Monday, 17 July 2023

Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame….Part Umpteenth


Action on the High Seas (and on squares) as a Confederate raider attempts to evade a Union patrol. This particular scenario was based on the WW2 Battle of the River Plate.

Against the backdrop of the impending arrival of several metric tons worth of 20mm WW2 kit I have been busy beavering away at what will become the follow on title to the Portable Ironclads Wargame - the rather unoriginal title you see at the header of this post!

It was moving along at a rather sedate pace but is now most certainly heading into the final lap. The provisional chapter list looks a little like this:

1. Introduction

2. Acknowledgements

3. Thoughts on Initiative and Movement

4. More Thoughts on Movement

5. Thoughts on Firing

6. More thought on Firing

7. Using Squares

8. Expanded ACW Ship Specs

9. A Battle Report using some of the above optional rules and fought on a square grid

10. The War in the Pacific - An Overview

11. War in the Pacific Ship Specs

12. Final Thoughts and Next Steps

13. The Portable Ironclad Wargame - An Errata (surprisingly small but included to tidy up a few things)

Once again it is very much a collaborative effort and will be published by Eglinton Books as part of the Portable Wargame stable. The Editor in Chief - Bob Cordery - will be penning a chapter for inclusion in the book and David Manley has supplied some pictures along with both sets of ship specs (that I have then amended into the Portable Ironclads Wargame format). It should be available soon(ish) in the same formats as previously so PDF, Kindle, soft and hardback.

I have a few pictures to organise for the chapters on movement and naturally the battle report needs to be written - once I have decided what to do and have written it up!

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14 comments:

  1. Archduke Piccolo17 July 2023 at 14:00

    Sound very promising, David!

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  2. David Crook17 July 2023 at 15:57

    Hello there Ion,

    I am hoping that this volume will tie a lot of loose threads together together and offer something that is playable, grounded in sensibility and above all, fun!

    Arguably a lot of it could have gone in the first book but I think it would have made for a rather indigestible lump!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robert (Bob) Cordery17 July 2023 at 16:49

    David,

    I LOVE the squared grid. I think that it suits naval wargaming far better than the hexed grid, possibly becuase it reminds me of Fred Jane's Naval War Game and partly because it gives the feel of a naval chart.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  4. David Crook17 July 2023 at 18:34

    Hello there Bob,

    I must admit that my preference was always for a square grid but for a variety of reasons I simply could not make the system stick. After a break away and revisiting the subject with a fresh pair of eyes it now seems so much clearer! For the reasons you mention along with many, many happy memories of playing age of sail games with Ship ‘O the Line, the use of a square grid will feature prominently for me going forwards.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  5. Simon24 July 2023 at 22:02

    It would be nice if you could release the Errata section as a separate freebie.

    Cheers

    Simon

    ReplyDelete
  6. David Crook25 July 2023 at 06:41

    Hi Simon,

    That is not something I had thought about - but will do so now! There is nothing major that I can see so far - a couple of ship specs need amending, a ship name is wrong and a couple of the historical pictures have been incorrectly identified (as advised by John Wallis - author of an excellent book on Southern Ironclads) but that is about it.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  7. Simon25 July 2023 at 16:29

    Hi David.

    If you are collating errata, I may have found a couple but it could be that I am working from an old pdf or just missing the point - the latter being the more likely!

    On Page 38, point 14 says that the lowest penetration factor is used when a ship mis firing at a target from more than one gunnery arc. The firing example on Page 51 of CSS Virginia firing uses the higher penetration factor.

    Also on page 51 USS Minnesota fires with 2D^ but gets three results!

    If you are doing some clarifications, I dont quite get how Log pilings and block ships "attack."

    Cheers

    Simon

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  8. David Crook25 July 2023 at 19:04

    Hi Simon,

    You are quite right on all counts! I must have had a brain fade at that point…. For a variety of reasons this example is wrong and as certain aspects of this will be changing ever so slightly it will be covered in the errata and the optional rules.

    Log piles and block ships ‘attack’ or rather ‘fight back when rammed in the same way as a ship can. The wording is a little clunky with this….. :-)

    All the best,

    DC

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  9. Simon26 July 2023 at 11:15

    Do let me know if you need any testing/proof reading done.

    Simon

    ReplyDelete
  10. David Crook26 July 2023 at 16:44

    Hi Simon,

    I certainly will - in fact I will drop you a line tomorrow evening!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  11. Simon28 July 2023 at 08:14

    I look forward to hearing from you!

    Cheers Simon

    ReplyDelete
  12. David Crook28 July 2023 at 19:11

    Hi Simon,

    Email incoming!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  13. johnBoy17 September 2023 at 15:29

    Hi David, I just ordered your book on Amazon! can't wait to receive it. I have Bob's other book too. Luv the acw naval wars.

    ReplyDelete
  14. David Crook17 September 2023 at 15:53

    Hi johnBoy,

    Thank you kindly sir! If you have any questions about anything therein please let me know and I will be happy to help!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete