CONTENTS Introduction 2 Dice Play 3 Attacking 7 Overview 2 Movement 4 Occupying the same square 13 Components 2 Special manoeuvres 6 Winning the game 14 Set up 3 Running aground 7 Print and play boards 15 1
INTRODUCTION Sloops of war is a game of duelling ships in the age of sail. Use strategy, classic tactics, and a concealed hand of ship s dice to defeat the enemy ship. The numbers on your dice correspond, individually or in combinations, to the readiness of your ship and crew to perform various manoeuvres and attacks. Move your ship and choose which of your dice to hold and which to roll in order to outwit and outfight your opponent. OVERVIEW You start the game with 8 coloured dice (4 red and 4 black). Coloured dice provide movement bonuses and the ability to fire broadsides and to fight boarding actions. You also start the game with 3 white dice. White dice provide movement bonuses and allow special manoeuvres. You keep your hand of dice hidden behind a screen so your opponent will not know for sure what numbers you have available until you decide to use them. To use dice, you take them from behind your screen and present them openly whereupon you will be allowed to perform particular actions. Once used, dice are not returned immediately to your hand. They remain next to the game board as spent dice and cannot be used again until you have the chance to retrieve them. Thus, you will need a sea-captain s nous to decide how to move, which dice to throw, which to keep, and when to use them in order to get the better of your opponent. When your ship is damaged, dice are permanently lost. The objective of the game is to force your opponent s ship to surrender by damaging her until either all her coloured or all her white dice are lost. COMPONENTS 2 ships 8 red dice, 8 black dice, 6 white dice 2 dice cups for throwing dice without displaying the results 2 screens for concealing your hand of dice A board of 10x10 diagonal squares. A compass rose in the centre indicates North. Wind always blows from the North. This will affect how your ships can move. 2 coins which you can turn over to remind you of damage received 2
SET UP Place the two ships on the board, facing the directions indicated on the two decorated ship squares. Each player has 4 red dice, 4 black dice, and 3 white dice. Every turn consists of three short phases: Dice Play where you attempt to make changes to your hand by rolling dice; a Base Move where you move forwards in the direction you re facing at the start of your turn; Extra movements and Attacks. DICE PLAY At the beginning of your turn, you have the option of trying to improve your hand. You can do this in one of three ways. You must declare your decision to your opponent: Throw one or more dice from your hand Select any number of dice from your hand that you wish to throw. You must declare how many dice of each colour you intend to throw. Throw the dice using your cup so your opponent cannot see the results. All the chosen dice must be thrown simultaneously. Retrieve a single spent die Choose any one spent die. Declare which one you are picking up, throw it using your cup and reintegrate it into your hand. Retrieve all spent dice Declare your decision and scoop up all spent dice AND all dice held in hand. Throw all dice with your cup to establish a brand new hand. [NOTE: This is always your best choice on your very first turn, since all your dice are spent when you start the game!] 3
MOVEMENT The movement of your ship consists of a compulsory base move followed by optional extra movements. Compulsory base move Your base move is a compulsory forward movement made in the direction you are facing at the start of your turn. The number of squares you must move for your base move depends on your direction in relation to the wind. - close-hauled: 1 square - Reaching: 1 square - broad reaching: 1 or 2 squares (your choice) - running: 1 square - in irons: 0 squares (you cannot move directly into the wind, i.e. north) - in collision: 0 squares (you cannot occupy the same square as the enemy unless you intend to fight a boarding action) Extra movements After making your base move, you can gain extra movement by spending aces, or a sequence. Spending aces White 5 s, white 6 s and 1 s of any colour are all aces. In a turn, you can spend ONE ace to change direction by 45 degrees and/or ONE ace to gain an extra forward movement of one square. 4
Sequences If you are free of the wind (i.e. on a reach, broad reach, or run), you may gain multiple extra movements by spending a sequence. Sequences are constructed as below: Any ace + 2 (of any colour): Any ace + 2 (of any colour) + white 3: 2 extra movements 3 extra movements Any ace + 2 (of any colour) + white 3 + white 4: 4 extra movements Each extra movement gained from a sequence may be used to change direction by 45 degrees and/or to move forwards one square. A change of direction must always follow a move forward, i.e. the base move or an extra forward movement. You may not spend a sequence AND additional aces in a turn. All dice used in a sequence are spent. The Bosun s Bonus The Boson s Bonus is a free 45 degree change of direction which you may make at the end of your turn without having to spend an ace if you did not fire a broadside during that turn. The Bosun s Bonus MUST ALWAYS be preceded by a forward movement. You may not move or attack after using the Bosun s Bonus - the Bosun s Bonus always ends your turn. Going head into wind A ship cannot sail directly into the wind. If you change direction to face directly north, you are head into wind and cannot move again that turn. If you are head into wind at the start of your turn, your base move is 0 (you are in irons.) You may not use the Bosun s Bonus to get out of irons. You may get out of irons, however, by spending an ace to change direction as if you had made a prior forward move. Once you are out of irons, you are free to continue moving with extra movements as normal. 5
