Form Line of Battle 3

Age of Sail Naval Rules

review by Daniel Nelson

by David Manley
Naval Wargames Rules for the Age of Sail 1650 to 1820

If you’ve been looking for Age of Sail rules that are detailed yet easy and quick to play your ship has come in. FLoB3 enables you to command from one small vessel up to a squadron of Ships of the Line during the Dutch Wars through the Napoleonic era. The basic rules are quick to learn and have a nice flow to them, covering a great deal realistically yet simply. The word “elegant” comes to mind.

Some of the many sections included are admiral, captain and crew quality with national and period modifiers, rules for oared warships, different ammunition types, critical hits, shore batteries and shore parties, boat operations, mortars and bomb vessels, running aground and refloating, bursting guns, fires, collisions, fouling, lost and fallen masts, grappling, boarding, anchors, drifting, towing, jury rigging, signalling, weather effects, weather changes and wind shifts, night, fog, fire ships and Algerine ships for those wishing to refight some of the US Navy’s early actions in the Mediterranean.

As much as the rules cover, they have been written with the philosophy that they should be as realistic as possible while keeping the system as simple as possible, allowing the players to concentrate on tactics rather than “fighting the rules”. The multilayer migraine headaches I used to get from other rules don’t happen with FLoB3 and that leaves plenty of room for fun. Even larger games (20+ ships per side for me so far) move along smoothly without bogging down. My group played Minorca 1756, where 12 French defeated 13 British, through to the bitter end in 5-6 hours on a Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. That’s not bad considering 1/3 of the players didn’t know the rules when play began. I find it easier to win that way.

FLoB3 uses an open table with measured distances, staying away from grids or hexes, and there are no written movement orders. Each game turn consists of a command phase and two action phases per side, the sequence determined randomly with playing cards. Ship turning is done at the end of movement (so plan ahead) using a provided turn indicator. The random movement system is quite neat. Each ship gets a number of movement dice determined by wind direction and any mast damage sustained. It’s easy to figure out via the provided wind attitude indicators. There are two, one for the pre-1700 Dutch Wars and one for post-1700 to model the different handling characteristics of ships of the various periods. “Water ballets” of rigid formations at regimented speeds are eliminated with this system and collisions are a danger when sailing close to other ships. I should add that ships can be out of position during setup and this can add some wonderful complications to a player’s day. How many historical accounts have you read where ships were lagging or just not where they were supposed to be when the battle started?

Gunnery is calculated by comparing the firer’s current broadside rating to the target’s current hull rating. Modifiers are considered and a die roll is referenced on the broadside table to determine damage inflicted. Damage and each ship’s condition are recorded on paper. When a ship’s broadside factor reaches zero she strikes. If her hull factor reaches zero she begins sinking. Both starting factors are determined by referencing the size of the ship on a provided chart that thoroughly covers from 1650 to 1820. This makes putting together historical or “what if” battles a breeze.

I especially like the admiral, captain, and crew rating system with national and period modifiers. The British are typically better without being treated as supermen, one of my primary complaints with other rules. The Brits don’t win just by showing up and they can and do lose, especially when I’m playing them. I also like it that FLoB3 doesn’t fixate on the Napoleonic era, a real treat for a rare bird like myself who enjoys fighting battles from 1739-1762 with an occasional Dutch War or WSS fight thrown in. National characteristics are differentiated in detail with Britain, Netherlands, United States, France, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Naples, and Russia rated during the Dutch Wars, SYW, Pre-French Revolution, and Post-French Revolution periods as appropriate. Admirals, captains, and individual ship crews all have quality ratings determined by die rolls. Admiral quality effects where and when each side sets up during the prebattle maneuvering (windward vs leeward, etc, just the thing for campaign games) and whether or not signals are understood, captains can be inspiring, normal, or despised and effect their crews accordingly, and crew quality influences initial placement stationkeeping, gunnery, and a ship’s willingness to get in close to the enemy.

Regarding signals, FLoB3 offers a sample 90 item signal book. Combining them or your own with the optional Command and Control rules makes for a challenging and enjoyable experience because flown signals aren’t always understood. Adding in multiple players per side only enhances the fun. Another thing I particularly like is an optional “morale check” to get squadrons and individual ships to close with the enemy. As I study the period I find that a captain willing to lay close alongside the enemy wasn’t as common as I first thought. After Toulon in 1744 11 British captains were cashiered for not closing, and Suffren’s frustration with his disobedient captains when he faced Hughes off India is well known. FLoB3 does a good job of capturing that part of the period without unduly slowing things down.

David has done a fine job and FLoB3 is a superb set of rules. I highly recommend them. The author has a site devoted to the rules at: http://www.btinternet.com/~david.manley/naval/formline/formline.html Available for $14.98 from Brookhurst Hobbies. http://www.brookhursthobbies.com 12188 Brookhurst St. Garden Grove CA 92840

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