Sunday 1 January 2012

Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame - part 2

The RN ships as seen from the air.  The lead destroyer is just turning to the north. 
The game commenced with the appearance of the Royal Navy as Scharnhorst and Z31 weighed anchor.  As the Germans reached the mouth of the fjord Z31 began to lay smoke.
The playing area was about 40 feet across - plenty of 'sea room'.
Initial salvos from the Scharnhorst fell somewhat short...
...but soon Kapitan von Powell got the hang of it! 
The bespoke hand crafted shell splash markers may look to the uninitiated a bit like golf tees but I know readers of this blog are much better informed!  Blue indicates misses and red hits - generally from 2 or 3 guns.  White markers were used for torpedo hits.
The RN destroyers were also making smoke (some of it voluntarily) while frantically manoeuvring to avoid German shells.  Here the centre DD has placed a firing arrow setting the initial range at 34 inches.  More action in the final post coming soon!

14 comments:

David Crook said...

Hi Tim,

You have gotta love any war game involving golf tees, ahem, shell splashes, 40 ft of floor space and gamers on their hands and knees!

Looks like a whole lot of fun!

All the best,

DC

Ray Rousell said...

Interesting looking game, not sure about the shade of blue you used for the sea, it looks more like the Thames to me!!! he he!

Paul said...

Best use of Tee's ever!

Peter Douglas said...

Tim

Great looking game. I'm jealous of the floor space. How much do you charge for the hand crafted bespoke shell markers?

PD

Tim Gow said...

David Crook
When that combination of assets is available it'd be rude to not use it!

Tim Gow said...

Ray Rousell
Having only recently had the floor varnished, the management of the hall were less than enthusiastic about painting it all blue.

Tim Gow said...

Paul
Not a golfer then?

Tim Gow said...

Peter Douglas
The cost for each shell splash marker is £..........nah, you couldn't afford it.

Wg Cdr Luddite said...

I suggested to Tim that we bring our children along to do all the hands and knees work, but he said that 'wouldn't be in the spirit of the game'.

Tim Gow said...

Wg Cdr Luddite
Nonsense - you know you just love resolving the gunnery!

Peter Douglas said...

Tim

Did any of the players try to use the floor pattern to work out the range? I've seen this done with FP games played on tiles or parquet floors. I've also seen players taking photos use their telephoto lens to measure ranges!

PD

Tim Gow said...

Peter Douglas
Theoretically the floor pattern might help but the trick is to keep the game moving so quickly that players don't have time for such trickery. Infernal devices were confiscated on sight and the Kapitan of Scharnhorst surrendered his measuring tape before the game.

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

How did I miss this first time round?

Well done Tim it looks a lovely game, I just wish I could have been there!

Tim Gow said...

Geordie
How indeed?
You'd be very welcome to attend future games.