In collision When it is your turn and your way is blocked by the enemy ship lying in the square directly in front of you, you have a choice: you may occupy that square and fight a boarding action, or you may accept that you are in collision. Being in collision is similar to being in irons. Your base move is 0, but you may use aces (or a sequence if you are free of the wind) to change direction and continue moving as normal. SPECIAL MANOEUVRES Special manoeuvres are dramatic direction changes of 90 degrees or more. All special manoeuvres require the spending of TWO aces together. Two aces combined to perform a special manoeuvre count as a single ace to change direction. Thus, you cannot perform a special manoeuvre and use a further ace to change direction in the same turn. You may, however, use a further ace to gain extra forward movement. There are three kinds of special manoeuvre: Going about If you are on a close-hauled course, you may make a 90 degree change of direction through the wind by spending ANY TWO ACES at once. Box hauling If you are on a close-hauled course, you may go about and continue changing direction until your ship is on a reach or broad reach. You require TWO white 5 s to box haul to port, and TWO white 6 s to box haul to starboard. You may also box haul to get out of irons when you are head into wind. Hard a port and hard a starboard With TWO white 5 s you may turn to port by 90 degrees. With TWO white 6 s you may turn to starboard by 90 degrees. Special manoeuvres and sequences The two aces you use to perform a special manoeuvre may be used to start a sequence if you are free of the wind at the end of the manoeuvre 6
RUNNING AGROUND If your base move takes you off the game board, you have run aground and must surrender. Think very carefully about which way your ship is pointing when you are near the edge of the board! ATTACKING There are two ways to attack the enemy ship: fire a broadside or fight a boarding action. Firing broadsides You can fire broadsides by spending red or black 6 s, 5 s or 4 s. Each represents a different type of shot and has a different effect on the enemy ship. Red dice are used for port broadsides. Black dice are used for starboard broadsides. Firing a broadside with 5 s (grapeshot) Red or black 5 s will sweep the enemy ship s deck with grapeshot, killing her crew and reducing her ability to fight and move. The range for grapeshot is shown below: NOTE: When on a diagonal, you attack the point blank square (filled) as you move past it. Although, the point blank square has no special significance when firing grapeshot, it is very significant when firing round shot. 7
Angles of attack The number of red or black 5 s required to hit the enemy ship depends upon her angle in relation to your broadside. Side-on attacks Side-on attacks are when the enemy ship is parallel or nearly parallel to yours. FOUR red or black 5 s are required for a side-on attack. The side-on attack positions: Full rakes Full rakes are when the enemy ship is lying at exactly 90 degrees to your ship. It is a bow rake when the enemy ship is facing you and a stern rake when she is pointing away from you. TWO red or black 5 s are required for a full bow rake. Only ONE red or black 5 is required for a full stern rake. The full rake positions: 8
Half rakes Half rakes are when the enemy ship is at an angle between a full rake and a side-on attack. THREE red or black 5 s are required for a half-bow rake. TWO red or black 5 s are required for a half-stern rake. The half rake positions: Damage The first time you hit the enemy ship with 5 s you must turn over a coin to remind you that the first hit has been made. There is no immediate detrimental effect on the enemy. The second time you hit the enemy ship with 5 s she must lose FOUR coloured dice. The injured ship chooses which dice shall be lost. She may choose any combination of reds or blacks, and may choose spent or unspent dice. The third time you hit the enemy ship with 5 s she must surrender. 9
Firing a broadside with 6 s (chain shot) Red or black 6 s will fire chain shot into the enemy ship s rigging, shredding her sails and drastically reducing her manoeuvrability. The range for chain shot is the same as that for grapeshot. However, due to the heeling of the two ships, 6 s are NOT EFFECTIVE AGAINST A SHIP TO LEEWARD, i.e. a ship further south than you (see below.) When using chain shot, a ship on the yellow spot cannot hit an enemy in the shaded (leeward) area whatever angle she might be at. As with grapeshot, the number of 6 s required to hit the enemy ship depends upon her angle in relation to your broadside. THREE red or black 6 s are required for a side-on attack. TWO red or black 6 s are required for a half-bow rake or a half-stern rake. Only ONE red or black 6 is required for a full-bow rake or a full-stern rake. Damage Every time you hit the enemy ship with 6 s she loses ONE sail (white) die. When she has lost all her sail dice, she surrenders. 10
