Frigate Racing

**David Manley** · 09-21-2015, 13:21

Some thoughts on SOG Frigate Racing

Based on the frigate racing game that Chris ran at Doncaster this weekend, augmented with some thoughts o my own.....

1. 1 island per player plus a central island
2. Islands are placed around the table edge, as equidistant as possible, with the distance to the table edge of Short range.
3. Ships must pass each island. Passing accomplished by crossing line between the edge islands and the nearest table edge or passing within Short range of the central island
4. No wind changes
5. Include sail settings – sail setting may be announced by placing a marker on the manoeuvre card when it is laid on the ship mat.
6. Gunnery is allowed, no special damage

Option – include special damage to masts only

7. Setup as follows:

Number each island
Randomly assign players to islands
Decide wind direction
Players then set up with their ships within Short range of their island
They must still “pass” their island

8. Winner is the first ship to pass every island OR the last ship that has not struck (whichever comes first)

**TexaS** · 09-21-2015, 23:37

How did the sloops fare?
Did the extra speed compensate for the weak combat performance?

**Loki 13** · 09-22-2015, 10:28

Interesting , Very Interresting , Looks like fun.

**David Manley** · 09-22-2015, 13:59

Extra speed and being lucky with the wind and wind changes can make a big difference. having all the contestants passing all the islands and no wind changes should even things out. And using the Ares points system and evening up with captain and crew abilities should help with evening up ship performance. its a starting point anyway :)

**David Manley** · 09-29-2015, 13:15

So we tried out the frigate racing game described above at the Berkeley Vale club last night. No pics as my phone battery was dead, but it was a great game and a perfect way to introduce new players to the rules, especially manoeuvring in confined waters (we were kind to those who hit the islands if it was their first time). Having to navigate the whole course certainly evened things out and the result was fairly close (at least up until the point where the players decided they really wanted to find out more about how the gunnery rules worked and the "last man standing" victory condition determined the eventual winner