The 1975 naval wargame Don't Give Up The Ship!. Don't Give Up the Ship! is a set of rules for conducting Napoleonic era naval wargames.

Naval wargaming is a branch of the wider hobby of miniature wargaming. Miniature wargaming is a form of Wargaming that incorporates Miniature figures and modeled terrain as the main components of play Generally less popular than wargames set on land, naval wargaming nevertheless enjoys a degree of support around the world. Both historical and fantasy rulesets are available.

Model ships have long been used for wargaming, but it was the introduction of elaborate rules in the early 20th century that made the hobby more popular. This article is concerned primarily with static models For operating models see Model yachting or Radio-controlled boat, Ship models or Military simulations, also known informally as war games, are simulations in which theories of warfare can be tested and refined without the need for actual hostilities The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Small miniature ships, often in 1:1200 scale and 1:1250 scale, were manoeuvred on large playing surfaces to recreate historical battles. These models were basic representations of ship types, with enough detail to make them recognisable. Firms such as Bassett-Lowke marketed these to the public in England,^[1] along with more detailed versions that appealed to collectors. Bassett-Lowke was a toy company based in Northampton, England founded by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1898 or 1899 that specialized in Model railways Prior to World War II, the German company Wiking became a leader in the field,^[2] but the war ended its dominance. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Wiking is a German manufacturer of Scale models in HO scale and N scale for Model trains They specialize in models of cars and trucks dating

After World War II, several manufacturers started business in Germany, which remains a major centre of production to this day. ^[3] Other companies started in Britain and the United States as well, first centering on the wargamer, but as time went by and models became both more detailed and costly, marketing to the collector. There has also been a diversification in scales. Plastic kits in 1/600 and 1/700 became widely available. In the UK Skytrex and Navwar pioneered the "micro scale" with extensive ranges of ships from pre-dreadnought ironclads to modern vessels in 1/3000. In the US CinC and GHQ followed with slightly larger and more detailed models in 1/2400. In recent years Hallmark have moved the scale down to 1/6000.

A separate branch of naval wargaming uses radio control ships capable of firing BB ammo from CO2 powered cannons, with the aim of sinking opposing ships, whose hulls are made of thin balsa wood. Model warship combat is an international club activity in which participants construct radio-controlled Scale models of actual warships, most commonly those Radio control (often abbreviated to R/C or simply RC) is the use of radio signals to remotely control a device BB guns are a type of Air gun designed to shoot projectiles called BB after the Birdshot pellet of approximately the same size Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking

Overview

Rules

The origins of naval-themed board wargaming have obvious connexions with the art of making model ships

As with other arms of the wargaming hobby, rules can vary greatly in complexity. This article is concerned primarily with static models For operating models see Model yachting or Radio-controlled boat, Ship models or Commercially available historical rulesets cover practically every era of naval warfare from the ancient and medieval ships through the fleets of the Age of Sail, the ironclad an battleship eras to the modern era. The Age of Sail was the period in which International trade and Naval warfare were dominated by Sailing Ships lasting from the 16th to the mid The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also modern times) is the period of history that followed the Middle Ages between c Models of most common types of ships are available , but in many cases wargamers have to source their own models, either by conversion or scratch building, especially where more esoteric periods or scales are in use.

The ancient Romans staged what were probably the first naval "wargames", with mock sea battles acted out in Rome's Coliseum, specially flooded for the occasion. (These Naumachiae later provided the inspiration for the title of Rod Langton's ancient naval rules. The naumachia (in Latin naumachia, from the Ancient Greek ναυμαχία/ naumachía, literally "naval combat" in the Ancient )

Popular naval wargaming began with the inclusion of wargaming rules in early editions of Jane's Fighting Ships by Fred T. Jane. Jane's Fighting Ships is an annual reference Book (also published online on CD and Microfiche) of information on all the world's Warships John Fredrick Thomas Jane ( August 6, 1865 – March 8, 1916) was the founding editor of reference books on warships ( All the World's Classifications of ships' armour and armament in Janes' were used directly within the rules. Incarnations of the rules are still in use today^[4].

Oversized model pirate ships for the Pirates Constructible Strategy Game, at Gen Con Indy 2007

A later proponent of popular naval wargaming was American author Fletcher Pratt. The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game is a Tabletop game manufactured by WizKids, Inc Gen Con is the one of the largest Despite a recent lawsuit from Lucasfilm and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 15, Murray Fletcher Pratt (1897–1956 was a Science fiction and Fantasy Writer; he was also well-known as a writer on Naval history and on the As well as publishing his rules Pratt staged large public games in ballrooms and other large meeting rooms, the events being almost as much a social event as a wargaming meeting. As with Janes' rules various incarnations and revisions of the Fletcher Pratt rule system are still in use today^[5].

