Chacabuco And Maipo For 'Dominion of Napoleon Bonaparte'

I put together these two scenarios for 'Dominion of Napoleon Bonaparte' last year, but they'd lingered, forgotten, in my drafts until now. They cover what are probably the two key battles in the struggle for Chilean independence.

Chacabuco (February 12th 1817)

Following the 'Reconquista', Spanish forces had re-established a harsh grip on Chile, forcing patriots to flee to Argentina. It was there that General José de San Martín, alongside Chilean leader Bernardo O’Higgins, conceived the audacious Crossing of the Andes.

Rather than a direct assault, San Martín led the Army of the Andes - roughly 5,000 men - through treacherous, high-altitude passes. This served as a massive feint, confusing the Spanish authorities about where the actual invasion would emerge. As the time the weary but determined Patriot forces descended from the peaks, the Royalists were scrambled and forced to make a stand at Chacabuco.

Patriots: 3 x Column Infantry, 1 x Elite Disciplined Heavy Cavalry (Horse Grenadiers), 1 x unreliable Column Infantry (Soler), 1 x unreliable Light Dragoons (Soler)

Royalists: 1 x Light Infantry, 2 x Fortified Line Infantry, 1 x Light Dragoons, 1 x unreliable Artillery, 1 x unreliable Line Infantry (Reinforcements from Santiago)

Patriots (Attackers)

Horse Grenadiers (ED), Column Infantry (U), Light Dragoons (U)
Column	Column	Column
Line (D)	Line (D)	Light Infantry
Light Dragoons, Artillery (U), Line (U)

Royalists (Defenders)

The battle began with a pincer movement. San Martín divided his forces into two divisions: one under General Soler and the other under O’Higgins. While Soler was tasked with a long flanking maneuver to encircle the Royalist rear, O’Higgins - driven by characteristic fervour - turned a distracting demonstration into a premature frontal assault against the Spanish lines.

The Royalists, led by Rafael Maroto, held a strong defensive position and initially pushed O’Higgins back. However, San Martín’s tactical patience paid off. Just as the Patriot centre wavered, Soler’s division appeared on the Spanish flank. A decisive cavalry charge shattered the Royalist infantry, turning a disciplined defence into a panicked rout.

The Royalists suffered over 500 dead and 600 captured, while Patriot losses were remarkably low. Two days later, San Martín and O’Higgins entered Santiago to a heroes' welcome. While the war for independence would continue for several more years, Chacabuco was the death knell for Spanish colonial prestige in the region

Maipo (5th April 1818)

The Battle of Maipo (or Maipú) was the decisive engagement in the Chilean War of Independence, effectively ending major Spanish control over the heart of Chile and securing the nation’s sovereignty.
Following the Patriot victory at the Battle of Chacabuco in 1817, the Royalists retreated to the south. However, the Spanish launched a counter-offensive under General Mariano Osorio, who successfully ambushed Patriot forces at Cancha Rayada in March 1818. This surprise defeat sparked panic in Santiago, as the Patriot army suffered heavy losses and retreated in disarray. Despite the chaos, General José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins managed to regroup the remnants of the Army of the Andes and the Army of Chile. By early April, they positioned themselves on the Maipo plains, just south of the capital, determined to make a final stand against Osorio’s advancing Royalist troops.

On April 5, 1818, the two armies met. San Martín deployed his forces on a ridge, utilizing a strong defensive position.

 
Patriots: 4 x Column Infantry, 1 x Disciplined Heavy Cavalry (Horse Grenadiers), 1 x unreliable Artillery
Royalists: 1 x Column Infantry (Lights & Grenadiers), 2 x Line Infantry, 1 x Disciplined Line Infantry (Burgos), 1 x Light Dragoons, 1 x  unreliable Artillery

Patriots (Attackers)

Column, Horse Grenadiers (D), Artillery (U)
Column	Column	Column
Column	Line	Line
Line (D), Light Dragoons, Artillery (U)

Royalists (Defenders)

The engagement began with a heavy Patriot artillery barrage, followed by a fierce infantry struggle. The Royalist centre held firm initially, putting immense pressure on the Patriot lines. The turning point occurred when San Martín ordered a massive charge by his reserve divisions. This fresh assault broke the Royalist left flank. As the Spanish lines crumbled, they retreated to the Lo Espejo farmhouse, covered by the veteran Spanish Burgos Battalion, where a final, bloody resistance took place before they were completely overwhelmed.

The Patriot victory was absolute. Most of the Royalist army was killed or captured, including several high-ranking officers. The defeat destroyed the Spanish capacity to launch further large-scale invasions of central Chile, allowing San Martín to shift his focus toward the liberation of Peru. Maipo is a cornerstone of South American independence, marking the moment Chile’s status as a free republic became irreversible.

The Battle Of Southam for 'Dominion Of Cavaliers And Roundheads'

 

Way back when I was first dabbling with ECW games I played out a scenario for the action at Southam on 23rd August 1642. This is one of the earliest actions of the conflict, albeit a small one. With the orders of battle to hand, I have adapted it for 'Dominion of Cavaliers & Roundheads'.

Southam - 23rd August 1642

During the opening phase of the English Civil War, both factions scrambled to seize strategic territory. In Warwickshire, a local rivalry pitted the Parliamentarian commander, Lord Brooke, against his Royalist counterpart, the Earl of Northampton.

The conflict shifted from political tension to open combat on August 22nd, when King Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham and formally declared war. Wasting no time, Northampton moved to intercept Brooke’s assembling militia. Just two days after the King’s declaration, the opposing forces clashed near the small market town of Southam, marking one of the earliest skirmishes of the war.

Brooke had three regiments of foot to Northampton's one, outnumbered the Royalists three to one in artillery but was outnumbered himself in horse. The Royalists formed up with their backs to the River Itchin with the Parliamentarian force on a hill opposite them. The Royalists had 300 foot and around 800 horse, whilst Parliament had 3000 foot and 400 horse.

Parliament: 2 x Cavalry, 1 x Musketeers, 1 x Reinforces Musketeers (Larger Unit), 1 x unreliable Musketeers (raw unit), 1 x Artillery

Royalists: 1 x Elite Cavaliers, 2 x Cavaliers, 1 x Pikemen, 1 x Dragoons, 1 x unreliable Artillery

Parliament (Attackers)

Musketeers (D), Musketeers (UR), Artillery
Cavalry	Musketeers	Cavalry
Cavaliers (E)	Artillery (UR)	Cavaliers
Pikemen, Dragoons, Cavaliers

Royalist (Defenders)

The action commenced at 8:00 AM with an ineffctive Royalist cannonade. The Parliamentarian artillery proved far more lethal in response; their return fire ploughed directly through the Royalist infantry, causing significant damage and claiming the lives of several riders and horses.

As the Parliamentarian horse advanced into the valley, the Royalist foot soldiers found themselves unable to withstand the relentless hail of shot and began a retreat. 

Cavalry engaged between the two forces. Lord Grey led the Parliamentarian assault with "very thick and hot charges," exerting a level of pressure the Royalists could not contain. Eventually, the Royalist cavalry broke formation and fled the field, conceding the day to the Parliamentarians. Due to his inferiority in cavalry Brooke did not order a pursuit.

Design Notes: Parliament has artillery to cover their centre, whilst the Royalist guns are pushed to the fore and cannot be relied upon. If the Royalist horse can be contained, Parliament should win this with the strength of its foot. One Parliamentarian regiment was larger than the others, hence the D rating. To grant this another regiment was downgraded to UR - unreliable troops wouldn't be out of the question at this early stage. However if you feel that this detracts from Parliament's performance, drop the D and UR rating and just make their reserve foot 2 x Musketeers. To reflect the Royalist's lack of foot you could drop the unreliable status from their artillery (since it's already pretty vulnerable) and give it to the dragoons instead who were really only a detachment of musketeers. 

