It seems that my insistence on letting off a bit of steam has upset a few people. Well, that's tough. This time around, my bitch is about wargames shows where the middle of the room is dominated by a wargaming competition. No display or participation games, just competition. I'm thinking about the Devizes show at present, which, as it's nearest, we always attend. It also appeared that the number of traders down. Is this a sign?
Right, on to the review. As promised, it is Clear For Action, the Napoleonic Naval computer rules by Malcolm Smalley, available from Langton Miniatures.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was the bulky manual. Good. I always think that a big manual is a sign of effort. It runs to 82 pages plus fleet lists, over 100 in all. And all 82 pages are taken up with relevant material. Malcolm has clearly decided to expose the theory behind his calculations, rather than just give you some basic rule mechanisms, and for me, this works. It imbues a trust in the system, which on computer is essential. With book rules, you can see the mechanisms and can decide instantly if they are any use. Obviously, this is not so on computer. Full marks here.
Clear For Action
On to the game. Loading up was straight forward, and I quickly set up a two ship game. Setting the table up took longer, because the system works on a grid pattern which needs to be recreated with cotton, or the like. I used an old blue blanket, hammered some tacks into the wargames table (those of you using things the wife might like back will have to think harder) and attached said thread. I had the required boats - Langton, of course, as they give NA discount! - and I was away.
A picture of the table, which can be adjusted to fit your own, plus enough surrounding area to model the Caribbean, shows where your boats are. Terrain in the shape of four levels of shallows plus land itself allows you to fight even lake engagements. The set-up system allows you to position them where you will. As a hint, if you missed it in the manual, press F8 and see what happens.
Fighting couldn't really be much simpler. You access the ships, one player at a time. As you can have up to nine players a side, this is very versatile. There is also a delay between each side being accessed, meaning that it makes it obvious if you've tried to spy on the enemy. Orders consist of a drop-down menu which can be circumvented by key letters once you know your way around. For instance, if you want to turn right 90 degrees, then you simply enter starboard 90. There is no need to list the order options; if you can imagine it, then Malcolm already has. Once all the orders are given, a screen display separating the move into 20 segments shows ship movement. On slower machines this can be annoyingly slow for battles with over 20 ships, but for smaller engagements it's fine.
Having seen all your ships go the wrong way because you confused port and starboard, or you forgot the wind direction, the game goes on to firing. All the types of shot are available, including heated for shore batteries. The rules explain loading speeds so again you only have yourself to blame if you didn't put in the correct orders. The beauty of the grid system comes in now.
Having updated the position of your ships at the end of movement, you can sit back. The machine knows exactly where each of them is. It calculates who can see what, which guns bear, if they were loaded in time. The lot. You can fire whatever you like - crew permitting - reload what's available, send of chaps to get some more ammunition. Whatever. Gun crews will even nick shot from their opposite battery if they run low.
Having raked the Frenchies, you can then look through what damage they did to you, examining each ship in detail if you require. Any critical hits will also be displayed, and the loss of each officer reduces a ship's capacity to give orders, starting at 6 and ending at, well, you guessed it. A smaller, less detailed picture of each enemy can be accessed from which you can determine what damage you are inflicting. The balance here feels just about perfect.
Finally the machine calculates morale tests and brings up details of any boarding actions taking place. Keep a close eye out here, as there is a move delay between assigning boarders and their arrival in action. Naturally, one is able to dispatch ship's boats loaded to the gunwales with marines and seamen to sort out shore batteries, or in the case of Jonesy, to tow you off reefs.
Essentially, there is more to this game than a column this size can do justice to. Anybody who thinks they have properly experience Napoleonic Naval wargaming before - wrong. Simple as that. The detail is greater than any book set of rules and I bet I would have played a dozen games before you'd even mastered the written stuff. And then, it wouldn't be as good. I grant you, some periods are not as suited to the computer as others. However, this is one that screams out for it. If you like Naval gaming and you own a PC, frankly you'd be daft not to buy a copy.
Discounts
10% discount at Langton Miniatures, North Trendeal, Ladock, Truro, Cornwall TR2 4QQ. Finally, you can see Clear For Action in action at the Margam NA event over the August Bank Holiday weekend, put on by Langton Miniatures who will be in attendance. Jones and I will also be there on the Sunday with our Napoleonic 25mm Peninsula skirmish game. Come along and play at being Sharpe for an hour!
10% discount with the Painted Miniatures Company of 61 Harecroft Road, Wisbech, Cambs. PE13 1RL.
STOP PRESS! 20% (YES! 20%) discount with Anschluss Publishing of Rivendell, Wathen Way, Marsham, near Buxton, Norfolk, NR10 5PZ.
These firms deserve your support. Please quote your NA membership number when ordering.
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