Got together with Lawrence for a Game of "Flying Colors". First thing we noted was that there were a LOT of changes between his version and mine, his being newer we used what his said. (In actual rules it was pretty much the same but the combat results table is totally different). The game itself took us 5 hours to setup and play 4 turns, this was with learning the rules included, by the end we were going through the phases pretty quickly but with 25 ships in play it takes a good bit to get through each turn.
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| End of Turn 1 |
The British had the initiative and forced the French to activate first. The French turned toward the British line, we would find out that this was a mistake! A few British ships fire trying to get a rake when possible but this requires a 4 or less and range is added to the role. There might have been minor damage inflicted but I don't remember.
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| End of Turn 2 |
The French win initiative and force the British to activate first. The British maneuvered so that they could fire off a broadside from port and starboard this turn. More damage this turn but both sides are still in good shape.
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| Turn 3 Maneuvers |
Turn 3 and the British get the Initiative which ends up being Decisive. The Lines show the movement paths that five of the British ships took - granting them each a Bow and Stern rake on two enemy ships. I think the British player made every rake roll...
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| End of Turn 3 |
The results were total carnage for the French fleet. One ship sunk outright from the rakes (from minimal damage to sunk in one turn) and three others were severely damaged (flipped to their less effective side). Two French ships went to take on the British ships at the top of the map (red) and ended up doing little damage but the British ship managed to finish off another one of the French ships...
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| End of Game |
On turn 4 the French get the Initiative and try to rake another British vessel. The rake succeeded but the damage is minimal. The British then take their first activation and rake a French Commander's ship - sinking it! At this point it was getting late so we called it a win for the British. Three French ships sunk and all British ships still on their effective side - though they a couple were nearly ready to flip to their damaged side and two of them were 2 hits away from being dismasted.
The French mistake at the start of the game was the decisive one. The French have a bonus for shooting at the rigging while the British have a bonus shooting at the hull. At range this would have worked to the French advantage (and those rakes would have been impossible). When the range closed the hull results became much more deadly.
At the start of the game I thought it was kinda dull (not this game, just age of sail in general) since there was a lot of rolling without a lot of decision making. Boy was I wrong! We will be giving the game another try sometime, but with so many games and so little time...
Finally a comment on the game itself. If you are looking to do fleet actions than this is the game to get. Individual ship handling is abstracted somewhat (all ships go the same speed based on the wind for example) to allow you to focus on commanding a squadron. The most important decision is how to maneuver to fire while still staying in command the next turn. That said there are rules for smaller numbers of ships that can be used. The game plays quickly once you know the sequence of play and I would recommend using the optional rules - one of which is being able to defensive fire any time the active player uses a movement point rather than only being able to defensive fire when the active player fires. That would have made a big difference in the turn 3 rake the British pulled off since the French would have been able to fire while the British were closing.