U-Boats Off Messina

Based on a recommendation in the 'Torpedoes & Tides' rules I picked up a copy of Pat Hreachmack's 'Clear The Coast', which is a collection of over 30 WW2 small ship action scenarios, many of which are adaptable as scenarios for T&T. At our club the other weeks we'd been discussing how submarines might fit into the game. Given the small time-scale of the actions the answer is really 'they mostly wouldn't', but one of the scenarios in 'Clear The Coast' features them, and I thought I'd have a go at adapting it.

Of course the first thing I needed was a couple of submarines. Theses were made in a hurry, and I want to redo them at some stage although you all know that I will probably never get around to it. 

So it's the night of 12/13th July 1943, and two U-boats are slipping through the Straits of Messina between Sicily and Italy, heading south. They are on the surface, but once they clear the narrows they can submerge.

But with Germans ships slipping through the straits on a regular basis, the British are waiting for possible targets. Three Vosper MTBs are lurking in the darkness.

OK, here's the scenario.

British - three Vosper 73' MTBs. These are MTB 81, MTB 77 and MTB 84 (see rules for stats)
German - Two U-boats (U 375, U 561). I'll post their stats below.

All crews on both sides are Q3.

The board is 60cm x 80cm (if using 50/80/120mm sticks). Short edges are North and South. The east edge is coast. Aside from that there is no terrain or mines. There is a partial moon to the South*.

All vessels start on blinds.

U-561 starts with its rear edge against the northern edge of the board, 1D3 x L from the East edge. U-375 is 1 x M directly in front of it.

One British MTB starts 1D3 x L from the southern edge and 1D3 x L from the eastern edge facing West. The other boats are placed each side of it facing West and 1xS away (so they are in line-abreast).

Roll for initiative.

And that's it. I haven't worked out VPs for it, but obviously the British are trying to sink one or both U-boats, whilst the Germans are trying to get them both off the South edge with no, or minimal, damage. The British mustn't lose any boats. The Germans can only exit via the North or South edges, whilst the British can exit from the North, South or West. However if a boat exists the West edge roll a D6. If it scores equal to or less than the number of hits the boat has taken, then the boat is considered lost to Axis shore defences. Anything hitting the East edge runs aground and is lost. 

Here's how it ended up for me, with the U-Boats heading straight for the British boats. The British got the initiative.

Their line swung around to investigate the contacts, and immediately spotted U-375. 

U-375 fired a starshell at the British blinds ...

... and this enabled U-561 to spot and fire at one of the British boats (MTB 413 in this scenario. My boats have fixed labels and I wasn't changing them). The shot, from an 88mm deck-gun, came close but not close enough. 

MTB 413 swung around and fired torpedoes at the lead U-Boat, but missed.

(After playing my campaign it was exciting to have 73' boats with four torpedoes!)

Distinctly unorchestral manuevers in the dark, as everyone's activation rolls failed dismally.

U-561 fired again, and a shell smashed the bridge of MTB 430. 

The U-boats began to head south as fast as they could go. MTB 413 lined up another shot. It was at the stern of U-375, but at least the target was silhouetted against the moon. That was enough. BOOM! The U-boat began to sink, and not voluntarily. 

MTB 413 now had no torpedoes left but closed with U-561 looking to supress the gun-crews and make it easier for the other two British boats to make their torpedo attacks. MTB 430 was suffering obvious difficulties from its damage, but MTB 414 was now coming up after having lost contact with the action earlier. 

Another near miss as U-561 kept up a steady fire. 

However fire from MTB 430 caused the German crew to dive for cover. MTB 414 made its approach. But the German crews were still fighting hard, and managed to score a hit on the approaching MTB. The British boat caught fire. 

As the fire reached the bridge the captain ordered the torpedoes fired. Through the smoke and flames they were overjoyed to see the second U-boat heel over and start to sink.

