This game is produced by Battleline Publications, the ones that did SEVEN DAYS, which was reviewed by Richard Hamblen in PF #63. Like its predecessor it comes in a 11"x14"x1" box and has a 22"x28" unmounted mapboard of light but stiff cardboard. There is no terrain on the board, just white hexes against a blue background, and each hex has a 4-digit number in the center. The unit counters, representing individual ships, are 1"x~" die-cut, and come in red (British), blue (French), pink (Spanish), and light blue (American). They are neatly printed and cut on one large (10 3/4 x 13" sheet. The rules booklet contains eight 8 1/2 x 11" pages, there is a 4-page folder of scenarios, a pad of 30 Hit Record&Log Sheets, one sheet of charts and one sheet containing an example game and designer's notes. Design credit, by the way, goes to S. Craig Taylor.
In case you've missed or ignored the ads for this game, it is a board game about, as the subtitle says. "Naval warfare during the age of fighting sail, 1793-1815". It is basically a qame for two players, each commanding a single ship or small squadron. It can be played, however, by more players, each with his own ship or squadron. The game includes a large number of scenarios, each being a simulation of a real naval engagement, from singleship duals and multiple ship actions to fleet actions like Trafalgar.
W.S.&I.M. plays more like a miniatures game than like most board games. Many of its facets are quite reminiscent of our Guidon Games miniatures rule booklet for sailing ships, DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP. However there are also many points of difference and I doubt that the game's designer borrowed from D.G.U. T.S. His firing procedure is totally different - in some ways more realistic.
For instance he covers the uses of different types of ammunition (ballshot, chainshot, grapeshot and doubleshot) and differentiates between hits on the hull and hits on the crew. (Hits can also be made on the rigging, as in D.G.U.T.S.) His system does not take into account the size of the guns a ship carries, but this is partially covered by giving extra gun factors to ships with larger guns. His system fails to take into account, however, that different sized guns have different ranges (He does, of course give different ranges to different types of ammunition).
All in all I'd say (though I have yet to have an opportunity to play the game) that it simulates the tactics and weapons of naval warfare in the era of the French Revolution and First Empire very well. Like D.G.U.T.S. it uses simultaneous (pre-written) movement , allows for boarding, varying speeds depending on the ship's relation to the wind's direction and numerous other incidentals.
The numerous scenarios (and you can make up your own, too) make the game very flexible as to playing time, complexity, and number of players it can handle. If you're at all interested in the subject this game is well worth the $8.00 price.
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© Copyright 1974 by Donald S. Lowry
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