Way back in issue 61 of The Courier I did an article on gunnery rules. At the time I was just using history to improve upon someone else’s rules. As I did more research I realized that I could write my own rule set based on the many primary sources I had discovered. It took a few years to develop, but the basic gunnery system I developed has not let me down. Naturally, my focus is on being a single-ship captain, not an admiral, so the Nth version of someone’s beer and pretzel rules don’t do it for me. When my vessel fires a broadside I want it to recreate exactly the same damage its real counterpart would do. Having broken down many small historical actions I was able to come up with a system which takes into account the average gunnery capabilities of most national navies during the Age of Sail. When this is added to the type of vessel firing and the range from which vessels are firing, plus the defensive capabilities of their targets, a very accurate simulation becomes possible. I’ve included a couple of historical scenarios featuring American privateers, plus a few charts to allow those interested to refight those battles with Yardarm to Yardarm. I’m purposely not addressing such issues as how to come up with a vessel’s Fire Factor, plus a few other things, so as to keep these trial scenarios as simple as possible. They are meant for fun, but if played within the parameters they should give a result close to the real thing. Defensive Value The British measure of tonnage for each vessel is its Defense Factor. In the case of ships of the line, razees, all ships with two gun decks, American-built frigates of more than 1200 tons, and any warship of 1400 or more tons, double the ship’s tonnage. In the case of French-built ships of 1200 or more tons, classified as frigates, multiply the tonnage of the ship by 1.8. Tonnage was a crude system for determining cubic measurement of vessels, but it works very well to show the relationship between space and crew casualties. Men did not have to be on an open deck to become casualties. Cannon balls could, and often did, penetrate the hulls of vessels causing casualties below decks. Maneuver I’m not happy with any systems I’ve seen for moving ships. The accuracy with which ships are maneuvered is nearly as important as gunnery. I make that statement because this is a wargaming magazine, not a yachting magazine. I am currently working on a movement system which will satisfy me as much as my gunnery system. How long it will take I can’t say. I’ve jury-rigged a movement system for these scenarios, but if anyone is serious about playing more games of YtY, before I come up with my final movement system, I would suggest using the movement charts from Heart of Oak. Purists may want to divide Heart of Oak’s movement amounts by 1.2 to account for the 1/1000 scale of that game over mine. No, these are not beer and pretzel rules, but the focus of Heart of Oak is on larger battles, and my aim is to show very accurate damage for ship-to-ship battles. I should also point out that Heart of Oak’s movement system is based on one minute moves, as is Yardarm to Yardarm. The difference is that Heart of Oak requires vessels to wait between three and seven minutes to be able to fire a full broadside. When you figure that the average navy of the period fires at 35% of what the British Royal Navy would fire, when using the same vessels, it would take a long time to complete a battle if movement was based on 1/1200 scale at one minute per game turn. Yardarm to Yardarm basically uses a scale of 1/6000 at five minutes per game turn. That way vessels don’t have a tendency to run out of the playing area, while no nationality must wait to fire a full broadside. For these scenarios I will give a movement speed for each vessel. No changes of wind speed or direction will occur to keep things simple. For those who have never played a sailing game, I will use the image of a clock to explain sailing attitudes. Assume that the bow of the vessel is pointed directly at 12. Running means that the wind is coming from 5 to 7 o’clock off of the stern. Quarter reaching means the wind will be coming from the area between 7 and 8:30 on the larboard (left or port) side and between 3:30 and 5 on the starboard (right) side. A beam reach is when the wind is coming from between 9 to 9:30 on the larboard and between 2 and 2:30 on the starboard side. A square-rigged vessel is said to be beating against the wind when it is between 9:30 and 10 on the larboard side and 2 to 2:30 on the starboard side. A fore and aft-rigged vessel is said to be beating against the wind when the wind is coming from 9:30 to 10:30 on the larboard side, and 1:30 to 2:30 on the starboard side. When the wind is coming from between 10 and 2 a square-rigged vessel cannot move forward. It must tack across the wind. Between 10:30 and 1:30 a fore and aft-rigged vessel cannot move forward, but must tack. To keep it simple, vessels must begin their game turn in a beating attitude if they are to tack. Instead of dividing the move of the vessel tacking in two, it will not move forward, but will swing its bow directly into the eye (12 o’clock) of the wind. That act completes the vessels move for that game turn. For the sake of the scenarios enclosed in this article, all tacks are successful. At the