Frigate: sea war in the age of sail Reviewed by Paul Syms This is one of the few games which would qualify for a "general interest" title. It is a very popular simulation with a complexity rating of 6.1, and is well worth investing in even if you are not particularly interested in the period. Frigate portrays the sea war in the age of sail in twenty scenarios from 1702-1825. These range from ship to ship actions to Trafalgar. The game equipment is up to SPl's usual high standard of presentation, with a generous selection of vessels in four mixes, a thorough (though tedious) rules folder, SiMove pad and a six-part geomorphic mapsheet which is very useful as games 'travel' in the direction of the wind. The scenarios are presented in a separate leaflet with full instructions and historical notes plus some interesting playtest notes with suggested tactics and a hint about the bias of the game. The ships themselves range from a formidable 120 gun first rate to a defenceless merchantman with vast numbers of 74 gun 3rd rates. There seems to be a bias towards the American fleets, although they only appear in substantial numbers in the hypothetical 'Cape Fear' action. The American 74 gun ships of the line are superior in nearly every way to the huge French 110 gun first rates, and the firepower of their 32 gun frigate is greater than that of the British 74 gun ships of the line. However, this does not unbalance 'Cape Fear' as the US player has five merchantmen to protect. Rules are in a fully indexed leaflet, and can be modified to suit the type of game by using the comprehensive selection of optional rules. Some, such as the explosions and optional afoul combat rules should be used at all times as they add spice to the actions and provide the Franco-Spanish player with the chance of an even game. Other optionals add little to the game and clutter the system. Combat is done on an odds system, crew efficiency being shown by using one of three CRTs. There is damage control at the end of each game-turn, but this is in my view too efficient, so I prefer to omit it in large actions. However, if this is done in smaller action, 'preservation' is reached too quickly, and if left in, any damage inflicted is patched up before any decisive result can be reached. Therefore I use my own watered down damage control table (optional No. 7.32). Frigate uses SiMove, but this does not work as well as it does in 'Patrol!' or 'Tank!'. If the wind is fresh, vessels move so fast that one can travel in, through and out of the enemy field of fire without knowing it. This means that it is very difficult to bring down effective fire (i.e. from 0-400 yards) and almost impossible to rake. Another disadvantage with SiMove is when attempting to run afoul (i.e. grapling and boarding). Often the playtest notes advise one player to make use of his only advantage - afoul combat - as he cannot win any other way. The player must therefore be able to predict what hex the enemy will be in at what time, and then be able to obtain the right die roll. The 'Battle of the Nile' is provided as a solitaire scenario, and shows accurately the massacre when one fleet catches another at anchor. The first time I played this I obtained nearly every victory point available by capturing most of the ships, and I was surprised to find that Nelson only obtained half my total. This led me to conclude either that I was a better admiral than Nelson or that there was something wrong with the rules. Having considered the latter more probable, l decided to revise the victory points gained for captures (optional rule 11.4) so that if a ship is captured complete it is very valuable, but if it has not much left then it is not worth the effort capturing it. Wind is a critical factor in 'Frigate' as an unfavourable wind-change can reverse the game. It is vital to have the wind gauge as this enables you to attack the rear of the enemy formation, and with luck push the fleet over preservation before the van can rejoin the action. Of the two wind tables provided, no. 6.35 is best ignored, but the optional table is meteorologically more accurate, still enabling the losing player to blame defeat on the weather rather than foul luck. Strategy and Tactics No.44 (Tank!), available as a back issue, is an excellent companion to 'Frigate' as the second article 'Sea War in the Age of Sail' gives extra background material on which gamers can base more optional rules. Once the scenarios have been exhausted, this magazine, plus extra information from a book such as '25 centuries of Sea Warfare' by Jaques Mordal, can give all that is required to construct a new scenario, though it is necessary to playtest thoroughly to fix the finer points. One could also invent further optional rules to expand the subject matter to include cutting-out missions, bomb-ketches, fireships and shore batteries for actions such as Navarino Bay. Below are some more suggested optional rules. (7.17) Ships of the first line may not fire at frigates, sloops or corvettes unless they fire first. This does not apply to merchant ships. (7.18) When any ship fires its first broadside, add one to the die roll. If '6' obtained, it remains as '6'. (7.19) When firing at an afoul vessel from 2 or more hexes range, if a throw of '1 ' or '2' is rolled, the damage is inflicted on the other ships masts. (7.31) Merchantmen are not subject to explosions but do suffer from damage due to other ships exploding in their area. (7.32) Modifications to existing damage control table. From each column subtract 1/6th chance of repairing hit. (7.51) The American 44 gun frigates suffer from rule 7.5 as they carried 54 guns in two decks. This is because they were only designated 44 gunners although carrying 54 guns. This is pointed out by S&T No.44 and also the author, Bjorn Landstrom. In fact, the American 44 gun frigates had their lower ports just seven feet above the waterline, as compared with eight feet for a British 100 gunner. Both ships would have gundecks awash fairly quickly. (11.4) Ignore the last part of rule 11.0. Instead, give three victory points for each undamaged portion of the ship captured.