Irregular Wars Wargaming

Having already playtested the advanced flying rules for Galleys & Galleons , with all of the aerobatics and the bombing, we felt it was time to crack open the magic box and run various different magical special rules through their paces this weekend. We played two large games; in the first, 500 odd points of creatures of the deep (Triton, sea monster, roc, cyclopes, daughters of Aegir, sirens) took on a significantly smaller force (about 300 points) of Barbary corsairs consisting of a galley (with a pyromancer on deck), two galliots, a xebec and a windwhispering  sorcerer on a flying carpet. It became apparent early on that while galley-based fleets can generally out maneuver sailing fleets, they aren't a patch on creatures. Not only did the monstrosities  quite literally run circles around the galleys, but the galleys lack of broadside guns made them particularly vulnerable to this particular foe.  The magical creatures proved very effectiv...

The fine gents over at the Historical Gaming YouTube channel have posted another video play-through of a Galleys & Galleons game, this time using the Treasure Islands scenario. Check it out! In reference to the rules query raised in the video, here is a clarification that will appear in the forthcoming supplement, Foul Winds : Sluggish special rule G&G p.18, states that Sluggish vessels require two actions to Come About (i.e., to change their heading up to two compass points). However, on p.45, Sluggish vessels are described as requiring only requires one action to Come About, but when they do so, they may only change their heading by up to one compass point instead of the normal two. Page 45 presents the correct interpretation of the rule. A Sluggish model spends one action to change their heading up to one compass point.

To my great shame, this nice little fleet has been sitting, undercoated, on the shelf for too long. So this week it got a lick of paint and it's now ready to go toe-to-toe with Cathaginians, Syracusans, pirates or any other maritime monsters my opponents wish to send against me. All models are beautifully crisp 1/1200 scale vessels from Langton Miniatures. There are three triremes (lower left), two quadremes (lower right), three quinqueremes (centre, two with corvus and one as a command vessel) and two merchants (rear). The eight war galleys make up a fleet totaling just under 400 points in Galleys & Galleons , ideal for a quick game of ram-or-be-rammed. The merchants only come in at about 4 points each and are there for scenarios rather than to serve as active warships. A free roster of ancient profiles for Galleys & Galleons is available from the Ganesha Games website, HERE . If space allows, they will also be included in the forthcoming Foul Winds supplement.

What you fear in the night, in the day comes to call anyway <10 bonus points to anyone who can tell me where that line comes from>. The monsters for Galleys & Galleons just keep on coming, chosen nominally to aid playtesting of Foul Winds , but principally just because I think they are kind of cool. In this post I introduce to you the cyclopes and the roc. The cyclops Polyphemos loses an eye to Odysseus and his Ithakan sailors on a seventh century BC proto-Attic amphora. Cyclopes are a feature of several Greek myths. Three 'elder' cyclopes forged the weapons of the gods: Zeus' thunder bolts, Poseidon's trident and the invisible helmet of Hades. A tribe of 'younger' cyclopes lived as primative herdsmen on the island of Hypereia where, led by Polyphemos, they were encountered by Odysseus and his men on their return journey from Troy to Ithaka. Cyclops hurling  a boulder at a passing galley by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904). In the  Argonaut...

So I have finally entered into the world of Of Gods and Mortals , an Osprey Publishing wargames rule set written by Andrea Sfiligoi, the man behind Ganesha Games. For those of you who aren't already familiar with the game, it allows you to field a deity and their retinue - from any mythological setting - in battles against rival gods. I say that I have 'finally' entered it, because I have been interested in the rules and the concepts behind them since they were first publicly mentioned by Andrea back in 2012(?). Each player chooses one god, up to five legends (these from a vast array heroes or large monsters), and one or more small units of mortals (each with between four and eight models). So your tabletop force will probably consist of between 12 and 20 models, placing this game firmly in the 'skirmish' side of wargaming. The core mechanic is based on the Song of ... engine, so every model has quality and combat ratings, plus special traits. The gods are th...

Undead Plaguegalley – Manned by hundreds of animated corpses and spewing forth jets of bubonic gasses, plaguegalleys provide the diseased backbone for fleets of undead corsairs. Q4 C3 Special rules: Bilious cloud, Brutal, Galley, Intimidating, Veteran NCOs

Continuing with my slow preparations for full playtesting of the Galleys & Galleons supplement, Foul Winds (working title), I've just finished up two more monsters totaling around 200 points between them. Sirens Despite being portrayed in all manner of ways in popular media, the Sirens were originally three sea nymphs who served as handmaidens to the Greek goddess Persephone. When she was abducted, the nymphs were given the bodies of birds to help them search for their mistress. Unsuccessful, they eventually settles on the flowery island of Anthemoessa. Lily Cole as a Doctor Who Siren Captain Gut's Siren from Ice Age 4 From their island home, the Sirens would enchant the crews of passing ships with their beautiful song, luring the men to their deaths on the rocks off shore. In Greek art, the Sirens were depicted as birds with either the heads, or the entire upper bodies, of women. It is not always clear what kind of birds the nymphs were supposed to hav...

Two nice Galleys & Galleons after action reports have gone online this week which both go to show that maritime crime really does pay. Doctor Phalanx has posted a nice report of a game where a merchant fleet tried to avoid a pack of pirate junks and make it to the safety of port. Check it out HERE . Meanwhile the Hong Kong Society of Wargamers have posted a truly epic account of a huge fleet action which saw combined English and Dutch fleets take on Barbary pirates with a cameo from the Black Pearl ! Head over to the society's page HERE to have a look.  And a third one that I forgot to link to during October, Frank Shandy over at the Raft has been testing his American Civil War modifications for G&G featuring ironclads. Go see, go see .

Galleys & Galleons: Foul Winds playtesting. Despite some fairly ineffective bombing runs, Spanish flyers finally start a fire on the Dutch cromster Haarlem. The following turn saw the fire spread to the magazine causing the armed merchant to explode.