Game: Broadsides and Boarding Parties

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fishmountains — 2008-11-16T21:36:28+00:00

frankenfletch setting sail

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Toynan — 2008-11-05T00:33:23+00:00

inside the box (boats are upside down te be able to close the box cover)

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Toynan — 2008-11-04T14:06:46+00:00

3/4 view of the back of the bilingual edition

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Toynan — 2008-11-04T13:57:23+00:00

3/4 view of the bilingual edition

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

mark5ok — 2008-10-29T21:38:10+00:00

Well... to actually ANSWER "Blue Dane's" question...

Yes, to really get the ships to store properly back in the box you would have to disassemble them everytime. Of course, I never did... and now I have a strangely bowed box top and even my board has become warped?? That really pissed me off!!

Maybe, you could try adding some additional cardboard supports for the box-top. Ya know, putting some extra cardboard pieces in there that will hold the top up higher and allow enough room for the assembled boats to be placed inside. That might be the way to go??

Thread: Re: Canadian Version

spencer_myers — 2008-10-22T02:36:12+00:00

I have the Canadian bilingual language versions of this, plus all the other Gamemaster series except Conquest of the Empire. (Which, as a collector, drives me absolutely bananas... why didn't I just plunk down the money and buy it back in the 80s while I had the chance? Stupid!

I would assume that the production run of the Canadian version was much smaller than the American version.

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Dan R. — 2008-09-27T23:36:05+00:00

An' I says there be men who be afeared o' the sea.

Stay at home in the kitchen, me lad, the briney blue is not fer such as ye...

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Toynan — 2008-09-27T21:19:12+00:00

view of the game

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Sphere — 2008-09-27T18:30:27+00:00

I was just kidding around with Raspler, but the truth is I still feel the sting of disappointment over this game after 26 years. The physical design problems were irritating, but it was game play, or more precisely lack of it, that killed it for me. Samurai Swords and Fortress America were great games, and B&BP falls sooooo far short of that standard.

I realize that others like it, but is there anybody who honestly thinks it was not the weakest design in the MB Gamemaster series?

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

volnon — 2008-09-27T17:30:34+00:00

Sphere wrote:
You're right - once assembled, it won't fit back in the box. You'll also find while playing that the slightest vibration causes the figures to slide across the tilted decks.

B&BP looks great in pictures, but the reality falls far short.

Reality, of course, is a matter of personal perspective. I see this game as a lot of fun and no real problem.

To prevent the sailors and pirates from slipping off the decks, smear a very thin layer of liquid tube silicone on the bottom of the plastic bases. Once fully dried, the men WILL NOT SLIP OFF.

Game on!

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Toynan — 2008-09-27T16:02:37+00:00

A boat

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Toynan — 2008-09-27T15:59:32+00:00

close up on a boat

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

Cecrow — 2008-09-27T04:34:14+00:00

Would like to try playing this sometime, though the chances of that look slim/nill; I've never laid eyes on a copy except vicariously. But as for capturing the pirates feel, I've been more than happy with the 7th Sea card game.

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

erwinrd — 2008-07-29T20:37:11+00:00

There is a form of wax used by folks with crystal items to prevent them from slipping within their display cases when big lumoxes (Lumoxen? Lumoxi?) pass on by them. I don't remember the category or type of the wax it is, but a craftsy sort of place ought to steer you in the right direction.

My two bits...

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

volnon — 2008-05-28T00:31:12+00:00

Well, with all the little pirates and the big pirate ships, how could you not play with it like a toy? To me, that is what made it so fun. Toy-like, but a game as well.

I realize the game had some problems, but I have yet to play a game that captures the pirate feel that it does.

Or maybe it was the booze that made me feel so piratey...

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

Aetheros — 2008-05-27T17:02:27+00:00

Fond memories. Completely forgotten about it. When I was a kid, it seemed more fun as a toy than a game.

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

volnon — 2008-05-26T01:04:47+00:00

Will do- of course, the game is rather pricey right now because of its rarity. But if I ever plan to sell it I will email you here at BGG.

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

Hamster_boy — 2008-05-26T00:23:22+00:00

Ha! this pic just surfaced on 4chan.org, and i submitted it here on BGG for game identification. It is funny that i can actually put names to the faces. If you are ever looking to get rid of that game, let me know.

hamster

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Dan R. — 2008-03-30T19:36:38+00:00

The slippery pirate problem is really just confined to the four guns aft (both port and starboard E and F guns, I believe).