So both U-boats were sunk. The British suffered bridge hits and light damage on two boats, with one of them also having fire damage as well. Overall it was a pretty successful attack for the MTBs though.

Here's the stats I used for the U-Boats:

Q3 C3 - Short, Large, Over-Gunned, Large Calibre, Unarmed (Stern), Secondary Armament (C1)

These are boats with a 88mm gun on the front deck. In fact around July 1943 these were being removed in favour of more AA-guns abaft the conning tower. The original scenario states that it's not clear if either of the German boats had had this refit. The author suggests maybe rolling a 50/50 chance for each boat. With the refit the stats would be:

Q3 C3 - Short, Large, Under-Gunned

Note: In theory a sub should also have the Torpedoes trait, but within the context of any scenarios likely to feature one I think they're probably irrelevant. Add them as you wish. 

So what happened historically? The two sides discovered each other when U-375 almost collided with MTB 81. MTB 81 realised there were two German boats present and got in a torpedo shot at he second, U-561, sinking it. The other two MTB chased after U-375. One had a torpedo misfire and the other simply missed. U-375 submerged and escaped.

*The scenario says a partial moon, but doesn't specify the direction. I used THIS SITE to determine its direction. 

Balloon Busting In 'Spandau & Lewis'

I have been asked a couple of times to write up my ideas for balloon busting in Spandau & Lewis. It's only taken me two years to do it.

 
They are inspired by THIS THREAD on the Wings Of Glory Aerodrome, which whilst set up for a specific set of rules has some great bits and pieces for WW1 air gamers. Anyway, fire up your engines, put on your goggles and check that the rockets are strapped to your wings. We're going balloon busting!

Setup

Position 2-3 balloons within 12” or so of the opposite baseline. There should be about 12” between each balloon.

If the attackers are Allied and will be using Le Prieur rockets then you need to determine the facing of the balloons which is dictated by the wind. The balloons start the game facing the Allied baseline (the west, from which the prevailing wind blows). Then roll 4D6. Each roll of 1 or 2 rotates the balloons 45 degrees anticlockwise. Each 5 or 6 rotates them 45 degrees clockwise. Obviously each roll of 1 or 2 negates a roll of 5 or 6 (and vice versa).

(If the Germans are attacking and you need to know the facing of the Allied balloons then they should start facing the Allied baseline. But the Germans didn’t use rockets.)

Place 4 altitude markers next to each balloon.

Attacking Balloons

Balloons are static and can take 24 hits. They generally have two crew and count as a large target. Test for criticals as normal. Crew hits will affect the observers in the basket. Engine hits will automatically cause the balloon to catch fire.

In addition, after any attack on a balloon roll 2D6. If the hits came from a machine gun firing regular bullets take the highest score. If the hits came from Le Prieur rockets or from a machine gun firing incendiary ammunition take the lowest score. If the score of the selected dice is equal to or lower than the number of hits inflicted by the attack then the balloon catches fire.

As soon as a balloon catches fire and at the start of each subsequent firing phase roll a D6 for each balloon that is on fire. On a 4+ it explodes and is destroyed. Any plane within 2” of an exploding balloon takes a 3D6 attack, with a 6 scoring a hit.

Lowering Balloons

At the end of any turn in which a balloon has an enemy aircraft within 6", the ground-crew will try and pull it down. Roll a D6 on the table below; if the score for the year is achieved then one altitude marker is removed. When all four markers are removed then the balloon has reached the ground and can no longer be attacked. The rolls are:

1914-15 - 6
1916 - 5+
1917 - 4+
1918 - 3+

(The technology for lowering balloons progressed throughout the war, with the balloons being pulled down by hand at first, then teams of horses, then steam-engines and finally by petrol-driven winches. By the end of the war the balloon could be pulled down in minutes)

Anti-Aircraft Fire

If a plane (regardless of nationality) is within 6" of a balloon it is subject to AA fire, which takes place before regular shooting. This consists of a 2 dice attack on the aircraft, with a 6 scoring a hit. Criticals are tested as normal, but structural hits score an additional 1D6 damage. The attack is reduced to a 1 dice shot if the target is within 2” of the balloon or is a friendly aircraft.

