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Hello everyone,
I hope you're all doing well. I've recently decided to get into Sails of Glory after watching the game from a distance for many years. I love naval history, and my previous wargame experience primarily comes from Axis and Allies War at Sea and Star Wars Armada. I'm looking forward to learning the ins and outs of this game, as well as ordering a core set once it gets reprinted this month!
Good afternoon Calvin, and welcome to the Anchorage on behalf of all your shipmates. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask. We have many very knowledgeable members who will be able to help you settle in.
May you sail with a fair wind and a willing enemy.
Rob.
Welcome to you Calvin, from here in Bristol uk
Thank you both for the kind wishes. What expansions do you enjoy/recommend purchasing after the core set? I plan to try to collect everything eventually but that's a long ways off.
My reply has altered with the availability of ships over the years. I would say whatever you get try to pair them with an enemy of similar size.
I would go for different types, say a three decker for each side and a sixty four or such then a Sloop. From there you can expand the Squadron. remember it is very rare to field more than say five ships of the line in our battles. For the big games you usually field your own ships with those of friends to make up a Fleet.
I know that both I and Chris (Captain Duff) can do Trafalgar with our own Fleets, but we are avid collectors. Some would call us other names, but not if they are sensible.:wink:
Rob.
Expansions, a long dark slippery slope.
At present be aware there is little in the way of US shipping, official models you have the Uss Constitution and a sloop.
Waves 1 and 2 are getting hard to find, well here in uk anyway, at reasonable prices, so you might want to look here as a starter.
The Spanish ships have been a big source of discussion here as they are noticeably smaller than the original ships. The later ships all suffer from a shrinkage and pureists will see issues with some first rates.
BUT
That said the game is great fun, the rules give a good feel for naval warfare in the Napoleonic period, but the rules are not an exact simulation.
The starter set will give you 2 x 74 gun ships and 2 smaller frigates, British and French, expansion sets are , in my opinion, are shoals and island sets, forts and land batteries, and extra ship mats.... each ship in play needs a set of marker chits, each ship mat comes with a set of these counters. In the starter set you get 4 mats and four sets of these counters.
Extra ships are bought separately and are individually boxed, in the box you get a ship, manoeuvre deck, ship card, ship log and a double sided base card, so each model can be one of two ships.
There are a couple of trains of thought for the game, some think it is best suited to frigate actions while others prefer fleet actions, but there are no official fleet rules.
So after deciding what thread you prefer will say what ships to go for.
Currently the Brits have available two smaller frigates 32 gun Amazon and Concorde class, a larger frigate Hebe 40 guns class , another larger frigate Portland class of 50 guns and a Spanish Mahonesa class. Each of these classes has three packs each with one ship with a choice of 2 named ships.
Hope that not confused you.
If you want fleet actions there are more ship packs ranging from 1st rate 100 gun plus, 74 gun ships and earlier and smaller 64 gun ships.
If you fancy both types of game, I would start by getting a couple of frigates. Then a couple of 74s then a larger 1st rate for RN, French and Spanish fleets.
The link goes to Ares games ship packs, here are all the ships currently published.
https://www.aresgames.eu/games/sails...ory-ship-packs
Once you have a few of these models, you will need extra ships as you need the manoeuvre decks to play, here on the site we have members who can make the mats, ship cards and base insets for any ship you may want.
Not trying to put you off here Calvin, because it is a great game and one I enjoy greatly. I was lucky being in from the start so I have a few ships in my collection and want more.
Get the starter set and try a few games then see what you think, we can then give more advice how to relinquish you cash.
Feel free to ask questions on the game, we have a lot of people who will have an answer, enjoy the game, it is great fun.
If I can help with any advice just ask.
Thank you everyone for all the helpful advice! A couple more questions, are there any specific expansions that people prefer (IE for ships of the line, frigates, etc), and are there any future waves planned for Sails of Glory?
Welcome aboard, Calvin, from the top of the Chesapeake Bay.
What do you mean by expansions? There are a number of house rules that have come about over the years.
I favor small frigates and sloops, but my house rules make them more durable when fighting each other than they are in the unmodified game.
I don't know about upcoming waves, but I'm sure there are people here who do!
Ah I was just referring to ship packs.
Perhaps read through the Solo Campaigns under Campaign Discussions for an idea of the kind of adventures that you favor. That will guide you toward the ships that you'll want/need.
Apart from the starter pack, all ships are sold individually Calvin.Quote:
Originally Posted by CptnFlint01
Rob.
Hi Calvin and welcome from the beautiful Hudson River Valley! My youngest daughter is a special education teacher in Philadelphia -- I very much enjoy visiting the city. This site is full of people with all kinds of knowledge in the field -- if you have questions, ask away and someone will be able to help you.
Bill
Are there any future waves planned by Ares that we know of?
Welcome aboard, Calvin. Were you on Forumini ten years ago?
I do research and historical consulting for Ares, and was part of the team here that developed Ares' Wave 4, but right now while there have been some long-range discussions about Wave 5 there are no concrete plans or active development. Last I heard, the next Sails release being planned was a change of scale and time setting for a Golden Age of Piracy set.
Welcome to the Anchorage, Calvin, from here 'Across The Pond' in the United Kingdom. There is much on this site to add to your enjoyment of the game, so do explore it, particularly the Files section.
Very cool! That's exciting to hear. I believe you and I may have made an acquaintance sometime back on the Forumini (the old one not the new one), in any case glad to see a familiar face!
Over on the Wings side, we're working up a South Pacific set for the next release, but I haven't heard anything more about that for several months now.
Welcome aboard Calvin. I am just to your South down I-95 in Wilmington DE. I grew up in Philly though (center city). Once we can get back to in person gaming I would recommend heading out to Lancaster for Historicon (still scheduled for this July but we'll see). You can pick up ships from several vendors there and every so often Ares shows up with a booth. You can find Ares games being played - mostly Wings but also BSG and SOG.Quote:
Originally Posted by CptnFlint01
Does anyone have any recommendations for where to purchase/how to make terrain? I know there are terrain packs but I've always loved the look of 3D terrain more than just flat cut-outs.
This little lot should fit your needs Calvin.
https://sailsofglory.org/content.php?6-kit-building
Rob.
A long time ago a member here had made 3d cardstock terrain modules, and you'll find lots of foam-scenery work in the Chippy Shop section.
Gale Force 9 used to make two island/terrain sets for Wizkids Pirates fifteen years ago, those might be useful tools to add to the bag if you can find them.
Pipped at the post Comptroller.:wink: I win by a short bowsprit.
Bligh.
I think the cardboard landforms were by RichardPF. Unsure if they're still available, and hope he's well wherever he is...
Here's the link to the 3D coastline that really got me started.
https://sailsofglory.org/showthread....on-in-sequence
I had never done anything like this before Rob's post. Now I have probably two dozen bits of land. It's great fun to make!