It's not a perfect solution, but I have found that if you cram the attending pirates aft of their canons, the nozzles protruding from the gun-port tends to hold them all in place.

And I'll say this about relative historicity in B&BP: with very few exceptions, it's the only game where pirates DON'T fight other pirates... which is something they never did historically, either. It seems that every pirate game designer gets that wrong.

(Looking forward to the revised Blackbeard, by the way.)

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Sphere — 2008-03-30T19:23:46+00:00

Dan R. wrote:
I'll cross your T in hell, Fagin! Arrr!

I'll use me bow gun to blow those little sliding pirates* off your deck, Danny me Boyo.

* They do slide really well, though. A re-theme as an ice dancing game might work. Do you think Dick Button would look good on the cover?

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Dan R. — 2008-03-30T18:21:45+00:00

The guys who put B&BP in the GameMaster series should have been keel hauled.
I'll cross your T in hell, Fagin! Arrr!

don't short change B&BP short.
No pirate could have said it better!

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

ronster0 — 2008-03-30T02:37:30+00:00

Sphere wrote:
Dan R. wrote:

Sacrilege! Ye scruvy dog, Fagin! B&BP puts the "Master" in GameMaster! If they had a "thumbs down" button, you'd have earned yourself a full demerit!

Ah, I wouldn't expect a lubber like you to understand.

The guys who put B&BP in the GameMaster series should have been keel hauled. Samurai and Fortress America were the real jewels in that treasure, mate.

Agreed, those two games are the cream of this series, but don't short change B&BP short. I have played this game many of time, even recently, and it was fun as heck and went down to the end. Still fun, if a bit lite.

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Sphere — 2008-03-29T23:45:31+00:00

Dan R. wrote:

Sacrilege! Ye scruvy dog, Fagin! B&BP puts the "Master" in GameMaster! If they had a "thumbs down" button, you'd have earned yourself a full demerit!

Ah, I wouldn't expect a lubber like you to understand.

The guys who put B&BP in the GameMaster series should have been keel hauled. Samurai and Fortress America were the real jewels in that treasure, mate.

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Dan R. — 2008-03-29T23:25:00+00:00

Sphere wrote:
B&BP looks great in pictures, but the reality falls far short.

Sacrilege! Ye scruvy dog, Fagin! B&BP puts the "Master" in GameMaster! If they had a "thumbs down" button, you'd have earned yourself a full demerit!

Ah, I wouldn't expect a lubber like you to understand.

The sailing and shooting part of the game is awesome, and knocking down masts or sweeping the enemy decks of his crew when you cross his T is an experience unequalled in all of naval gaming!

Though it is true that the ships are too big to close the box.

And the sailors do slide down the decks and mess everything up if you roll the dice too hard.

But what do you expect, ye swab? The deck are slippery with blood!

(Seriously, though, the sailing parts of the game, while cartoonish, can provide a lot of exceptional Jack Aubrey-ish maneuver and combat. Sadly, the second half of the game -- the boarding party stuff -- is pretty much a dice fest.)

Thread: Re: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

Sphere — 2008-03-29T22:48:36+00:00

You're right - once assembled, it won't fit back in the box. You'll also find while playing that the slightest vibration causes the figures to slide across the tilted decks.

B&BP looks great in pictures, but the reality falls far short.

Thread: Broadsides and Boarding Parties Storage?

BlueDane — 2008-03-29T20:04:33+00:00

I was wondering since I just picked up the game on ebay; do the ships have to be disassembled to store them in the box? It seems that the box is too small to store the ships assembled. How are you guys storing it? Do you disassemble the ships every time you're going to put it away?

Thread: Re: Canadian Version

Freitag — 2008-02-14T22:47:02+00:00

I have that French Canadian version too!

Thread: Re: Canadian Version

Preacherbbb — 2008-01-31T03:05:01+00:00

Thank you for the quick reply. I was wondering if many other people have this version? I also have Fortress America and Samurai Swords (orginally called shogun).

Thread: Re: Canadian Version

volnon — 2008-01-31T02:11:37+00:00

Just guessing, but I suspect it is quite rare. I have never heard of the version you describe, but I am no expert. I DO know that the regular all-English version is rare, so yours should be rarer.