Le Prieur Rockets

Certain Allied aircraft carry these weapons on their outer wing struts.

Rockets fire at close range only (up to 3"). They are treated as normal gunnery, and get the regular deflection modifiers for shooting into the balloon's front or rear arc. A plane has two volleys of rockets; you can fire one of them or both. The red dice for a single volley hits on a 5+, whilst that for a double volley hits on a 4+. White dice shoot with a -1. 

Scenario Ideas 

If you just want a simple solo game then you can fly one or two planes against balloons. Make it more challenging by having one or two enemy planes turn up at random. I'd limit their willingness to chase the attackers home though. If the attackers break off from attacking balloons (or shoot them all down) and are flying for home, end the scenario once they have got a certain distance away from the scene of the action.

The Battle of Junin

I threw together this silly scenario from the South American Wars of Liberation for 'Dominion of Napoleon Bonaparte'.

Junin (6th August 1824)

By 1824, the independence movement in South America was nearing its climax. After years of fighting, Royalist forces still held much of the Peruvian highlands. Simón Bolívar, having secured victories in the north, now aimed to liberate Peru entirely. He gathered a mixed Patriot army - including troops from Colombia, Peru, Argentina, and Chile - and marched into the central highlands to confront the royalist army under General José de Canterac.

Bolívar’s campaign was bold but risky. His army had to cross harsh, mountainous terrain and maintain morale and supply lines at high altitude. The Royalists, though suffering from desertion and logistical problems, still posed a serious threat. On 6 August, near Lake Junín, both armies spotted each other and prepared for a confrontation.

Interestingly, Bolívar was not present at the actual battle, having moved ahead with an advance guard. He left command to General José de La Mar and trusted his cavalry to hold the line if contact was made. The Patriot cavalry numbered around 1,000 and it faced 1,300 Royalist horse. What followed would be a purely cavalry engagement, fought at over 4,000 meters above sea level, with no infantry or artillery involved. 

Royalists: 6 x Light Cavalry

Patriots: 2 x unreliable Light Cavalry (Surprised), 2 x Light Cavalry, 2 x Elite Light Cavalry (Surprise Attacks)

Royalists (Attackers)

Light Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Light Cavalry
Light Cavalry	Light Cavalry	Light Cavalry
Light Cavalry (U)	Light Cavalry	Light Cavalry (U)
Light Cavalry, Light Cavalry (E), Light Cavalry (E)

Patriots (Defenders)

The battle began with a surprise Royalist cavalry charge, which initially routed the Patriot vanguard. Royalist horsemen pushed deep into the Patriot lines, seeming close to victory. However, the tide turned when a Patriot squadron under Lieutenant Colonel Isidoro Suárez, acting without orders, wheeled around and hit the Royalist cavalry from the rear.

Caught off guard and exhausted by the altitude and long pursuit the Royalists collapsed in confusion. The Patriot cavalry regrouped and counterattacked, driving the Spanish horsemen from the field. The entire engagement lasted less than an hour. Not a shot was fired.

Though not a massive battle, Junín was a vital morale boost. It crippled Royalist cavalry strength and paved the way for the decisive Battle of Ayacucho four months later.

(I gave this a quick run through and it was as wild and silly as you might expect)

How To Be A Pirate

My new Renaissance galleys will see a proper outing later this week, I hope. But having rebased all of my ships I thought I should get a few of them on the table as soon as possible. I was going to just set up a simple fight between a couple of ships, but I was also feeling inspired by this blog post from Small But Perfectly Formed.

Now Elenderil's post took an article on randomising threats in land-battles and adapted it for WW1 air-combat. I shall try them out for my own 'Spandau and Lewis' rules at some stage. But I wondered if I could apply a similar idea to Galleys & Galleons.

