Solo Rules
Hello Captain's,
I am a new player to SGN and I am in need of your help please.
Looking through the forum comments I see mention of solo games. Is there a particular set of solo rules that most players use? And if so where might I find these solo rules?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Welcome to the Anchorage, Stephen. There are some solo rules in the Sails of Glory rulebook. There are perhaps better rules to be found in the Files section on this website (link at the top of the page) under Napoleonic. However, I consider the best set to be the 'Powder Monkey' rules, written by Richard Bradley, who is a member here. His rules are available from http://www.tynesidewargames.co.uk/downloads.html .
Welcomefrom Arizona, Stephen.
Welcome to the Anchorage Stephen.
Do drop into the Wardroom for a noggin and to chew the fat with the rest of the Officers.
Bligh.
Greetings Stephen and welcome aboard the Anchorage.
There are two sets of solo rules I'm aware of. Powder Monkey is one, but I prefer Fred Miracle's two page set located here: http://sailsofglory.org/downloads.php?do=file&id=84
"It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
–English Proverb
Glad to have you on board Stephen. Hope you find the solo rules for you. Have tried both sets and both have their merits. When you do you can always join in the 2015 solo campaign. Just PM Eric 7eat51.
Neil
Yes we would be glad to have you join us Stephen.
Rob.
I totally agree, I am delighted there are a choice in solo rules available. Horses for courses!Originally Posted by Union Jack
Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome.
I will look at both systems. I am sure that they both play well.
This is my first venture into Napoleonic naval warfare. As you can see from my avatar I am use to commanding a different type of "ship".
*EDIT*
I have now changed my avatar from the "Starfleet Captain Picard Droid" to the box cover of the classic Avalon Hill Game Company wargame "Wooden Ships & Iron Men".
Last edited by SP937215; 09-30-2015 at 17:16.
Ah a convert from the 'dark side'....say no more.
Good to see a sailor with experience joining the Fleet, eh Neil.
Bligh.
A wise choice Sir, a wise choice.
'By the way, Who is this Captain Picard Droid? (sounds Swedish to me), and who or what is Starfleet?'
I have now changed my avatar from the "Starfleet Captain Picard Droid" to the box cover of the classic Avalon Hill Game Company wargame "Wooden Ships & Iron Men".
I'd guess he's Dutch. It's not Swedish for sure.
Starfleet must be due to their navigation I would venture as a guess.
Is this the Picard you're talking about?
Jean-Luc Picard was born to Maurice and Yvette Picard in La Barre, France, on July 13, 2305
If so, give him a French Man O War to command.
Last edited by Gunner; 10-01-2015 at 17:13.
You Captains are the best, I raise a glass to you all
I could never get over the fact that a "heavy Cruiser" was the biggest ship Star Fleet had. What? No federation death star? The TV Enterprise had maybe 600 people walking it's decks. The USS Enterprise in WWII had 2200 people on board. A Nimitz class carrier today carries 5,000 crew. In Napoleonic times, the TV Enterprise would be a third rate SOL, In WWII, It would be a light cruiser, not a heavy cruiser. Battleships carried at least 2500 crew. The historical trend seems to be more and more crew concentrated in bigger and bigger ships. But, apples to oranges, as they say.
The TV Enterprise has more keypads.
There are battleships in the 'Starfleet Battles' game and at least one Star Trek novel.
It may be connected to the exploration theme of the series. A cruiser can be sent out as an independent command. A battleship is usually tied to a fleet. It is a parallel to the use of frigates in the Napoleonic war.
There was the three enginned Dreadnought in the Star Fleet Technical MAnual, which I think is regarded as semi-canon (but don't quote me on that). It also included the single engined destroyer and scout. ADB used them as the basis for some oftheir Star Fleet Battles models
Being a downer and bringing this back on subject. I too am new to the game and have copies of both solo rules (PowderMonkey and FredMiracle's). Does anyone else want to weigh in on which set they prefer and why?
Welcome aboard Trevor! - I hope you enjoy your time on the Anchorage! As the author of Powder Monkey, I can honestly say I am glad there are choices in solo system, so people have a choice as to which set they prefer!
Hello and welcome!
I like both sets. I often use a different set depending on circumstances. If I have a bigger fleet of mixed ships I prefer the Fred Miracle rules as all classes use the same tables. If I would play a one on one frigate engagement I prefer Powder Monkey.
I'm not sure either is better than the other in controlling the ships but you don't get "this first rate should do a maneuver that's a way harder turn than it can" with Powder Monkey which is the case with the other set.
Welcome Trevor
Morten
...put him in the brig until he's sober...
Thanks. I'm glad to hear they both have merit. I note the solo campaign doesn't suggest one over the other, which is a good sign. The size and variety of vessels in the scenario is a great consideration. I suspect that there's no teacher like experience, so I'll try them both (multiple times) and report my experiences.
Thanks for the welcomes as well!
It's not that Powder Monkey is slower to use, there's no big difference, it's more that you have to have a sheet for each size category which makes it a little bit more unwieldy with many different sizes at the same time. I'm prone to use the wrong sheet in the heat of battle.
This is why I prefer Fred's solo rules when I do manage to play a solo game these days. Less paperwork as it were.
"It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
–English Proverb
I have done the same with multi class, multi ship games, using Powder Monkey, but I found little difference in manoeuvre resulted. I think you could use the 74 sheet alone (and just do the maximum permissible turn for first rates when a manoeuvre too sharp is ordered), for all ships in a multi class battle, without any real problem, like with Fred's, if you wanted?
I tend to use squadrons of the same class ships against each other in multi ship games, so the multi chart confusion does not occur.
Oddly, I don't often get confused using multiple charts in Wings of Glory, but that is a simpler game!!
Has anybody tried adapting Heroes of the Aturi for SoG? The mechanics were pretty interesting. It allows for cooperative play against dice based ai. I've been playing with the idea since I first played HoA.
As far as I am aware the answer is no Mack.
However, with the vast experience of our membership, someone may well confound me.
It will be interesting to see what answers you draw with this post.
Rob.
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