Thread: Canadian Version

Preacherbbb — 2008-01-30T23:11:46+00:00

I bought this game in Canada, when it first game out. The rules ,cards and board and in English/French. Does anyone know if this version is more rare than the others. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

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ronster0 — 2008-01-13T00:08:33+00:00

Loosing Captain made to walk the Plank!

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ronster0 — 2007-12-22T16:36:02+00:00

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Saamrory — 2007-05-28T09:37:35+00:00

Thread: Re: General Comment/B&B

paracletus3 — 2007-05-17T07:58:35+00:00

A friend of mine suggested a couple of variants that seem to work out okay. All we had to do was swipe a small treasure chest from one game, about 12 cannon from an old ship model, and "borrow" 2 ships from a Regatta game, photocopy the deck layout of the bigger ships but minus 1 mast...well, and make up some more movement cards. This setup can be played by 2 solo players, or up to 4 people with 2 per team.

Anyways, we put the chest on the central island, with totally random amounts of "gold pieces" assigned per game. Only the fleet that safely absconded with the gold and made it to their opening movement spot could claim it, and replace the value inside with a different "gold piece" count. With enough collected "gold pieces" over time, one could upgrade upon predetermined upgrades per cost.

We then called the 3-masted Regatta ships 'sloops'. Using the photocopy of the original ships' decktops (but leaving out the aft, or poop, deck), we assigned 6 cannons to each, leaving their placement to the whims of the individual player.
Each sloop was also given a 4th card per turn instead of the ship-of-the-line's 3 card draw, simulating the smaller ship's agility.

If there is only 2 people playing, they become commodores, pilating both ships. The usual scenario ends up being that the rival sloops dash to the island, and try to abscond with the chest, while the ships-of-the-line duke it out, or try to blockade the opposing sloop IN the central island's harbor.
I HAVE seen when 1 sides' 2 ships catch an opponent in a broadside crossfire...devastating, if you roll well! But...that leaves a mad scramble to catch the sneaky ship that's already pulled up to the island, and is now absconding with the treasure chest...

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

volnon — 2007-01-11T18:27:30+00:00

No problem- there is always room for disagreement, certainly over boardgames! I could easily see how some gamers may not like B&BP.

By the same token, a lot of people seem to really like Pirates Cove, yet I have not picked it up. It does look like it might have some piratey-goodness within the DOW box, but I have never been tempted to get it!

If you ever have a chance, give the old MB pirates another play- insist on being the pirates and go into full pirate characterization. You might develope a bit of a liking for it with enough "Arrrs", "me matey", and "shiver me timbers"!

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

Sphere — 2007-01-11T16:55:39+00:00

I'm glad you didn't take offense, Steve, because none was intended. I enjoyed reading your session report, and responded to the question in it honestly.

Like you, I think there is room for us to disagree without being disagreeable. I have no doubt that I like some games which you don't care for, and certainly wouldn't be offended to hear you say so. A conversation gets boring very quickly if everyone agrees on everything.

Broadsides and Boarding Parties was, for me, a huge disappointment. But I don't expect my taste to be universally shared. There are currently a number of pirate games in production, and I'm hoping at least one of them will suit me better.

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

volnon — 2007-01-11T15:07:39+00:00

Sphere's comments do not bother me- perhaps he did not give the game enough plays to enjoy its subtle nuances. How could you spend much time on one game when you have over 300 to pick from? I have over 100 and it requires a lot of effort to play them enough to not put one down too quickly just because the first impression was not all that great.

But we all have a right to our opinion, and it does not pay to get upset over one persons stance on a game.

Especially one about pirates!

ARRRRR!

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

freakengine — 2007-01-11T07:34:56+00:00

Sphere wrote:

I think they won't re-release it because many people (including me) thought it was a terribly weak game. Pretty pieces aren't enough to make up for lack of game play.

Gee, weaknesses in games don't EVER seem to be a factor re:what gets released or rereleased. Oh wait...You were just trying to slam Steve for liking the game weren't you? Oh, I'll bet he appreciated that! You're so cool.

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

volnon — 2006-12-30T17:22:43+00:00

Weak but fun with loads of atmosphere! That is enough sometimes!

