I've been hosting an American Civil War naval campaign for the past year and a half, and playing ACW naval games for several additional years. In that time, I've come to recognize that gamers demonstrate a remarkable predilection toward certain tactics, strategies or impulses that effect the play of the game. Some of these events were so silly that you'd think that having them happen once would be enough of a lesson.

What follows is a summary of these lessons -- for good or bad. They are offered in an attempt to educate ACW naval gamers and improve the quality of their play.

1 The life expectancy of a wooden ship in combat is measured In minutes.

The Russians proved it at Sinope during the Crimean War and the Confederacy at Hampton Roads during the American Civil War. Wooden ships just don't last against large caliber, shell-firing guns. But time and again in tabletop battles, gamers insist on charging ironclads with small wooden gunboats, expecting them to survive long enough to do damage. They are, to paraphrase Claude Rains in Casablanca, "shocked to find that wooden vessels can be destroyed in mere minutes."

2 Most of the gamers on your side are woefully more Inexperienced than their historical counterparts at maneuvering a ship.

Give them a wide berth lest they decide to liven up your day by ramming you, another classic blunder. I've seen defeat snatched from jaws of victory so often, it's tragic. The "usual suspects" are: Poor situational awareness (a.k.a. not paying attention to the game!); Movement orders that don't allow for the actions of teammates' ships; Poor understanding of the way your ship maneuvers on the tabletop. The first two are related. Good situational awareness means you are paying attention to your team mates' actions as much as the enemy's. The second problem can only be cured -- unfortunately -- with experience. The worst example I can cite was when three Confederate rams closed on the ironclad USS Essex. The rams missed the Essex and ended up ramming each other instead. The damaged was severe enough to warrant ending the game right there as a major Union victory!

3 Torpedo boats are not the nautical version of a lancer regiment.

I can't count the times I've seen torpedo boats used to "charge" the enemy like a WWII kamikaze. And just like a charging cavalry regiment, torpedo boats are usually shot up by artillery (i.e., ship's guns) before striking home. Look at the historical instances of successful torpedo boat attacks CSS David struck New lronsides and Cushing's spar torpedo attack on CSS Albernarleboth took place at night and targeted ships tied up at anchor. Yet, I continue to see attacks led by torpedo boats that inevitably end in disaster. The story's moral: Torpedo boats should be used on slow or stationary targets and need to approach under cover if possible.

4 Ironclads can reduce all but the strongest forts.

We all know Admiral Nelson said, "A ship's a fool to fight a fort." Perhaps because of this, many players give forts a wide berth. In fact, by the 1860s, they should close up and suppress the batteries and reduce the forts. The example of the Union navy at Port Royal, and Foote's gunboats at Forts Henry and Donnelson all show what ACW ships firing shells can do against weak fortifications.

5 The most Important characteristic needed to command a Monitor Is patience.

With their slow rates of fire and low movement rates, players running monitors need to take a long view of the game and have the control to wait until they close up on an enemy before firing. With the monitor's extraordinarily long reload times, these players need the ability to plan five turns in advance -- a difficult thing to do when most games typically last 10 turns.

6 Torpedoes and forts alone cannot stop a determined attacker.

Passive defenses can slow an attacker, but without ships of your own, you can't expect to stop the attacker without some form of divine intervention. If you are involved in a campaign situation, always attempt to use "combined arms" - torpedoes, batteries and ships -- on the defense.

7 Planning Is critical.

True about so many things in life, this is very apparent on the tabletop. Visualize where your ship will be not just this turn, but two or three turns down the road. Chess grandmasters plan many turns ahead, you should be able to handle at least three. Part of this should be handled with your pre-game planning session. This also goes back to # 2 above -- you need to be aware of the situation and plan accordingly. Victory usually goes to the side that makes the fewest mistakes. Planning is the easiest way to avoid making mistakes.

8 The myth of the cutlass.

Boarding is a dicey proposition, at the best of times, and a forlorn hope the rest of the time. I've only seen it done successfully once and that was the luck of the dice forcing a morale check. Boarding actions are more damaging for the boarder than the target 99% of the time. Having said that, boarding remains a good way to tie up an opponent at least for a few turns (if you don't mind losing your ship in the process).

9 Gamers tend to be "melee-ists" as opposed to "formalists."

I've rarely encountered a group that can enforce the discipline needed to adhere to the battle plan. Instead, most players seem to take the initial fleet formation as the start line for a charge to close with the enemy. If that is the fleet strategy, great! Typically, though, it is not a strategy at all. Like the folks at Alcoholics Anonymous say, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. A little discipline and patience go a long way.

10 Destroy your opponent's morale, then destroy their ships.

You've heard the saying: Victory goes to the side which can take the pain a little longer than the other guy. Many times I've seen games end, not because they were incapable of resistance, but because the players morale had broken. These are perhaps the best wins of all. You don't need to smash every ship if you get them to run away. This is perhaps the most difficult thing to achieve on the tabletop, but a worthy goal.

These 10 tips will not ensure victory. No set of maxims, laws or principles can do that. What the above ideas will do is reduce the likelihood of your losing a game due to faulty planning, careless execution of plans, or poor tactical choices. In turn, those will lead you to a more satisfying game where the outcome is the result of your battle plan and not the result of a careless accident.