My idea was to run a pirate ship on a cruise. Other ships might appear, either merchant ships ripe for the taking, or warships looking to protect the merchants or rid the seas of a pirate. And this is how I thought I could run it:

(i) I worked out some simple ship designs, trying to keep the points about equal for each type (with one exception). These would be for the Pirate, Merchant Ships (small and large) and Warships (small and large). I then set up a table of possible encounters:

1 - Small Merchant
2 - 2 x Small Merchant
3 - Large Merchant
4 - Small Warship + Merchant (1-3 Small, 4-6 Large)
5 - Small Warship
6 - Large Warship

(I have Small Merchants at half the points cost of the other ships)

Obviously you can set this up to suit your own collection.

(ii) Set up a table with a few bits of terrain. Place the Pirate in a random corner, and three differently coloured counters in each of the three other corners.

(iii) The Pirate chooses the wind direction.

(iv) Take three more counters, each corresponding to the colours of the counters in the corners, and place them in the centre of the board. Roll a red and a white D6 for each counter. It is moves in the same direction as a line running from where the white dice falls to where the the red dice falls. The distance it moves is based on the die rolls:

White Dice - 1-2 Short 3-4 medium 5-6 Long
Red Dice - 1-2 1x 3-4 2x 5-6 3x

eg The dice fall so a line from the white to the red runs roughly NE. So the counter is moved in that direction. The white dice is a 3, so use a Medium stick, and the score on the red dice is a 4 so it is moved 2x Medium.

(v) There should now be three different coloured counters scattered across the board, each corresponding to a corner. If one is placed in impassable terrain then roll its position again.

(vi) Start the game as normal, except at the moment there's no opposing side. The Pirate moves first in each turn, however.

(vii) Whenever the Pirate passes within Short of a counter, it is resolved. Roll a D6:

1-3 - Nothing. The counter is removed, and so is the counter in the corresponding corner
4-6 - Sail Ho! Roll on the Encounter Table in Step (i). The ship or ships are placed within Long of the corner corresponding to the counter's colour and start moving on the opposing player's next turn.

Each encounter table roll can only appear once. If you roll a duplicate then roll again. If the first two counters are Nothing, then the third must be Sail Ho!, but randomly determine which corner the encounter appears in.

(viii) All opposing ships are treated as the same player, so if one fails two activations it ends that side's turn.

What do the opposing ships do? Merchant ships will always attempt to sail to the opposite corner than the one they entered from. Warships I would play with common-sense and some random decision-making. Their aim is to protect Merchant ships, but can also take the fight to the Pirate

And the objective? As the Pirate you certainly win if you can capture a Merchant ship and sail it off the board (or simply be in control of it if there are no opposing ships on the board after all counters are resolved). If you only get Warships, then a win is simply escaping them, by exiting from the same corner you started in. If you can sink or capture one, then that's really good. The Pirate loses if it is sunk or captured.

Obviously you should adapt the Encounter table to your own ship collection and how challenging you want to make the game. I am still considering how to add third-party forces - natives, other pirates or similar.

Let's try it for real ...

I will use the following ship profiles (nice and simple for a first game).

Pirate - Q2 C2 - 48pts - Square Rig, Razee, Swashbucklers
Small Merchant - Q3 C3 - 24pts - Square Rig, Merchant, Pilot
Large Merchant - Q3 C4 - 40pts - Square Rig, Merchant, Pilot, High Castles
Small Warship - Q2 C2 - 43pts - Lateen Rig, Drilled Soldiers, Master Gunner
Large Warship - Q3 C3 - 44pts - Lateen Rig, Drilled Soldiers, Master Gunner

I set up this terrain - the entrance to a bay, so two peninsulas and some shallows off the end of each. I started my ship - the Tortuga - in the bay, and set the wind. In each corner you can see a coloured counter, and each has a corresponding counter in the centre of the board.

