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new demo and play in 1/700


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#1 Aman

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Posted 11 December 2012 - 08:05 PM

To increase the eye candy factor as well as speed play for a new group of players, I switched to plastic / resin ship models in the 1/700 scale and switched to DDs and smaller for games to get started. There are plenty of excellent kits and between on-line discounters and trades, I got them for $5-10 for many of the smaller ships. The Tamiya, et al, Waterline series, is particularly good.

With each player commanding a DD or two and 2 Fletchers 1 Mahan v. 2 Kagero 1 Akatsuki, we had our first game using 1"=100y. It played well on a 6x10' table, but we still feel that we'll switch to the 1cm=100y next time to enhance the Detection/Acquisition phase and give some more room to maneuver.

The players were very happy with the ships, which are about twice the size of a 1/2400 BB and of course Detection / Acquisition is the same ranges regardless of ship size. As we're fighting out the night battles of the Solomons, D/A is the most important part of the game.

Even in the same Division / Formation, We went with 4 D/A attempt per flagship by ship's quarter, which represents the watches 'seeing something' or thinking they do, as well as confirmation and reaction by the Captain / crew. That didn't feel right, so next game I'm going to moderate more and give each ship / player four D/A per ship by quarters (90 degree arcs bow/stern, port/starboard), then inform players of success by note.

The rest of the rules plays out just fine. We used the optional D20 instead of D12, and then made that per barrel to make the rules more intuitive as well as let everyone who had 5 barrels simplify their lives. USN rapid-fire gunnery is pretty brutal, I'm tempted to put in an "Up 1" penalty whenever it is used, but it may also have been superior rolling by the USN side. Still, the Fletcher DDs are pretty tough if they're close enough to shoot guns b/c of the "R+" radar and rapid-fire.

I've been reading lots of memoirs and such, and USN gunnery doesn't really seem very effective. Instead of better hits on rapid-fire, I'm tempted to go with an "Up 1" bonus instead. In short, my reading indicates a USN commitment and love of firepower that incorrectly equates big booms with damage and hits. Same mistake was made on land, btw.

I recommend both the scale and the night actions for an exciting and visually appealing game. The players were perfectly happy as captains of one ship or two, and liked the models a lot. I think this would make a great demo scale/scenario. Plus, I think it's just a lot more fun to assemble and paint these ships than 1/1200 or 1/2400.

Next time we're changing the D/A rules a bit and continuing with more DD and smaller ship classes in the Solomons. I'm trying to get some PT boats, I've already acquired both Tamiya kits for barges/tugs and transport ships, they'll act as mission purpose in the next scenario. The guys like the game, and I'm encouraging them to read the game charts I supplied and buy the rules. As a technical challenge type of warfare, I think GQ3 does a good job balancing game and reality, but still needs too much managing by the Gamemaster. In short, it is a rewarding system to get into, but not for new gamers. A veteran gamer who is new to naval warfare should be fine.

I am also interested in the WWI rules, but that will have to wait!

#2 gregoryk

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Posted 29 December 2012 - 01:04 PM

Aman — I have referree'd games at conventions with novice players and had no problem. It is relatively simple to learn. And plays very quickly, in contrast to other systems, glad you are having fun, perhaps you could take some pictures to post next time?

#3 Cpt M

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Posted 06 January 2013 - 06:20 AM

I know of one group that did something similar. They use plastic 1/700 kits and use 1" = 100yds with the turn enlarged x2.5. They play almost exclusively night actions with this scale since the ranges are much shorter (a daylight action with a 24000yd (20 real feet) range is a little unwieldly). Really looks nice..

#4 Aman

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 09:51 PM

did second demo at the FLGS. Was advertised at the stores site and weekly email, but I expected nothing but the few specific historical guys to show up and play (the store is mostly Magic, with WarmaHordes and FoW the main mini games, some Malifaux too). Boy, was I surprised! I ended up with 9 people and two of us had to sit out as there were only seven ships.

Game went well, everyone had fun, one guy is buying 1/700 ships to play! Table size was only 8x6, so I used the 1ooy=1cm scale to allow the Detection / Acquisition phase of the game to play out a bit. And of course at some ridiculous ranges they rolled 1s and 2s and mutually detected AND acquired each other! Quite a day for the USN. I had to throw in my LW Izuzu AA CL as I was maxing out on the ships I prepared. It didn't do a lot of damage with 4 barrels of AA guns, but the ship soaked up damage as the lead vessel of the Division, so helped a bit. Turned out to be a marginal IJN win as USN gunnery dice let them down badly on several occasions.

I used 1d20 / barrel, and gave rapid fire 11, 12, and 13s for 1, 2 & 3 hits, just to continue the system of the chart. The USN had several broadsides of 5 rapid-firing guns at 1+-3 result in just one hit. Meanwhile, one Fletcher took two torpedoes into the bow and managed to limp away to tell the tale at 5 knots, guns blazing. The other Fletcher got trashed while the DivCommanders Mahan went straight through the IJN formation unscathed to exit the board and brutalize the convoy behind the IJN screen.

Good stuff, still working on tweaking the night rules a bit, but all systems seem a go thus far.

Have another demo at another group later this month, understand they are a "crunchy" gaming group committed to 5 hours of gaming. I was told that "word getting around" might lead to as many as ten people! I gotta make more ships...




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