Sails of Glory going to Kick Starter soon.....

[Barthheart]

For all you  sea dogs out there....

http://www.aresgames.eu/7649

Welcome to Sails of Glory, a tactical Age of Sail game from Ares Games – makers of the acclaimed Wings of Glory system, with its innovative "maneuver deck" that allows for complex tactical wargaming with easy to use mechanics that keep the game moving.

The first Age of Sail series for Sails of Glory will be the Napoleonic Wars. Recreate historic engagements like The Battle of the Nile, The Glorious First of June, and Trafalgar, as well as exciting Frigate actions like the capture of Psyche by HMS San Fiorenzo or the battle of HMS Amethyst and French Frigate Thetis.

[mirth]

^That sounds great.

[Jack Nastyface]

...of course I have been following this since it was announced just over a year ago.  Admittedly, the pieces do look great but we've seen very little (read: nothing) on the rules.
On the "plus" side, this team has an excellent (IMHO) history with Wings of War / Wings of Glory.  They also chose wisely (again IMHO) by featuring primarily 74 gun-ships at this stage, a decision which reflects both the historical reality of the age, and will hopefully encourage players to engage in naval maneouvre warfare (much more interesting than 100-gun slug-fests). 
On the "negative" side it would have been nice to see the ships in the very common 1/1200 scale as opposed to 1/1000 scale.  Most of us age-of-sail grogs have got a few Langton models kicking about that I could have re-purposed.

[undercovergeek]

Reminds me of my WH Men O War brettonia fleet - looks great

Just need an opponent and a place to play it!

[Barthheart]

First day the KS campaign is live and they have already passed their funding target!.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1402889231/sails-of-glory-miniatures-ship-combat

[bayonetbrant]

you may want to amend the title of the thread.  I thought the Sails of Glory were headed to Kansas and couldn't figure out why there'd be naval combat in Stone Post Country

[RedArgo]

They've now passed their $160k goal which was captain and crew cards and are pushing towards the $175k which is two sets of stats for the ships.

They have also posted a couple videos on youtube showing how the basic movement and basic combat work.  I've never played a game like this and I'm looking forward to getting it in August.

I also found a site dedicated to the game sailsofglory.org.

[Jack Nastyface]

@RedArgo,
Over the years, I have owned probably 10+  age-of-sail games or rules.  One of the challenges of this melieu is that while it SEEMS interesting to game, it is often very difficult to manage as one has to keep track of things like wind, sail state, cannon load, range, crew quality and assignment, damage, movement and turning, navigation (shallows and shoals), etc, etc etc.  As a result, you tend to have two sets of rules:  those that are detailed and seek to provide the highest level of verisimilitude, and those that are simpler, and seek to provide a balanced and enjoyable gaming experience (also could be written:  there are two kinds of age-of-sail rules:  those where the British almost always win, and those that are fun and balanced to play from either side).

So far, this game looks like it will provide a fairly straight-forward and enjoyable gaming experience will little of the administrative nightmares associated with many other games of the period.  Although the self-styled Aubreys, Hornblowers, and Bolithos among us may end up complaining about the details, it is also likely that a host of "optional" rules will come out that add to the game as much as one wants.  Witness what happened with Warhammer Historical's "Trafalgar" rules (now defunct, by the way).

IMHO, I am especially looking forward to seeing the what the minis look like.  Admittedly, building 1/1200 scale age-of-sail ships is a bit of burden, and once complete, one is more terrified of losing a mast to fat-fingers instead of french chain-shot.

I am debating whether I should kick-start or not:  on the one hand, it's totally my thing.  On the other...I have over $150 in Wings of War stuff that never gets used.

If you think you can press-gang a few like-minded lads into the game, I would definately "watch this space".

[besilarius]

Jack, if you're concerned about losing sails and masts on 1:1200 scale ships, there is a reasonable answer.
GHQ miniatures used to have a small line of ships with cast masts and sails.  These just couldn't handle much abuse.
For the masts, most hobby stores have thin brass dowels.  These can be clipped to the desired size.  Use a pin press, or other small drill to increase the hole for the mast into the ship model.  Epoxy holds these very well.
For the sails, trim some good paper to the right shape and size, then douse with white glue.  Super glue to the brass masts.  Works very well, looks pretty good, and is easy to replace.

