Vault, and I'm playtesting a card-based naval game, so I may end up changing my mission statement for this blog.

Demo Games Day

My friend Shades organized a demo games day at a local game store and I ran Uncharted Seas while Ruckdog ran Dystopian Wars, representing Spartan Games among a half dozen "alternative" tabletop games (read: no GW, PP, or Flames of War).  We saw a good turnout and intend to do another event along the same lines again in the near future.

The Glorious 6th of November

Dystopian Wars VA Autumn Event 2011

We had more than a dozen players for our DWVA Autumn Event which included three rounds of a Dystopian Wars tournament with 10 registered players and a 3-way exposition game of Uncharted Seas.

Here are the full rankings for the DW tournament:

1. Andy - Prussians

2. Kyle - CoA
3. Steve - CoA
4. Brian - CoA

5. Dave - KoB

6. John - Prussians

7. Trevor - KoB (with French leanings)

8. Greg - FSA

9. Nate - KoB

And, last but definitely not least, and only a mere 2 points behind Nate....

10. Jack - Empire of the Burning Sun

The first three placed players won store credit, and Andy also took the Best Painted Fleet prize. 

The runner-up for best painted fleet was our winner at the Uncharted Seas event last year, Mike with his incredible Orc ships.

Battle of Castle Rock Island

A mist forms above the cold, still waters of the Sorylian Sea around Ratrap Island.  Ships take shape in the mist, black smoke belching from their stacks, the hiss of steam from engines, as two Dwarven fleets approach Castle Rock on the island renowned for the presense of a sinister mage.

Our first proper game of Uncharted Seas in more than a month, we started by setting out the sea mat and islands to play Dreadfleet, but we decided to break out the reliable old fleets instead.  800 points in each fleet, no composition rules and no special objectives.  I placed my Shroud Mages along the southern edge of the space, a pair of frigates to the north scouting for a battleship, then a pair of heavy cruisers, the flagship Lightbringer, a squadron of Adept Destroyers, and, somewhere, a Ripper Submersible lurked beneath the becalmed waters.  And barely three feet away, suddenly appearing as the fog lifts slightly, and just within long range, was Admiral Redhammer's fleet of Iron Dwarves with battleship, flagship, heavy cruisers, destroyers, and their Cursed Bellows Skyships.

Start of Turn 1:  Iron Dwarves to the North and Shroud Mages to the South.  Note the coffee mug from the Blogger's favorite used bookstore just beyond the southwest corner of the board; not for any good reason, I was just very pleased to be sipping hot coffee from my Powell's mug while playing my usual opponent my favorite tabletop naval game on a new sea mat during a comfortable Sunday afternoon.  No harm in recognizing the pleasure of having the time (and cash) to enjoy this hobby.

Our First (and Last) Game of Dreadfleet

My usual Dwarven opponent, the one that usually sinks my Thaniras Elven fleet, stopped by last night to try Dreadfleet.  We just played a trial game, the Dwarven ship proxied by his Iron Dwarf Dreadnought against the Shadewraithe which I had just started painting.  We started on opposite sides of the map, about 36 inches apart, and our respective ships closed, each opening broadside failing to scratch the other.  On the first turn both ships were pelted by a rain of sea snakes which were swept from the deck out of hand.

By turn 3 my Shadewraithe had pulled alongside the Dwarven ship and fired a volley which managed to damage some crew, but then the Dwarven ship moved into a stern raking position, and canonballs smashed the mizzenmast into so many splinters (corporeal or otherwise), reducing the speed of the Shadewraithe by several points.  Meanwhile, according to Fate, a Bone Hydra (represented by the beautiful yet unpainted merfolk) emerged from the waves and attacked the Shadwraithe.

The Shadewraithe's crew finally repelled the Bone Hydra which slipped back between the waves, but not before the Dwarven ship approached to ram the port side.  A brief action ensued with the Dwarven captain wounded by the Shadewraithe's Wraith-Captain, and the Shadewraithe managed to successfully escape jeoopardy and, the grappling hooks from the Dwarven ship slipping through the ghost ship, slowly started around the south side of the volcano island.  But the Dwarven ship took immediate action, repaired damage, and by turn 5 the two ships were again trading broadsides at point-blank range before a ferocious boarding action ensued.

We finally called the game, deciding we would have preferred to spend the hour playing Uncharted Seas.

On the positive side, both of us enjoyed playing on the sea mat, and we agreed it was equivalent to a twenty dollar value of the total cost.  Also, my opponent wanted to buy the Dwarven ship, still on the sprue, for ten bucks.   Despite the fragility of the models, compared to the certain heft of Spartan resin & metal ships, we determined each model worth 8-12 dollars just for the detail alone.  And the assortment of islands are cool, not to mention the measuring stick which I've been painting bleached bone white with brass highlighted inch numbers.  So, in the end, I feel the price was worth the ship models, islands, play mat, and the inspiration provided by the Fate & Damage cards to develop my own "perfect" tabletop naval game.

DW Tournament

Place: The Game Vault, Fredericksburg, VA

Date: Sunday, November 6th
Time: Dice roll at 11am
Cost: $5
Prizes: 1st Place: 50% of all entry fees, 2nd Place: 30% of all entry fees, 3rd Place: 20% of all entry fees

Because of the demand for something including Uncharted Seas, I'm also going to run a multi-player scenario for Uncharted Seas starting at noon.  Only DW players will pay the $5 entry fee and be eligible for victory winnings for the DW event.  The "best painted fleet" by secret ballot, however, will be open to both DW and US players.

Naval Clash in the Bermuda Triangle
Fleets from all corners of the globe clash in the Bermuda Triangle in search for and take control of a Sturginium Gate rumored to be recently discovered in the area.

Winning Conditions:  Three rounds will be resolved between random pairings by lottery of players and their respective fleets.  Accumulated Victory Point scores from all rounds combined will determine first, second, and third place winners.  Each player will participate in 3 different scenarios against opponents.  Late players may be allowed to participate, but only in remaining rounds.

Fleet composition:  400 and 800 point fleets according to Tournament Game specifications according to DW rule book page 28.  In each fleet there must be at least 1 squadron each of Small, Medium, and Large.  Painted models are not required.  Different fleet compositions may be used in each round, and the 400 point may be part of or completely separate from the 800 point force.  Please bring a copy of your fleet lists to share which include ship and squadron point costs as a courtesy to your opponents.

Special Conditions:  This is primarily a naval engagement; land units may be included in fleet lists, but deployment and area of operations for land units will be severely limited by the few islands involved in scenarios; include steam tanks with your force at your own risk.

Air Support:  The contested area is far out to sea, beyond the range of Tiny Flyers from land airstrips.  Bombers are within range as well as Tiny Flyers attached to carriers.  But no 10 free tokens of Tiny Flyers are allowed in any rounds.

Victory Points:  VP will be counted according to enemy ships destroyed and damaged beyond 50% in addition to bonuses for completing objectives according to respective scenarios.  Scenario objectives will be revealed at the start of the respective rounds of the tournament.  Each registered player starting the tournament on time will be able to participate in all three different scenarios.

Registration:  Pre-registered players on the DWVA forum will receive a custom badge at the start of the event.  Register at:  http://www.etcinversus.com/dw/forum/

Special Prize:  Also, we'll have a secret ballot among all players for the best painted fleet, DW or US, and I'll personally buy a paint pot of the winner's choice and award a certificate suitable for display in the admiral's quarters.

The new human imperial ships coming out for Uncharted Seas feature some topgallant sails... more sails all around.  Now it's time for me to begin learning how to rig model ships in earnest.

Thoughts on opening my new copy of Dreadfleet

"Wow!  This castle island will look great as a fortress for DW games."

 

"The black kraken will make an awesome proxy for the Blazing Sun mechanical squid, and it's just the right size!"

 

"The dragon models are perfect tokens for my dragon carrier ship for my Dragon Lords faction in US."

 

"These two ships will work great as heavy cruisers for my Imperial Human fleet in US."

 

"The Tomb Kings galley will fit right into my Bone Griffons fleet in US."

 

"This High Elven ship will work fine as an Elven merchant ship, if nothing else in US games."

 

"Wow, the shipwrecks are cool!  I need more shipwreck markers for Uncharted Seas!"

