Prevailing Winds

Sailing Ship Rules

by Dick Bryant

Prevailing Winds is a new set of sailing ship rules, by J. Moulton, for small ship actions. The ten page rule book is printed in an 8 1/2” x 11” spiral-bound format, and comes with three pages of charts as well as ship record sheets for all of the vessels involved in the Burlington Races battle on Lake Ontario. Besides the attractive cover photo of the U.S. privateer Rambler, there are several color photos of battle scenes included on the pages of the rules, which add a nice touch.

The game is intended for 15mm ships and crews, so is a fresh change from the Nth set of rules for Trafalgar-type battles, with masses of ships of the line. The scale for movement is one knot equals two inches. Vessels move as per their relationship to the wind, their sail setting, and strength of the wind. A die roll each turn can add a speed bonus as well. A wind chart is included which clearly illustrates a vessel’s position to the wind and how it is affected. Prior to moving, players draw from a deck of playing cards. Depending on its size, each vessel receives two or three cards.

During the movement phase these cards will determine the order in which each vessel may move and fire. As in Avalon Hill’s boardgame Regatta, and the wargame rules Heart of Oak, there are two legs of movement to a game turn. Square-rigged vessels may turn up to 45 degrees per leg, while a fore and aft-rigged vessel may make two such turns per leg. The turning rules also specify that vessels should swing by the stern, not by the bow, when turning. There is also a 25% speed penalty for each turn.

The ship charts list the quantity and caliber of guns on each vessel. A 20-sided die is thrown for each gun, with the gunnery chart showing probability and damage inflicted. Hits are recorded by checking off boxes on the ship charts. If in range, marines and sharpshooters may fire muskets and rifles at individual targets as well. The only drawback to the ship charts is that no conversion data is included in the rules in case players want to add vessels other than those engaged in the struggle for Lake Ontario; however, there is an email address listed for in case anyone has questions. I’m sure the author will be able to offer some hints on more exotic craft, etc.

The rules cover just about every aspect of fighting small ship actions, including boarding, in a very simple manner. They are easy to learn, flow well, and don’t claim to be accurate, just fun. They would be an excellent starting point for any armchair Horatio Hornblower.

Although geared to the War of 1812, the charts include melee, fire, morale, and boarding capabilities for a number of nationalities. With these rules players can use Danish gunboats to pin a British brig in shoal waters, chase pirates off of Mobile with Midshipman Francis Hoyt Gregory, or perhaps lead Captain Porter’s Mosquito Fleet to do battle with Cuban pirates and slavers. For small scale actions, the possibilities are endless.

Prevailing Winds is available for $20.00 from Thoroughbred Figures, which also sells 15mm ships and crews. Their website is at http://thoroughbredmodels.simplenet.com.

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