The Age of Sail rules for the 1972 Don't Give Up The Ship! call for pencil and paper, six-sided dice, rulers and protractors, and model ships, ideally of 1:1200 scale. The Age of Sail was the period in which International trade and Naval warfare were dominated by Sailing Ships lasting from the 16th to the mid Don't Give Up the Ship! is a set of rules for conducting Napoleonic era naval wargames. Single ship engagements can be played on a tabletop, but fleet battles require more space. The rules are elaborate and cover morale, sinking, fires, broken masts, and boarding. Wind speed and direction are determined by a roll of the dice; a protactor is used to measure the angle between the wind and ship directions and hence determine ship speed. The protractor is also used to determine which cannon can fire on an enemy ship, as well as the damage caused and the chance of hitting at short range (4") and long range (16"). The conclusion of the rulebook provides the statistics necessary to re-enact historical encounters such as during the War of 1812. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire, particularly Great Britain and her North American colonies The second edition added 4 pages of simplified rules for battles between fleets.

One of the most popular sets of rules available at present is General Quarters, written by Lonnie Gill. General Quarters is a set of Naval wargaming rules written by Lonnie Gill Quick and easy to play, they have established themselves over the years as one of the leading sets of World War I and II era rules ^[6]. General Quarters 1 and 2 feature a slightly abstract combat system and ship definition system reminiscent of naval board wargames. However, this approach led to a fast-playing system that was the root of its popularity (probably coupled to an extensive array of supporting information and ship statistics). GQ1 and 2 have recently been replaced by a less abstract version, GQ3 which covers WW2; a WW1 version entitled "Fleet Action Imminent" was released in January 2008.

Followers of naval wargaming tend to concentrate on historical settings. However, there is a smaller but nonetheless active arm of the hobby that covers fantasy and science fiction naval warfare. The now out-of-print fantasy game Man O' War, set in the realm of Warhammer Fantasy, dealt with sea battles where each player typically controlled half a dozen to a dozen model ships. Out of print refers to an item typically a book (see Out of print books) but can include any print or visual media or Sound recording, that is no longer being published Man O' War (sometimes also written as “Manowar” is a now Out-of-print table top war game by Games Workshop. Warhammer Fantasy is a Fantasy setting created by Games Workshop, in which many games of that company are set the best known ones being Warhammer Each model had a corresponding template to record damage, crew levels, and outbreaks of fire, among other bookkeeping activities. In this regard, the game mechanics proved some limiting factors. Ships were split into three categories: Ships of the Line, Men O'War and "Independents". A ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century to take part in the the naval tactic known as the Line of battle A man-of-war (also man of war, man-o'-war or simply man) is an armed naval vessel The Bretonnian fleet was modelled on ships of the 17th century, while the Empire tended more towards the look of earlier time, with some ships that carried single large cannon or mortars. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural A mortar is a muzzle-loading Indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities short ranges and high-arcing ballistic trajectories Dwarf ships were steam powered ironclads, and they also had submarines and balloons. A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. An ironclad was a steam-propelled Warship of the later 19th century protected by Iron or Steel armor plates A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability See also Balloon (aircraft Balloons were the first mechanisms used in air warfare High Elf ships were fast maneuverable sail powered ships, while Dark Elves mainly used great sea creatures as the basis for their "ships".

Some land-based miniature wargames have also been adapted to naval wargaming. All at Sea, for example, is an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game rules for naval conflicts. The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game (abbreviated as LotR SBG often referred to by players as Lord of the Rings, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced The game's mechanics centred around boarding parties, with options for ramming actions and light artillery in the form of ballistae and other siege engines. Boarding, in its simplest sense refers to the insertion onto a ship's deck of people A naval ram was a weapon carried by varied types of ships dating back to antiquity Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine The ballista ( Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα - ballistra, from - βάλλω ballō, "to throw" plural ballistae A siege engine is a device that is designed to Break or circumvent City walls and other Fortifications in Siege warfare. ^[7] As such, the ship's scale ratio corresponds to the 25mm scale miniatures used by The Lord of the Rings. Model ships are built by hobbyists, just as normal miniature terrain, such as "great ships" of Pelargir, cogs of Dol Amroth and Corsairs of Umbar galleys. A carrack or nau was a three- or four- masted Sailing ship developed in the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century by the Portuguese Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Cogs (or cog-built vessels are ships that first appeared in the 10th century, and were widely used from around the 12th century on Edhellond During the Second Age the region had a port used by Elves to return to their home in Valinor, in the land of Aman in the far west Corsairs were French Privateers from the north-western French port of St-Malo, located on the northern coast of Brittany. Galleys redirects here For other uses see Galley (disambiguation. ^[8]. Elsewhere successful adaptations of the "DBA" and "Fire and Fury" land warfare rules have been made to ancient and Renaissance naval battles at the fleet action level (where naval battles shared many characteristics of their land based equivalents).

An unusual source of some recent historical naval wargaming rules has been the adaptation of science fiction starship combat rules (the reverse is also true, as sci-fi tends to treat starships as being an evolution of "wet navy" shipping). A starship is a theoretical Spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for Orbital spaceflight or Interplanetary An example of this approach to rule development is Victory At Sea from Mongoose Publishing. Victory at Sea was a documentary TV series about naval warfare during World War II that was originally aired by NBC in the Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing, miniatures, and Card games actively publishing material since 2001 This is a simple, "entry level" set of rules developed from Mongoose's A Call to Arms sci-fi rules. Babylon 5 A Call to Arms ( ACtA) is a tabletop miniatures boardgame released in September 2004 by Mongoose Publishing, designed Victory at Sea has also spawned a number of period variants including Ironclad and Age of Sail, and a World War I official variant set is in development ^[9]. Elsewhere a variant of the "Full Thrust" SF starship combat rules exists that covers age of sail battles.