I rolled for the blue counter. The line from white to red determined the direction, the roll of the white dice told me I was using a medium stick and that of the red dice dictated that it would be two medium stick distances.

I did the yellow counter next. The direction is towards the top left of the image, the white die showed that I should use the short stick and the red that, again, I should use two of them.

Finally the purple counter. The direction was bottom left, stick was medium and distance two sticks.

The encounter trigger counters in position.

I sent the Tortuga straight down the middle, aiming for the purple counter. With hindsight I should have gone for the yellow one first, as any ship that generated would have to come straight down into the confines of the bay to reach the opposite corner.

The roll. A 4 on the white dice indicated that it was a ship, whilst the 3 told me that it was a single large merchantman.

And here it is - the Pride of Bristol.

I headed toward the entrance to the bay, aiming to cut across the course of the Pride of Bristol. Although a merchantman, I felt a few shots, with the chance of a critical, would be in order before attempting to board.

I cut across the bow, but failed to score any damage. The Pride of Bristol failed to fire a shot in return.

We passed, and I fired another shot with no effect.

However a third broadside damaged the merchant's tiller. This forced it to expend most of its limited actions trying to turn to safety, as a shift in the wind saw it veering dangerously close to the shallows.

The Pride of Bristol set a course for safety, whilst I turned the Tortuga in pursuit.

The Tortuga had lost ground, but with the razee trait would soon make it up.

However the Pride of Bristol was now set on a course for safety, so the crew could concentrate on defending the ship rather than sailing it. They ran out their guns, and their first broadside damaged the Tortuga.

The Tortuga proceeded more cautiously, but managed to position itself for another rake which did no significant damage. The Pride of Bristol was now set to escape, and I let it go. There were two more counters and maybe they would provide easier prey.

I triggered the yellow counter ....

... and got a large warship, the Nimrod.

With one hit on my vessel already I didn't feel secure in engaging a warship, and triggering the final counter could just add to my woes, so I decided to run. The razee trait gave me an edge, but I had to risk sailing close to land to make a clean getaway; the wind direction meant that heading further out would involve tacking, and the Nimrod was coming up fast with its fore-and-aft rig.

A close shave ...

... but I made it, and escaped.

Not a great first outing - I ended up damaged with nothing to show for it. I moved the terrain a little and set the game up again.

Looking at the counters I decided that the blue one offered the best possibilities. but I had to take a roundabout route to get there, as heading straight towards it would take me too close to either the yellow or purple counters.

The blue counter was a dud.

I went for the yellow counter next, and sighted the sails of a small merchant vessel, the Pamela.

The wind was such that I had the weather-gauge. The Pamela either had to come straight up to where I was, or take a risky detour through the shallows. It chose the latter option.

I headed it off, firing a broadside as I did so.

The Pamela veered away, and I fired again. It started a fire.

The fire spread. Amazingly the Pamela didn't explode, and the crew efficiently extinguished both fires.

The Pamela was damaged now, so at risk of striking off a bad activation roll. I stayed close, but she was taking to make a run back to the main channel, and I had to tack to follow her.

I fired again, hoping to inflict some more damage and increase the chances of the Pamela striking, or cause enough hits to make taking her by boarding a foregone conclusion.

I rolled rather too well, inflicting enough hits to cripple the Pamela, but also a critical, which saw her holed below the waterline. Her crew took to the boats as she rapidly sank.

I made the long trip upwind to round the shallows, and bear down on the purple counter. It was nothing.

So both of my cruises were failures. I shall try again another day, maybe with some changes to the Tortuga's configuration.

The random generation of encounters worked fairly well, I thought, although it's relatively easy to trigger only one at a time. However the idea was that with ships mostly having to cross the centre of the board, I'd be forced to run past other counters in pursuit. I shall see if this is what actually happens in later games.

And maybe that title (chosen before I played either game) should be 'How Not To Be A Pirate'.