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Saturday, 17 June 2017

My expanding Wargaming Library ... Fletcher Pratt Naval Rules

Courtesy of the History of Wargaming Project ran by the indomitable John Curry, but just as importantly coming highly recommended by both "Tim" and "Bob", I have (finally) purchased the infamous Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame Rules of WWI and WWII (see below):


Purchase number two was the prerequisite "golf tees" to be used inverted as "splash markers" in teh game (see below):


The shape of things to come "a straddle" (see below):


Time to depart to the loft to dig out the 1:1200 Airfix "Sink the Bismarck" and Revell "Battleship series" waterline models!
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2 comments:

  1. Ian19 June 2017 at 10:07

    I've heard of these - you nominate distances and get your damage thereafter?

    I understand the RN used it to model the River Plate battle a few years before it happened and it suggested an identical outcome ( 3 cruisers beat a pocket battleship). That couldn't happen under 'Avalon Hill - Jutland rules' as you can only engage ships of the same class or less with them.

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  2. Geordie an Exiled FoG21 June 2017 at 20:15

    Hello Ian,

    Yes you get to give an "estimate" of the range in inches and direction with a shooting arrow (you never get to exactly measure things as that is done by an impartial umpire). Spalshes are marked where the shots land. White for misses and reds for hits. The straddle (or pattern) can carry across the model .. a hit is a hit, shorts are miss and close overs would also hit. Damage points are deterministic, but armour can reduce damage depending upon penetration calibre/armour inches. There is real Fog of War in the proceedings, especially if several are shooting at one. (Which shell splashes are mine?) Analogue computation which gives a good game and not bad simulation.

    The skill level has been shown to be in the handling of the light forces (typical commands going to real ocean going captains in the early 1940's New York ball room "events"). Professions with "good eyes" (seamstresses and carpenters) were viewed as excellant captains for battleship commands, whom sail straight and shoot!

    The rules are both fun and contain an endorsed level of authentism (from the US Naval War College) in that their none dice based mechanisms provide a very good sim,ulation to the "Big Gun Era". Theer was no catastrophic (battle cruiser explousion rules) as the emphasis was teaching on valid tactics as oposed to being "lucky with the dice".

    A good read that I intend to pass onto you :)

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