Warlord Games Black Seas

[Grumpy Gnome]

I only just stumbled across this game the other day thanks to a wanted ad.... looks like it has some potential to appeal to me where Sails of Glory failed.

From what I understand preorders open later today, so there should be a lot more info this afternoon.

http://www.warlordgames.com/frequently-asked-questions-black-seas/

But I have found two interesting videos as well... on that covers things like Advanced rules for more accurate weather gage on one end to more beer and pretzels things like the Kraken.

Seems they are starting with Golden Ag of Sail (Napoleonics) but may do things like Golden Age of Piracy if there is sufficient demand.



It seems to be a development from Cruel Seas... and I have heard that game has not been popular so far. From the people playing that, what is wrong with it?

Here you can see a preview of the game on a table at Salute.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=m3eHd7AffEA

EDIT: Looks like preorders are up now. https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/black-seas

[FlyXwire]

I have heard that game has not been popular so far. From the people playing that, what is wrong with it?

Cruel Seas has been very popular in my gaming area (Mid-West USA).  There was a stumble upon release of the rule book, which needed quite a few corrections of wordings, typos, clarifications, etc., and this didn't help the game's launch, but the game itself is very fun and playable, and the Warlord models are terrific.

If one wants to play a fun and easy-to-learn coastal naval game, Cruel Seas is great for that.  If someone is looking for more "crunchiness", there's a few other rule sets available for WW2 coastal actions, and a new one by Dave Manley just has come out - Narrow Seas
.

Black Seas will be fun and fine for most - there will always be those that say a system needs 'more', but sometimes less is more (and that this accessible approach to rules design ends up being a lot more entertaining).

[fastolfrus]

Saw the prototype ships and they look very promising. Have heard that there will be a sprue on the October copy of Wargames Illustrated (perfect timing for Trafalgar Day so I expect WHSmiths will sell out again).

Quite a few people play Cruel Seas in Scarborough, rules are fairly quick & easy.

[dartfrog]

I look on with interest. I'm one of those who doesn't want a very 'crunchy' game. Something that gives us the flavour and feel is what I want. I'm in deep thought as to whwether to hit the pre-order button.

[Grumpy Gnome]

I noticed they released a trailer.



Maybe it is just me but it does not feel like an enthusiastically marketed game so far. I know this is a bit of a niche market, I have seen numerous Age of Sail games, both tabletop and computer fail to really catch on but usually what fans there are tend to be die hard fanatics.

I am torn on the pre- release. I want to be in love with it but currently I am obsessing on Dropfleet Commander, which I only recently found, and my favorite age of sail ships are earlier period than Napoleonic.

[tomrommel1]

I will wait and have a look at Crisis in November

[Antonio J Carrasco]

I'll keep an eye on this game. Christmas is not that far away!

[pancakeonions]

This one looks interesting for me.  I've long found Age of Sail type games appealing, but have yet to find one. I preordered the starter set

[SteveBurt]

The new Firelock Games Oak & Iron also looks interesting, and uses 1:600 scale ships. I see those rules are available fro free download, too.

[Froggy the Great]

How's it compare to Osprey's "Fighting Sail"?

[SteveBurt]

Looks quite a bit more complex than fighting sail, which is a good set for large fleet actions.

[Antonio J Carrasco]

According Warlord Spain, they plan to expand the game to include bigger ships, even 2nd and 1st rates.

[Grumpy Gnome]

The pre-release page shows generic 1st and 3rd rates as well as HMS Victory and L’Orient. I would like to see some ship sprees to see how much diversity you can have in things like figureheads.

[Antonio J Carrasco]

The pre-release page shows generic 1st and 3rd rates as well as HMS Victory and L’Orient. I would like to see some ship sprees to see how much diversity you can have in things like figureheads.

Also some Spanish ships: Santisima Trinidad, San Juan Nepomuceno and Asia, I think.

[von Lucky]

The scale is interesting - 1/700 (all my ships are 1/1200 Langtons, so I'll be hard pressed to switch scales). Will see how polished the final product is.