Black Seas

Got together to try our hand at Black Seas after spending months assembling and painting ships. All a labor of love, but it was nice to finally see the models on the tabletop. Chris is an old hand at Armada so the rules were more or less second nature to him while we worked out the idiosyncrasies particular tot he Age of Sail. 

We played a scenario wherein my Spanish were escorting a fat French merchant vessel through a British blockade. I had two 5th rate frigates and 4 brigs while Chris had 3 frigates and 3 brigs. The merchant had been stripped of all it's guns to maximize speed. It was 1000 points each.

We did not entirely finish as we were both pretty brain dead (having already played 2 other games prior), but we played enough to really get a feel for the rules and enough to leave us wanting more. A good sign for a game. The aforementioned merchant was about half way across the board but there were some mean looking British ships about to intercept her, if the wind held.

Unfortunately, the pics are in a jumbled order, so I will try to piece together at what point any given photo took place.

There's the merchant in the center flying the French colors. The wind had shifted that turn, allowing the frigate to fire before she could speed away. Another British brig closes in.

Artsy shot showing Chris' ridiculously nice fleet. He hand rigged all the rat lines. (My ships have none.)

Set up. Chris' ships are coming from both sides.

Notice the difference in my ships. No rat lines. Also, no bases. Chris hand sculpted and painted all the bases on his ships.

This was the shot of the game. My big kitted out battle boat bow rakes a frigate with her first broadside. The damage was so extensive, the British ship struck her colors and surrendered.

The merchant takes one in the teeth.

Look at those beautiful models.

Warlord Games would do well to use his stuff in their adverts.

Another cool shot of the action.

Not only did the British frigate surrender, but it also shrank. (I don't have any burning frigates, only brigs.)

Wide angle look.

The man himself. Chris begins the British hunt.

From the other side.

Couple aerial views.

The models really lend themselves to great pictures.

My brigs narrowly avoid ramming into each other but both manage to get off a broadside at the enemy.

And they're off!

Scratch one frigate. While this was the only 'casualty', it must be noted that more than one of my ships had been heavily damaged. I had two brigs on the brink of striking and both the others had taken some hits. The merchant also took some damage but I had reinforced her hull to make her more sturdy.

Cool aerial shot.

Very enjoyable and worth ever minute at the painting (and rigging) table. I still have 2 frigates and 6 brigs to do, but this experience will make it a lot less painful to actually sit down to do it. It's a good game.