  

"I wonder if I can incorporate these great FATE and DAMAGE cards into Uncharted Seas?"

Exploring New Lands

I'm travelling out of state, but I still have my eye on new ship designs released for Uncharted Seas.  Now a huge flagship for the Ralgard which is destined to be the next faction in my collection:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/the-tervaknar-cometh

I'm reading a book of nautical lore and legend which inspires some ideas for stories to be written.

More Revised Ships

More redesigned ship models for Uncharted Seas.

More on the Spartan Games blog:  http://www.spartangames.co.uk/blog

Battle of the Boiling Seas Strait

The Dragon Lords have sent out a vassal fleet of dwarves to harass the imperial expansions of the Elves from the Old World.

We had almost 1000 points each, almost everything on the table. A flagship and battleship each, plenty of destroyers and frigates.

Turn 1: The Shroud Mages spotted the Elven fleet near a strait between two islands in the Boiling Seas and set straight toward them. Fortunately, the Elven fleet possessed the wind gauge and set battle sail to move the frigate squadrons into medium range and commence firing upon the leading elements of the Shroud Mage fleet.

After forming a beautiful line-of-battle with 8 frigates in two squadrons, the Dwarven guns start punching holes in the Elven sails. I invent a busy character named Melvin the Elven Sailmaster who sets out, with thread and needle clenched in teeth as he climbs the ratlines, to mend the holes and tears. But, unfortunately, he can't keep up with all the damage. The Elven Battleship Mountain Spirit Fury moves directly through the gap in the frigate line-of-battle and leads a brave but foolish charge into the center of the Shroud fleet. Meanwhile, the heavy gunship which is the Shroud flagship moves slowly into position, gunning an Elven destroyer into splinters and firing upon the grand Mountain Spirit Fury.

Ship Revisions

I'm very pleased with the new CAD for the Imperial Human battleship.  The existing models look great, but this one looks even more worthy.  And the forecastle looks great.

And the stern has plenty of detail as well.

Pirates of the Uncharted Seas

The nations of the Old World send fleets of warships to expand their colonies and protect their interests in the New World, the islands scattered among the Uncharted Seas.

The Iron Dwarves establish mining colonies to increase their imperial treasure vault as well as fuel the research and development of new weapon and steam technologies.  Our campaign focuses around the Dwarven colonial city of El-Aron just southwest of Denonia (right-center of map).  Many minerals are mined and processed here, and each week a fleet arrives with new Dwarven colonists, returning to Kulloria with cargo holds filled with resources.

The Kullorian trade fleets must maintain safe passage, and the Uncharted Seas are too vast to be routinely patrolled by warships.  From the Darnak Cluster in the south come Orc Raiders to pirate and plunder; from the ancient Dragon Lords in the west come war flotillas intent on driving out the Iron Dwarves, and their cousins the Shroud Mages from the southwest want nothing better than to wrest control of Denonia and take posession of the city El-Aron for them own expansion; and the Thaniras Elves to the north are untrusted neighbors, keeping to themselves as they wait to see the other powers weaken the fleets around Denonia.

We will have two parts of this campaign.  The larger group of players in NOVA will conduct naval operations around El-Aron, the Dwarven player largely fighting off pirate raids by the Orcs, while the smaller southern group of players will conduct operations between the Dwarven and Human Imperial fleets maneuvering for control of the Boiling Seas to the east to secure trade routes with the Old World Kingdoms.

Paper Steampunk Boats

I discovered paper miniatures.  More specifically, I discovered the Junior General site which offers a variety of historical simulations and paper miniatures in an effort to pull kids into the hobby.  In the teen gaming event at the local library last month my usual US opponent set up a demo game but didn't attract much attention.  I'm thinking now, however, that using ships from something like the old WizKids Pirates collectible card game or maybe some simple paper models and with simple rules (more simple than US?  well, it's possible) for the next event.  The paper models is also inspiring me to try my own hand at modelling some new designs for US and DW.

New Uncharted Seas Models!

A new range of ship models for Uncharted Seas has been announced, and I'm particularly interested in the new Elven designs:

And although the flagship still lacks sails, it still exudes that essense of speed: