First naval game played

Hey all!

Well, a buddy came by last night, and we played two games of a new set of naval rules that I am working on.

The fight was pretty simple... each of us had a 1st rate, a 3rd rate, a 5th rate, and a sloop.  He sailed the the sloop "Defiant," the 5th rate "Bounty," the 3rd rate "Headstrong," and his flagship was the "Argonaut."  I had (in the same order) the "Surprise," "Venus," "Harpy," and "Dauntless."  Crews were of average size; he had some pirate crews, and I had some marines, but otherwise it was the same.

Above is the first turn.  My fleet is on the left.  I sent the Venus around the smaller island with an idea towards boarding the enemy (the Venus gives you a reroll on boarding, and I had some marines on board.)  The Harpy and the Dauntless went towards the middle, while the Surprise headed off towards the other flank.  

Turn two.  Uh oh... the Argonaut and Bounty all head towards my poor sloop, who hopes to sneak by without getting too badly hammered.  I get the Harpy and Dauntless into line to cross the T on the incoming Headstrong and Defiant (which isn't as terrible as it could be for the Headstrong, which gets to roll double dice for its bow chaser.)

The Surprise tries to get past the oncoming enemy, firing away as it does.

The Dauntless and the Harpy prepare to fire.

I forgot to take photos for a while!  Well, this is later in the battle.  The Harpy has the Headstrong and Argonaut cross right in front of her, and gets absolutely pummeled by cannon fire.

Here that fight is again.  I eventually rammed the Argonaut and tried to take it, but unfortunately it didn't work out, and my crew was decimated and eventually surrendered.

So the rules seemed to REALLY work.  They need a little tweaking (I am thinking about changing up a tiny bit how many times you can fire/do stuff, and the crew is a little vulnerable right now to shooting.)  But overall I was really happy with them, ESPECIALLY with how movement, speed, and damage to sails is represented... I made some FANTASTIC little markers that I am not ready to share yet (they aren't all painted up) but when they are done, I'll share them and maybe the rules too.  Super, super simple, but they seem like they really work.

Anyway... a new era for The House of War, and I hope people enjoy!