Firing a broadside with 4 s (round shot) Red or black 4 s will send round shot crashing into the enemy ship causing various types of critical damage depending on the ships relative positions. FOUR red or black 4 s are always required for any broadside with round shot. Range and angle determine the kind of damage that will be dealt. Shatter steerage A stern rake at point blank range shatters the steerage, forcing the enemy ship to SURRENDER INSTANTLY. Dismast A side-on attack at point blank range topples a mast of the enemy ship. She must LOSE ALL BUT ONE OF HER SAIL DICE. If she only had one sail dice before, she SURRENDERS. Twixt wind and water Due to the heeling of the two ships, round shot fired at range (not point blank) from a windward position in a side-on attack will make a hole dangerously low in the enemy ship s exposed hull. This causes damage equivalent to TWO hits with grapeshot (since crew members are hurried to bailing duties!) Thus if the enemy ship s crew had not been hit before, she must now lose four deck dice. If her crew had already been hit, she now surrenders. The positions for hitting twixt wind and water are: NOTE: When shooting Twixt wind and water, round shot has a longer range than grapeshot and chain shot. The angles for a twixt wind and water hit at long range are the same as those for an attack at normal range. 11
When can you fire broadsides? You may fire broadsides at ANY point during your turn. That is, you may fire before making your base move, after your base move, before or after any extra movements, or midway through any special manoeuvres or sequences. You may fire ONE broadside per turn. You may not fire after taking a Bosun s Bonus since the Bosun s Bonus always ends your turn. Fighting boarding actions Boarding actions are fierce, often decisive hand to hand battles fought between the crews of two ships. They are possible only when both ships are occupying the same square. When you are on the same square as the enemy and wish to attack with a boarding action, you must show ONE OR MORE coloured 3 s (red and/ or black) from your hand. There is no requirement as to how many 3 s you must show for a successful attack but, once you have presented them, the defending ship may present 3 s of her own to repel the attack. The defending ship will successfully repel the attack if she can produce at least HALF the number of coloured 3 s presented by the attacking ship. That is, an attack with one or two 3 s is repelled by one 3; and attack with three or four 3 s is repelled by two 3 s, etc. [It makes good sense to attack using an odd number of 3 s since adding one more to make up an even number is no more likely to succeed!] All dice presented by the attacking and defending ships are spent. Attacking with a boarding action always ends your turn. You may not attack again or move after attacking with a boarding action. Damage The losing ship, whether attacker or defender, suffers damage equivalent to ONE hit with grapeshot. 12
OCCUPYING THE SAME SQUARE To move onto the same square as the enemy ship, you must take three steps: 1) Move onto the square following the normal rules for movement. 2) Place your ship side by side and parallel with the enemy ship. (see coming alongside below.) 3) Fight a boarding action to complete your turn. NOTE: You MUST fight a boarding action when you move onto the enemy s square. You may not move onto the enemy ship s square unless you are prepared to come alongside and fight a boarding action in that turn. Coming alongside Once you have moved onto the enemy ship s square you must place your ship parallel to her on the side from which you approached. If you approached from directly in front or from directly behind, you may choose which side to come alongside (a). If you approached from behind or on her stern quarter, you will come alongside pointing in the same direction as the enemy ship (b). If you approached from the front or on her bow quarter, you will come alongside pointing in the opposite direction as the enemy ship (c). If you approached 90 degrees to her beam, you may choose (d). Coming alongside is automatic when you move onto the enemy ship s square and does not require the spending of any extra dice. 13
Beginning your turn on a shared square If you are alongside the enemy ship at the beginning of your turn, you start your turn with the usual Dice Play options. Then you may choose whether to attack with a boarding action, take no action, or disengage and move off the square. You may not fire broadsides whilst sharing a square. Disengaging In order to move, you must disengage first by spending an ace. Once you have spent an ace to disengage, you will move as normal, starting with your base move in the direction you are facing. If you are facing head into wind, you will move off on a close-hauled course with a corresponding base move of 1. You may not disengage in the same turn where you attacked with a boarding action, since a boarding action ends your turn. Taking no action If you decide to remain alongside the enemy and take no action at all, BOTH ships must drift south one square. If drifting results in the ships moving off the game board, the leeward ship (that is the ship on the southern most side) is run aground and the windward ship wins. If both ships run aground pointing north to south or south to north, the ship with the least remaining dice is run aground and surrenders. If both ships have equal numbers of remaining dice, the ship with the least unspent dice is run aground and surrenders. If both ships have the same number of unspent dice, the result is a draw! WINNING THE GAME You win the game when the enemy ship: - surrenders because of a critical hit with round shot - surrenders because she has no more coloured dice - surrenders because she has no more white dice - surrenders because she has run aground Talk about this game at www.facebook.com/sloopsofwar and www.twitter.com/saucerbrain 14
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