Naval Wargames Rules Fleet Action 1000 B.C. to 500 A.D. (1973)

Naval Wargames Rules Fleet Action 1000 B.C. to 500 A.D. are ancient naval wargaming rules that are simplified enough to allow for large fleet actions using model ships.

The ships range from small open galleys to large Hellenistic-era "16s" (sixteen men per oar--the dreadnoughts of their time). Ship models are organized in squadrons of varying size. Each ship is rated by speed, ramming factor, and boarding factor. Ship's speed is also affected by crew quality.

The game is played on an area marked off by hexagons or offset rectangles. Terrain can be added in the form of coastline or rocks (or perhaps a Scylla and Charybdis).

Movement can be by oar, sail, or boat-sail. Each type of propulsion has its own pluses and minuses. Moving by oars can tire your crews, but moving by sail makes you subject to the wind--also, having a sail aboard your boats can be a negative for taking reaction tests (have sail, will sail away).

The action is pretty fast when ships start crunching together. The rules for ramming are simple and deadly. Boarding actions can be affected by the use of towers or "ferrea manus" (grappling devices such as the Roman corvus). Some ships may have war engines that can kill crew and reduce an opponent's boarding factor.

Once a squadron starts losing ships, it may be forced to retire by a negative Reaction Test result.

There isn't much "chrome" in these rules. Players wanting more detail on ship handling and employing ancient naval tactics (like the deikplous), should use a different set of rules. However, for gaming an action that involves a large number of ships, these rules allow fast play and a game resolution in a reasonable amount of time.