Cruel Sea's

[tim.w]

Opinions? Who's buying, or pre-ordering?

I'm waiting to see the free ships in WI.

[Paul]

It looks good. I've always wanted to game the narrow seas since reading Douglas Reemans books some 35 years ago! Tempted but probably a game too far in my wargames neutral aims.

[Zenbadger]

I will be a bit wary after Blood Red Skies which has just lost its steam. Interested in the subject but I suspect the format will tie you to using their ships just to get all the rules and stats. If I'm wrong then I'll be in like stink.

[Wg Cdr Luddite]

It's completely the wrong model size for coastal warfare. The models themselves, however, I have plans for.

[Paul]

It's completely the wrong model size for coastal warfare. The models themselves, however, I have plans for.

So many games are played in 'completely the wrong model size'. We're used to the compromise on ground/sea scale to figure size so that the game looks good. Naval warfare is always the trickiest one, even at 1/6000 you'd need a large room to play most battles with large spaces between the tiny ships.
I'm not sure of engagement ranges for the narrow seas so i'm not really sure whether 1/300 works for these battles.

[Jeremy]

Don’t really have an interest, or know much about it, but a common cause for concern I’ve heard is the size of ship on a 4x4 table. Might get a bit crowded

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

I have some interest in this, having recently bought the "Coastal Patrol" rules from TFL, been given some 1:700 ships by a chap in Japan, and then realised the bits are way too small and ordered some 1:600 stuff from P T Dockyard in the US and H&R in the UK (the finished model is not much bigger, but the bits are much less fiddly). The big hoo-haa prior to the rules actually being released is the photos of "games in progress" that look like FoW traffic jams with ships replacing tanks, and - as the Wingco rightly says - the scale is too big for the 4' x 3' game mat they provide with all the starter sets. You might get away with it for a small MTB/E-Boat skirmish, but anything bigger is going to need a ballroom floor. I'd say 1:600 is the minimum you need for a game where the two sides don't actually start right on top of each other - and even that is pushing it a bit.

There is a Facebook site if anyone wants to delve a little more deeply into it; the "starter set" (rules/mat/several MTBs and E-Boats/cards/counters/dice) seems quite good value at £50 - or £40 if you get it from Wayland Games.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/333100147261065/

[Paul]

I had wondered about using the TFL rules and the Hallmark 1/1200 models!

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

The problem with using 1:1200 models is that most coastal warfare vessels will be too small - an MTB will be about an inch long - to be able to pick out much detail (eg recognise specific weapons - which is a key part of the CP/TFL ruleset). Almost all of the people I know who have played CP have said 1:600 is the best scale, both in terms of identifiable models, and in terms of "ground scale" (they mainly use 8' x 6' mats).

[Paul]

The problem with using 1:1200 models is that most coastal warfare vessels will be too small - an MTB will be about an inch long - to be able to pick out much detail (eg recognise specific weapons - which is a key part of the CP/TFL ruleset).

You mean you haven't memorised the ship data and silhouettes? :o