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

Sphere — 2006-12-29T23:35:56+00:00

volnon wrote:

Why don't they re-release this game? With cheap Chinese prices now is the time to take advantage of it... I am sure every BGG pirate lover (and there are plenty) would buy it!

I think they won't re-release it because many people (including me) thought it was a terribly weak game. Pretty pieces aren't enough to make up for lack of game play.

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

volnon — 2006-12-29T21:55:07+00:00

Yes it is a trailer, about 14 feet wide by 60 feet long. I recently totally refurbished it by adding 2 rooms to it, 2 outside porches, and painting almost every square inch with white paint. Amazing that it still stands pretty solidly so near the beach after almost 40 years!

As for games- well, the place has plenty of them, including that original Broadsides and Boarding Parties! It has not been played since last year, but it is overdue for the gaming table.

Thanks for your comments! steve

Thread: Re: The story behind the photo # 131486

JoshBot — 2006-12-29T11:19:56+00:00

BEST PIC ON THE GEEK!

Thanks so much for posting it, it's a time machine to a place I remember very fondly.

I guess that place is gaming in a trailer?

Thread: The story behind the photo # 131486

volnon — 2006-07-06T20:34:50+00:00

Harry came over ready to party and play games- he was, after all, the guy who introduced me to gaming as I know it. He had brought his copy of Broadsides & Boarding Parties, and supplemented it with a "cap" from the local Long John Silvers fish eatery. I had cheap beer. We set up the game in my crappy little trailer 1/4 a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and began to play, drinking malt liquor and trying our best to be pirates or navy dudes.

The first thing we noticed was how the men kept slipping off the decks of the big ships. Not good. Plus our slightly drunken hands kept bumping into the masts and shaking the big ships, causing the already unstable men to fall even more. The game was not starting out well due to poor design. And drunkeness? Needless to say, we continued.

We liked the way the game was divided in 2 parts- moving the small ships and then using the large ships as "close-up" shots of the smaller ships. The rules were pretty clear and straightforward, and we did not argue about interpretation very much. We sailed around the map board using the cards to move our small ships, drinking beer as we went. So far so good. Brappppp!

Harry, sailing his small ship the way he drives his car while drunk, rammed my ship for a boarding party. He did not play around, and ran his captain up to my captain, mono to mono. It was f*cking great as we slugged it out... until I lost the dice roll! Argh!

So the game is excellent, even if the physical aspects of it are a bit weak when men fall off the deck. I later applied a thin layer of type 1 silicon to the base of the men, and they did not slide as much.

We both liked the way the game was divided into 2 parts- the small ship and the large ship, and after shooting at each other with cannon we would get personal and board the large ships to fight the pieces on the blood- splattered decks of the large ships. If Sid Meirs (sp?) is lucky he will have a game at least half as good as this to capture the pirate spirit!

Why don't they re-release this game? With cheap Chinese prices now is the time to take advantage of it... I am sure every BGG pirate lover (and there are plenty) would buy it!

]]>

Thread: Re: Researching Broadsides & Boarding Parties for trivia con

Sukigod — 2006-02-08T15:47:08+00:00

Thanks for anyones help. Yo ucan email them to sukigod@astound.net

100 dpi is fine, as long as they're readable.

Most appreciated!

Randy

Thread: Re: Researching Broadsides & Boarding Parties for trivia contest

berserkley — 2006-02-07T23:16:36+00:00

This might be helpful:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...

Thread: Re: Researching Broadsides & Boarding Parties for trivia contest

bryanb — 2006-02-07T22:09:31+00:00

Also check out Pirate's Cove, and Meuterer if you want more pirate games

Thread: Re: Researching Broadsides & Boarding Parties for trivia contest

f-p-p-m — 2006-02-07T22:02:54+00:00

Ok, I´ve scanned the Rules, Cards, Figures and Counters, send me your private mail adress and I will send them to you.

Rulesscan is readable, but to keep the *.pdf file small, only in 100 dpi.

But for the theme of the trivia contest, you may also need something about "Blackbeard", "Pirates of the Spanish Main" ( and add ons ) "Plunder" and there are many more of games with this theme.