beginning of the tacking vessel’s next game turn, the bow will be moved to the closest beating attitude, away from the eye of the wind, and the vessel will be moved forward one half of beating speed. That completes the vessel’s movement for that game turn. On succeeding game turns, the vessel may move at full speed and be may turned as in a normal game turn. For moving straight ahead, check vessel’s angle to the wind, and in all scenarios that angle will start at 6 o’clock, which starts all vessels running before the wind. Place a metric ruler adjacent to the stand your vessel is on and move it the full amount listed in the scenarios for the correct wind angle. Vessels may be turned up to the full turning allowance each has for its size and the speed it is going. Unlike other rules, YtY uses points to turn. That is to say that a real point, in the days of sail, was 11.25 degrees. A protractor and ruler will help here. In another issue I will supply plans for a simple turning device, like I use. Movement is in three steps. Step one, move the vessel one half its allotted speed for wind and attitude. Step two, if you want to turn your vessel check the turning chart to see how many points you can turn for that particular vessel, at that speed, and attitude to wind. For these scenarios I will assign the correct amount of points each vessel may turn. In future issues I will provide the Turning Chart. You may turn none, part, or all of the points allowed for the situation. If you can turn 4 points (45 degrees), and want to, rotate the vessel, using a protractor or turning device, the full 45 degrees. If you don’t plan to turn, skip step two. In step three you move the other half of your move, regardless of your attitude to the wind (unless you accidentally turn the vessel into the wind, in which case you stop). The momentum from the previous half of the move will carry the vessel through at the same speed at which it started its move. In succeeding moves, check attitude of vessel, if turned, and move at the new rate dictated by the vessel’s new relationship to the wind. The Turning Chart is my first step in making up my own movement rules. It’s simple, but it was based on actual sailing tests in the 18th Century. Turning circles are okay, but a vessel makes a tighter turn when traveling slower, so you would need so many turning circles, they would take up all the space on the table. Game Sequence I plan on developing a move-counter-move system later, but for now players will record their orders in advance before each game turn. Vessels may fire (once) at any time in a game turn. In succeeding game turns, they must move before firing. Thus, a vessel can’t fire at the end of one game turn, then fire without moving at the start of the next game turn. All movement is considered to be simultaneous. I plan on keeping speeds at a minimum so that vessels will tend to stay close to one area. After movement and fire each side does a check of damage. If any critical hit rolls or surrender rolls need to be taken, this is the time to do it. If no one surrenders, begin the order writing for the next game turn. In later issues I’ll include rules for wind strength and direction changes. These changes would come before the next game turn to give players a chance to look up possible new speeds, etc. Firing Now we get to the meat and potatoes of the game. In YtY each vessel is given a Fire Factor at the beginning of each game. That fire factor NEVER changes! How do you account for guns being destroyed and the effects crew casualties would have on fire? Well, in all my research I have never discovered a relationship between ship damage and how many guns were knocked out. I certainly saw the results of crew casualties on firing capability, though. I didn’t sweep it under the carpet. I just decided that figuring out new Fire Factors every time a vessel takes hits would turn players into accountants rather than captains. My first system did account for gun losses, then I realized that my data for the system usually had some foreign force fighting the British, or if not, they were fighting someone who did fight the British, and I figured out how to factor it in. In the old system not only would enemy ships have their Fire Factors reduced by damage, but the Brits would as well. I just decided to base starting fire power on what the average fire power would end up to be at the completion of a ship-to-ship action. I tried it with over a hundred actions, testing most national navies of the period. By reducing the Fire Factors I was able to come up with the same results as before, but not have to refigure Fire Factors every time. Just think of the concept of letting a four man stand of infantry stay on the table and fight at 100% of its original capability until all four men are killed and the stand is removed. Sure I’ll take flak for it, but it’s easy and it works, and the British had their factors cut back so that everything works out well. It’s how something ends up that’s important; and if it comes out to be historically accurate, and is less taxing, then why not? Yardarm to Yardarm represents 5 minutes of actual time for each game turn. All vessels in range can fire once every game turn. Modifiers have been designed to show the quicker reload times of carronades. In normal actions, outside