Another advantage of the brass masts is they can be honed to have a sharp point.  Newbs learn very quickly not to put their palms in the wrong place.

[Jack Nastyface]

@Besilarius
You wanna know how obsessive compulsive I am about this?
True story:  I once took two of my Langton models, yanked out the lead/pewter masts (which were firmly glued in place), drilled out a mast step, then replaced said masts with mentioned brass rods.  Then carefully cut out the yardarms/sail pieces from the original lead mast and glued then to the brass rod.  Everything FUNCTIONED well...but the single brass rod gave the model a completely a-historical look of having a mast built from a single, in-line section of wood.  It drove me crazy.

So out came the metal saw and file, and I cut seperate main, top, and gallant sections for each mast (using of course brass rods of slightly smaller diameter for each), filed a small flat section the end of each section, and then using very fine strand wire and glue, fished the mast sections together in proper "stepped" fashion.  Finished by glueing new yard and sail sections (originals were now hopelessly bent) to the mast, and did some (but not all) rigging.

That was five years ago.  I completed the fore and main of 1 ship.  I have yet build the the mizzen and bowspirit.  I fear the other ship I de-masted will be ever doomed to be used as a Trafalgar battle-damaged HMS Bellisle.

You have to be a naval grog to get that one...

[RedArgo]

Jack, I know from experience that I think I want complicated, but when I get it I find myself overwhelmed.  From watching the videos, I hope this will hit the sweet spot of fun and realism.  Plus, maybe my 12 yo boys will get into it.  As far as being Hornblower or Aubrey, I'm more like the 40 yo midshipman the Horatio comes across every so often. :)

[Cyrano]

OK, 'splain this to me:

No HMS Victory?

No Santisima Trinidad?

No Billy Ruffian?

I'll stick to my re-purposes "Pirates of the Spanish Main" plastics...I've got a faux sea-chest filled with them, each in their own ziplock bag, and can play the whole of Trafalgar for well less than $200.

Then again, when the lottery hits, a whole lotta Langton does sound appealing.

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[Jack Nastyface]

@Cyrano,
I am sure the Billy Ruffian will make an appearance...after 28 years of active service, I suspect she is still getting refitted, now. ;-)
However, IMHO it IS unfortunate that Ares is chosing to release "named" ships as opposed to generic ones.
I think the larger first-rates will make an appearance as soon as the game shows it's financial merits.  So very few age-of-sail games have been a commercial success that I am sure Ares is going to wait until the game proves itself on the market place before releasing the big ships.  Sort of like how the Millenium Falcon wasn't a first-run release with the Star Wars game, or bombers and ballons were released well after the pursuit planes with the WWI Wings of War.
I am still undecided on this.  I suppose I will buy the starter set, then see how the local gaming groups respond.

regards,

Jack Nastyface

[besilarius]

I know that most gamrs are most familiar with the Napoleonic navies of the Age of Sail, but as was mentioned above, truly historical rules give the british a significant advantage.
Have not looked this up in some time, but somewhere a look was given to single-ship actions, and the british won over 85% of them.  So they have a stacked deck if the rules are representative of the period.
A simple answer is to use the American Revolutionary time period.  The French were almost the equal of the brits.  They won Virginia Capes, and the Battle of the Saintes took an admiral who was far more advanced than his contemporaries to win a smashing victory.  (It also helped that the chivalrous French paid Admiral Rodney's debts so he could go to sea instead of rotting in prison.)
The good admirals and the poor admirals generally balanced the side's out.
The Saintes probably would not have been fought except that the ship of the line Zele (zealous) once again rammed one of her compatriots.  (One author reports that she averaged 2.5 collisions a month when at sea.)  De Grasse could have abandoned them and not hazarded the fleet, but chose to fight. 
Since Zele was bought by a subscription from the postal system, this may be the first case where you can use the term, "going postal", to represent a sad defeat.

[RedArgo]

No HMS Victory?

The Victory and the Constitution are supposed to be released in January 2014.  Don't know about the others though.