Thread: Researching Broadsides & Boarding Parties for trivia contest

Sukigod — 2006-02-07T20:48:16+00:00

Hi all,

The local University in my hometown (that would be St. Cloud State in Minnesota) has a student run radio station that puts on a 50 hour trivia marathion each year. It's like Trivial Pursuit on steroids for 50 hours straight. 8-10 Questions an hour over the radio and we find and call in the answers to hopefully win a big ugly urn. More available at www.kvsc.org

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is this years theme is Trivia on the High Seas and I need information on a game called Broadside & Boarding Parties. Yeah, the MB Game Master series. I remember the game and have gathered all the info from this site (and a few others) just in case they ask a question about the game.

I've got the name of the ships invovled but can't find pics of the cards, list of the crews or a copy (pdf,picture or text) of the rules.

Does anyone have anything like this? If not, is anyone who owns a copy of this game willing to take pictures of these parts and email them to me? No, they're not for reproduction (I' don't have that kind of time) this is strictly for reaserch for the contest.

I'd like to thank anyone who can help in advance. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Randy Tenvoorde
Captain of Team D.O.A. Hole
http://users.mn.astound.net/doahole/

Thread: Re: Preview

zurupeto — 2006-01-03T21:24:50+00:00

Why the heck is the BGG server bot posting previews of Broadsides and Boarding parties?

Thread: Re: Preview

bodtchboy — 2006-01-03T20:54:22+00:00

malloc wrote:
Neil Carr (#562),

I had this as a kid. The game itself was average. Worth a play now and then, but got old fast.

My little Brother and I used to take the ships into the hallway at our house, and shoot rubber-bands at them to knock the guys down. We had an elaberate set of rules for how many shots you got depending on cannons still manned and how far a boat could rotate per turn. I remember this being more fun than the actual game. At least to a 10 year old.

-M

Hehe, I used to do the same thing with my lego "pirates" set. Pretty fun!! especially when you double & triple the rubber bands & take off half a ship in one shot.

Thread: Snow Day Steal

jollypirate — 2005-11-17T04:21:34+00:00

Marty and I kicked off our snow day game off today with this collectible lil' bugger that I'm putting on Ebay for a friend.

After playing it, I kinda wish it wasn't going cross country, though not $90 worth of wishing.

We got the game rules under our belt quickly, and we were both impressed at the mechanics of the card playing/simultanious movement of the ships.

There is a high level of luck involved, but the ships are so pretty and the play quick and varied that I didn't mind at all. Marty was raking me with the cannons, but when we closed for boarding (after only a few cannon shots)I bounced back with some lucky rolls in the hand to hand combat.

Both the sea portion and the boarding portion give enough options that--while ultimately success is decided by the dice gawds--you gave each turn some thought.

It came down to our captains battling one another for the victory...which I snatched away...dealing Marty his first defeat of the day.

Fun, light game. Glad I got to try it, but won't pine over its passing.

Thread: Yo ho ho and a box full of fun

bodtchboy — 2005-07-09T21:26:33+00:00

"Another broadside, and she goes down with the tide!" --Pirates of the Carribean ride

You're the captain of an 10 gun warship in this 1980's Milton Bradley strategy board game. Objective: destroy the enemy captain!

This 2 player game is a wonderful depicted strategy game of 2 pirate ships battling it out. There are 2 stages to the game:

1)A gridded board in the sea with a few islands around it. Each player has 1 small boat piece and a few cards. The cards are how you move and are labeled starbord, port, forward, or stop. Each player puts face down 3 cards in the player's preferred order and players simultaneously turn over 1 card at a time following the direction of the card. The objective in this stage is to line your ship within 3-5 spaces (can't remember how close they need to be) of the enemy, & fire cannons at each other. If you are within the necessary distance & are either angled diagonaly towards your enemy ship (you get to fire 2 canons) or have a full broadside (you get to fire 5 cannons), you roll the dice & see if you do any damage.
Now if you roll the dice and it is a hit, or if both of your ships collide using the movement cards (accidentally or on purpose), you use the 2nd stage:

2)Each player has a scale model of their 10 gun, 3 masted warship (5 cannons on each side). The model ships are also grided & about 20 pirate molds along with the captain mold are placed in seperate grids.

