Broadside II is a program for Napoleonic naval battles with miniatures. The version received for review is for MS-DOS on an IBM compatible pc with EGA or VGA graphics. Versions are also available for AMIGA, ATARI and Acom Archimedes.

Broadside II automates rules details that normally require table lookup or calculations in printed rules. Broadside II does not track ship positions, so it avoids all the problems that would be involved in trying to update the computer each turn for the exact movement of each ship. The current version of the program can handle upto 32 ships and shore installations. Broadside also offers the option of using a printer to provide hard copy of ship status and movement information.

A second advantage of using computer resolution is that it allows more complex models to be used in the simulation. Where most Napoleonic naval rules assign a single overall crew quality, these rules rate crews separately for morale, ship handling, gunnery and melee abilities. Different calibers of guns and carronades are treated individually for ranges and effects rather than being abstracted into long gun and carronade factors. With the computer doing the calculations, there is negligible additional work required from the players to deal with these additional details. Limited intelligence due to inability to study charts and to know exact damage results is also realistic.

The current compass heading for each ship is entered at the start of the movement phase. This plus the current sail setting as tracked by the computer gives the current movement rate for the ship. The computer displays the movement for each ship with the option to print it if a printer is available. The ship must move the full distance specified each turn with no way to reduce movement, i.e. there is no backing sails. Movement per turn is based on initial heading. The game uses 6 different radius turn gauges (included) based on ship speed and rating. The program calls out the minimum size turn gage to use. The computer shows diagrams for current sails.

Allows more ships to be added to limited number inclucled. Movement orders for each ship must be written ahead based on crew shiphandling quality. The best crew writes orders for the current turn while the worst must write 3 turns ahead.

Other decisions the players must make for each ship are crew transfers and allocation, type of load and firing by battery. Guns are fired and loaded by battery (up to 20 guns of the same caliber on the given side of a ship. There is no continuous broadside as in rules like HEART OF OAK. Guns cannot be fired again until reloaded which normally requires more than 1 turn. Damage results are reported as Major, Minor or No damage to the firer. The owning player of the target ship can determine the actual damage by inspecting his ships data. Ships appear to require several turns of fire before they are put out of action, so there should be adequate opportunity for fire and maneuver using the rule.

I did encounter some minor problems with the game. I was only able to install it in the default directory. It failed when I tried to install it in a subdirectory. The game also bombs if you try to abort at the wrong place. Other complaints include the fact that new scenarios can only be saved on floppy and that you can't correct an error in selecting battery to be fired during gunnery phase. The game assumes player honesty (or use of a referee) to avoid looking at other players info.

Broadside II uses 1:2400 ground scale. It can be played with either 1:1200 or 1:2000 ships . The game is manufactured by Computer Conflict, 42 Hastings Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7SP, UK. It is available in the US from Historical Pursuits, PO Box 9462, Fayetteville, NC 28311 (910) 822-1813. US price was not quoted but should be around $25. ROD BURR