Scales

In contrast to land wargaming, naval wargaming almost exclusively uses ratios to express the scale of the models. Popular scales include:

1:1250 scale die-cast models of ships

• 1:6000, 1:3000, 1:2400 - popular for use in games of the pre-Dreadnought era and later, although some notable ranges in earlier periods are available. The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the Die casting method Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea going Battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905

• 1:1200, 1:1250 - the popular "collectors" scale, models from practically every era and nationality are available in this scale.

• 1:900 - an unusual scale, used for ancient naval games.

• 1:600, 1:700 - generally used for coastal forces gaming set in World War I, World War II or post war periods. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Due to the availability of plastic kits in this scale, some naval wargamers use these scales to play "in the grand manner" for battleship encounters, often playing on areas measured in yards rather than feet. This is also an extremely popular scale for American Civil War riverine and other ironclad era actions. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South An ironclad was a steam-propelled Warship of the later 19th century protected by Iron or Steel armor plates

• 1:450 - another unusual scale, used for pirate and small Age of Sail actions (e. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering The Age of Sail was the period in which International trade and Naval warfare were dominated by Sailing Ships lasting from the 16th to the mid g. Peter Pig's "Pieces of Eight" range).

• 1:400, 1:300, 1:285 - some coastal models are available in these scales. Often used for riverine actions involving close liaison with land forces in similar scales.

• 10mm or 1:160 - a newer scale for "collectible" American Civil War naval gaming. Often used for actions involving close liaison with land forces in 10mm.

One notable exception to the "ratio" rule are the use of 15mm to 25mm figures in games that emphasise boarding actions, and thus make use of figure ranges in those scales.

Radio control combat

Main article: Model warship combat

Large scale model warships in San Diego

Rather than simply acting out battles through the use of representative static models, in model warship combat, radio control ships (usually used in ponds) are constructed and outfitted with BB cannons capable of damaging and sinking other vessels. Model warship combat is an international club activity in which participants construct radio-controlled Scale models of actual warships, most commonly those Model warship combat is an international club activity in which participants construct radio-controlled Scale models of actual warships, most commonly those Radio control (often abbreviated to R/C or simply RC) is the use of radio signals to remotely control a device BB guns are a type of Air gun designed to shoot projectiles called BB after the Birdshot pellet of approximately the same size The ships are designed to be realistically sunk, and all clubs have very stringent rules requiring ships not to be built with hulls stronger than is appropriate, typically specifying a thickness of the balsa wood hulls as well as a test of penetrability. A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking To reduce the chance of spectator injuries, and to prevent a vessel from having an unfair advantage, the propellant gas used in the cannons is limited in pressure, and may be tested by the judges, again disqualifying a ship if it is too high.

For historic replicas, relative properties of the real ship are maintained, such as the number of guns, maximum speed, and so forth. Speed tests are often performed, and any ship traveling faster than the appropriate scale speed may be disqualified or ordered to maintain a slower speed. An inappropriately high top speed gives a ship an unfair advantage, and is frowned upon by other members. 1/144 scale is the most common scale, although others do exist.

Some events try to recreate historic events, while others create original scenarios, such as all-out war, a subset of ships defending a port against an attacking enemy, protection of a group of unarmed merchant vessels, or any other scenario the club members decide would be fun. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo A merchant vessel is a Ship that transports Cargo and Passengers during peace time Even in recreations of historic battles, the sequence of events and outcome of the engagements are decided by the actions and luck of the operators, and often do not have much resemblance of the historical events.

Depending on the rules, a ship may be allowed to surrender and receive safe passage back to shore where it is removed from play, or other ships may fire on it until it sinks. Ships are designed to tolerate sinking such that a sunken ship need only be retrieved after the battle is over, minor repairs executed, fresh batteries installed, and returned to the water for the next round. Many ships also contain bilge pumps, of a maximum capacity specified by the rules of a specific club for the type of ship, to allow them to sustain minor damage without immediately sinking. A bilge pump is a Pump to remove Bilge water.Because fuel can end up in the bilge electric bilge pumps are designed not to cause sparks

In some formats, events are scored by the final results, such as which side has more remaining ships (or survives longest) in a two team game, while others are scored on a point systems, with hits and sinkings assigned differing point values.

See also

• List of miniature wargames
• Naval Wargames Society
• Model warship combat

Notes

References

• Don't Give Up The Ship!, 1st Edition, 1972, Guidon Games, 50 pages, blue & black cover
• Don't Give Up The Ship!, 2nd Edition, 1975, TSR, Inc., 58 pages, blue, white & black cover
• US White Dwarf 295