Now if you rolled a hit with your cannons, you then roll a seperate pair of dice that will correspond to a section on the model ship. Whichever corresponding section you roll on the pair of dice is the section on your enemy's model ship that is damaged. Whatever is on the section rolled is no longer useable: if canon, is taken from the model ship & cannot be used to fire, if pirate, is taken from the model ship, if mast, is taken from the model ship & you loose a movement card to play each turn. If the captain is hit by canon fire, a new captain is placed in his stead. To win in this position, you must destroy a certain amount of the enemy's hull, or until the enemy surrenders.

However, if the 2 ships collide on the gridded map, both models are placed in the middle of the board & players exchance as many men as they wish to the opposing ship, each pirate moving 1 space per turn, in an attempt to kill the opposing team captain while defending your own. When in this position, you can no longer use the grided map & fire cannons. However, once the opposing captain is killed in this stage, you win!

MY OUTLOOK

I give this game 2 thumbs up & this is #1 in my top 10 board games, though I have not played many strategy board games.

I played this game when I was in my early teens & was immediately my favorite board game. However, it was not my game & I have not been able to play it since. The game is like a fighting ring: a small area for only 2 people to duke it out. However, it is a fight with no rules: you can use anything you have!! The strategy & nonlinear play in this game is endless due to the 2 stages of fighting and cards & dice. Though I hate the game "risk" due to the dependancy on lucky dice rolling, each roll of the die on Broadsides & boarding parties is a 50/50 chance: hit or miss. And the second set of dice rolling just tells you where the damage is.

The only downside to this game, is that it has been out of production since 1984. Broadsides & Boarding parties has been selling on ebay for around $100.

Thread: Re:Preview

malloc — 2004-06-30T02:18:59+00:00

Neil Carr (#562),

I had this as a kid. The game itself was average. Worth a play now and then, but got old fast.

My little Brother and I used to take the ships into the hallway at our house, and shoot rubber-bands at them to knock the guys down. We had an elaberate set of rules for how many shots you got depending on cannons still manned and how far a boat could rotate per turn. I remember this being more fun than the actual game. At least to a 10 year old.

-M

Thread: Re:Preview

Bighab — 2004-01-09T05:46:59+00:00

I have this game myself and I enjoy the "broadsides" part. the "boarding parties" part leaves alot to be desired. has anyone come up with any house rules to make this part more enjoyable?

Thread: Re:Preview

Bribaba — 2003-12-31T22:10:07+00:00

Imagine (#24659),

How can an article on a game which has been out of print for many years, be considered a "preview"?

Thread: Re:Preview

Imagine — 2003-12-31T15:00:31+00:00

Neil Carr (#562),

you mention that "With just a little more tweaking however this segment of the game comes off very well."

So in what way did you tweak the rules? I have recently acquired this game and would appreciate any suggestions.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Played this game again for the first time in 15 years last weekend. Game play was fun, but it seems like it would do a lot better with the following idea for a variant:

Make the picture of the ship and the compass on your side of the board "safe spots". At one, you can repair your ship in two sections (remove hull damage from two sections, replace 2 masts, or any combination) and then have to go out to sea again on the next turn. At the other "safe spot" you can 'Shanghai' some more men and cannons on your ship -- four more men and two more cannons, say -- and then you have to go out to sea again on the next turn. You can only go to each "safe spot" only once in the game.

I'm curious as to what this might add to game. I think it might lengthen the broadsides portion a bit, but I think it would increase the tactical decision-making in the game, which would be nice.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Once you get past how neat the pieces look, this game gets old fast. It is easily the worst of the MB series of big boxed games.

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Broadsides is a great, fun little game by MB. Our group is big into Axis & Allies so it was quite a treat to try something different from the Gamesmaster series. This is a relatively new acquisition for us (e-bay auction.)
Due to its relative simplicity I thought I would have trouble convincing any of the guys to give it a try.

However J.Snyder answered the call. He wanted to be the Spanish- I took the pirates. As a house rule we allowed our mates to run around on the decks so long as at least one manned a cannon in order to fire it.

Oh Boy was this short and sweet. Snyder and I locked up almost immediately around the central island. He got in the first true broadside and made a mess out of my starboard side as I was racked with hull damage right from the get go.
My salvo mostly went wide and I only succeeded in taking out his center gun on his port.
Another exchange left me taking on water reducing my speed by one third. Snyder lost his Captain and the top of his main mast but i could not exploit this temporary advantage as i was wedged inbetween islands and could not help getting
hit again with a full spread that swept across my decks killing crew and knocking out guns all over.