of these scenarios provided, a vessel would have its Fire Factor for Pistol Shot Range, but depending on the other ranges Fire Factors could be split. That is to say a frigate carrying mainly long guns would have a long gun Fire Factor and a carronade Fire Factor to make it easier to use modifiers when the range of carronades and long guns would be different for various ranges. For sake of simplicity, vessels armed primarily with carronades add any long guns they carry into their factor. That means that at Pistol Shot Range those long guns are getting the benefit of carronade reload modifiers. By the same token, at Musket Shot Range those long guns are getting a modifier of .3 because they are tied in with the carronades. It makes it very much easier to keep the Fire Factor the same, and it all works out in the end. In future issues of The Courier I will include information for determining Fire Factors. It’s really quite easy, but I don’t want to scare anyone with a lot of math. Most math in the game is handled before the game, so that firing and adding up damage is about all the math that has to be done. It doesn’t take long, and it’s accurate. Damage and Surrender Points When a vessel has been fired on, the controlling player of that vessel will record the low damage points on a sheet of paper. He will need to keep a running tally and add the damage points his opponent informs him his vessel has taken in that firing sequence. How to fire is on the Gunnery Table. Once the controlling player of the target ship has added up his damage he checks for Surrender Points. These are gained in various ways. Some will be included in later issues. To check for Surrender Points the controlling player simply divides the total low damage his vessel has received since the start of the game by the tonnage of his vessel. He now multiplies that figure times his original crew complement. This figure will give him his current percentage of casualties. (It also shows him how many men are actually casualties so that they can be deducted from any boarding action. Boarding rules will come later.) For every 5% casualties he must mark down one Surrender Point on his tally sheet. He then adds his current Surrender Points together to see if he has enough to roll for surrender. Each nationality has a level of Surrender Points gained at which they must roll to see if they must surrender. When that level is reached the controlling player must immediately roll two percentage dice for surrender. Each nationality has a threshold number which can save the vessel from surrendering if rolled within the limits. If the controlling player rolls enough to save his vessel, he must roll every time a new Surrender Point is taken both at and beyond the number of Surrender Points assigned as the beginning rolling point for each nationality. Thus, if an English brig reaches 14 Surrender Points in the damage assessment phase, the controller rolls two percentage dice. If he rolls 54 or better, his ship does not surrender that game turn. If, however, the English brig reaches a number of Surrender Points greater than 14, let’s say 17, all in one game turn, the controlling player must roll four times (for 14, 15, 16, and 17). If he fails to roll better than 54 on any roll his ship immediately surrenders. If he rolls over 54 then he will not have to roll for surrender until the vessel takes 18 Surrender Points. Critical Hits When players are checking for percentages of loss due to damage, they must roll on the Critical Hits Chart once for each 5% of low damage they take. This will automatically add more Surrender Points, so be sure to record them. Example of Checking for Damage: In the sample firing on the Gunnery Chart, U.S.S. Enterprise scored 47.57 points against an enemy at Pistol Shot Range. Had that enemy been the H.M.S. Halcyon (brig-sloop) 14-24#c, 2-6# 298 tons, crew-94. The British controlling player would have gotten out his trusty pocket calculator and divided 47.57 by 298. The result, .1596 x 94 (Halcyon’s crew) is 15 casualties. Halcyon marks down 3 Surrender Points for casualties. The result went over 15%, but Surrender Points are given out in increments of 5% for crew casualties. Halcyon must also roll three times on the Critical Hit Chart, which will result in more Surrender Points. This assumes that Halcyon had already fired back at Enterprise, since damage assessment takes place after both sides fire. Measuring Ranges When a vessel is firing at a target, measure the distance between the center of the firing vessel’s broadside, and the closest point on the target vessel. Instead of using rulers and tape measures I use a thin piece of balsa wood marked off for Pistol Shot, Hailing Distance, Musket Shot, and Cable’s Length ranges. By painting each bracket a different color it makes if easy to tell your range without looking at a ruler. When opponents are not in agreement over the correct range bracket to use, due to the fact that the measurement could go either way, have the non-phasing player roll an average die. 3 or 4 means firing player must use the more distant range of the two disputed. 2 or 5 means the firing player gets to use the closer of the disputed range brackets. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #84 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com