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I've been watching some Dreadfleet stuff and the game looks really awesome.

Something came into my head though . . . why is there an apparent lack of games for boats?

It's not like they haven't had an important part in history. Some of the most famous battles were sea battles: the Battle of Salamis and the defeat of the Spanish Armada springs immediately to mind. However, there seems to be a significant under-representation of games in the market. We've got Dystopian Wars, granted, but there doesn't seem to be too many other games where I can play as an admiral on the high seas. It's sad.

Why do you think that is?

Erm... have you looked around at all?

For Sci-fi/Fantasy, Dystopian Wars and Uncharted Seas work perfectly.

Ancients? I know Old Glory has its 'Galley Wars' line, where in 15mm you ram ships into each other and board the opponent's ships.

Napoleonics? Kiss Me Hardy, Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Warfare at Sea in the Age of Reason, Ship of the Line, Signal Close Action, Trafalgar (if you can find a copy, since Warhammer Historical went of business).

WWI? Fleet Action Imminent, VaS Age of Dreadnoughts, General Quarters 3 (its WWI expansion).

WWII? Again, General Quarters 3, and Seekrieg.

There are plenty of rules, if you took the time to look for them. Sure, they're not as popular and 'in the open' as 40k and Warmahordes are, but they're there. Your best bet is to put on your anti-Grognard suit and wade into that vast wasteland of salt and grumpiness that is TMP, and ask around.

I think there are plenty of games for naval combat in almost any historical era, and then you've got derivatives like alternate history/fantasy games (Spartan Games' area) and things with flying ships/zeppelins which usually feature similar mechanics.

As a niche area of wargaming though, they don't have the same volume of news coverage. In addition, the majority would be considered historical rules, which normally do not get the same level of attention as the fantasy/sci-fi genres.

So I think what you want is out there, it just needs a bit of searching.

Tabletop Gaming News keep posting news about a new naval game, Victory at Sea.

There is plenty of choice in Naval warfare rules, though less than in land warfare.

There are plenty of game options around to choose from, there just aren't that many players to find.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
There are plenty of game options around to choose from, there just aren't that many players to find.

Yea, there's your real coke point.

If you are interested in a great age of sail game, you should check out Sailpower www.sailpowergame.com. The rules are detailed but not clogged or bogged down and while designed for 15mm, it can be scaled to whatever size you want, up or down.

Dont forget Axis and Allies...the Naval Warfare miniatures game

Leviathans is a cool new miniatures board game that just came out. It's an alternate history game where ships can float in the sky.

Not to mention every Space-based game (Battlefleet Gothic, Firestorm Armada, Star Fleet Battles, X-wing) play exactly like ocean based naval combat due to the limitations of a 2-D board.

Wooden Ships, Iron Men by Avalon Hill, if you can find it.

Totally second this suggestion. Played it years ago and it was a blast if a little too record keeping intensive. Another option for the people with lots of time and a big playing table would be the super detailed Command at Sea in either the Supermarina or Rising Sun versions.

M.

If cold war goes hot is your thing, you could try Harpoon not sure but I think it was also under Avalon Hill. Then it was made into a computer game as well.

Like Historical gaming in general - you might be surprised by how many naval gamers are actually out there...it just isn't as "sexy" as the various 28mm fantasy/sci-fi games. As a result, your average LGS won't provide a whole lot of direct support for them.

Everything from Ancient Greeks all the way up to a few different systems which deal with futuristic naval combat in one form or another (not to mention the various "cold navy" games which extend the rules into space).

Tracking down players though can be a bit difficult though. That will really depend on how your local game community is organized (or not) and figuring out who is actually in it. You might be able to put a flyer up in a local store, otherwise it will be hunting people down by word of mouth - either face to face or on forums.

About a half of our local group are naval gamers as well - though there is a strong connection to all things wet here on the coast.

Full Thrust. and its naval adaptation...Full Sail

victory at sea fo ww2, however I went and got some 1/3000 ships rather then use the cardboard ships that come with the rules.

Pirates of the Spanish Main is an out of print game from WizKids. It wasn't the most balanced game ever but it was simple and incredibly fun. You can check eBay for boxes/packs.

dkellyj wrote:
Not to mention every Space-based game (Battlefleet Gothic, Firestorm Armada, Star Fleet Battles, X-wing) play exactly like ocean based naval combat due to the limitations of a 2-D board.

Except for SITS...

There are a good few particulaly in on Free Wargames Rules

My current particular favourite is Franklins Sea- a game set in the napoleonic era but in a world thgat is cubelar where you sail perpicandular to gravity. However the rules can easily be used for "normal" napoleonic era ship fighting by simply excluding the drift rule.

Play Uncharted Seas, I loved that game, but it died out in my area