Snyder easily finished me off with a ramming attack that i could not avoid as I was down to one third speed. His final salvo before the boarding action sunk the Seahawk outright-I would have been slaughtered in the hand to hand anyway.
YEs the royal isabella was victorious and i went 0-1 with my own game! Oh well! Snyder said he enjoyed it. I did not think he would. I can't wait to get my revenge and I told him this was just a fluke. hehe

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BoardGameGeek — 2000-07-09T18:09:36+00:00

Milton Bradley's first and perhaps most ambitious title in their Gamemaster series of games. Broadsides and Boarding Parties details a confrontation between two ships, one an English naval ship defending the seas from villainy, and the other a pirate ship out to prey upon its hunter. As the name implies there are two divisions to the game, first players engage each other with cannon, attempting to angle themselves for a powerful broadside attack, and then when the ships get close enough then the boarding parties join in and it becomes a big brawl of seamen to see who wins the day.

When you see this game you can't really begin anywhere else other than to talk about the game components. Milton Bradley bent over backwards to give us a very dramatic looking game. Each player has their own foot long plastic and cardboard sailing ship, including several masts, cannon, crew and captain figures. All assembled the ships stand about foot tall and are covered with crew and cannon, ready for battle. Along with these ships and crew each player also gets a smaller figure to represent their ship on the gameboard, and they also get a complete deck of cards to use for plotting movement. Game component wise this is one of the most luxurious boardgames designs you could possibly find in the market. It is unfortunate that the gameplay was not as polished as the components.

As I mentioned before there are two parts to the game. The first involves moving the smaller ships around on the gameboard, with each player attempting to position themselves in such a way as to deal as much damage as possible while at the same time avoiding enemy cannon fire. This section of the game is actually pretty good. Each player is given an identical deck of cards that give every possible combination of moves a player can perform in a turn. Players can move forward, turn left, turn right, or stand still. Each turn involves plotting your movement for three segments. Players have to examine the board an try and anticipate where they can move and where the enemy will move. Ships can only fire at 90 and 45 degrees perpendicular to themselves, and never strait forward or behind themselves. Because of this players try to maneuver themselves in such a way that ideally they can fire their full broadside of cannon into the other ship while avoiding taking any return fire.

Once the three segments have been selected and the cards have been laid down then each player reveals their first card simultaneously and works out the movement action. Once the movement has been performed then there is the possibility of cannon fire. Ships need to be one space away from one another to fire and need to have active cannon in the correct fire arc. For each cannon that can fire you select a target on the other ship and roll a die. If you hit an item on that location then you cause a particular type of damage. You can destroy cannon, crew, masts, and hull. Once a certain amount of damage is done a player has to take a damage card to replace one of their action plotting cards. If a player gets three damage cards then they have lost the game.

The dice rolling and damage system for the game is somewhat lackluster in this segment of the game. The damage system does not seem to have been worked out enough since how the locations are determined does not seem polished enough. With just a little more tweaking however this segment of the game comes off very well.

The second and seemingly more dramatic part of the game, the boarding parties, is unfortunately a dud. One imagines seamen climbing the rigging, swinging by ropes with swords between their teeth and firing grape shot at one another. Unfortunately this segment does not represent this part very well and we are left with a rather weak and far too random climax.

The boarding party section begins when both ships end up moving into the same space. Players consult a chart to see how the two ships should line up with one another and then player begin to move their crewmen about to attack and defend. The goal is to kill the other players captain. Unfortunately what should be a richly tactical situation is reduced to only being able to have limited options in terms of moving your crew and the only strategy is that you should have more crew in a fight then your opponent. Once crew are moved into an occupied space player roll off, the higher roll winning. You get a slight bonus if you are using your captain or if you have more people in the fight. The sheer randomness doesn't provide much of a dramatic effect and what little strategy is involved is always quite obvious. Eventually one side wears down the other and one of the captains is cut down and the game is over.

Now long out of print, Broadsides and Boarding Parties was able to launch a rich entry level line of wargames for the general public. The Gamemaster line had successes, such as Axis and Allies, and unfortunately BaBP was one of the failures that came from the line. If a bit more work had been put into the game then we might have had a lavish and masterly entry level game.