Naval Wargames: American Civil War

[Mark F. Jenkins]

While looking for something else, I happened upon a listing of Civil War -themed wargames. I was surprised that there were so many, though a number of them are out of print.

• A Bold Fight by High Flying Dice Games
• Dam n the Torpedoes! by Winsome Games
• Blockade Runner by Ironclad Press
• Blockade Runner by Numbskull Games [I have this]
• Fighting Steam! by Chris Harding
• Hammerin' Iron by Peter Pig
• Iron and Fire by A&A Games
• Iron & Oak by GMT (compatible with Rebel Raiders on the High Seas) [I have this]
• Ironclad by Guidon Games
• Monitor vs. Merrimack II by Minden Games
• Rebel Raiders on the High Seas by GMT [I have this]
• Sea Devils by Strategy & Tactics/SPI
• Shot & Shell by 3W Games (compatible with Ironclads by Yaquinto/Excalibre) [I have this]
• Smoke on the Water by Canis Publishing
• Steam, Iron, & Tin by Thoroughbred Figures
• The Ironclads (1st Edition) by Yaquinto Games (including Expansion) [I have this]
• The Ironclads (2nd Edition) by Excalibre Games (including Expansion) [I have this]
• The Monitor and the Merrimack by Chatham Hill

(I did not include a number of self-published and rare one-off games.)

On the computer, things seem to be limited to a Russian publisher (Totem Games). There are some good points about it, but it's not quite all I'd wish it to be.

 

[AndyHall]

Expired Image Removed

There is also Anaconda, IIRC a strategic-level adjunct to Smoke on the Water, to set up tactical games. Presumably could be used with other tactical games, as well.

Hey! Does anybody know of game-assist programs for any of these tactical titles? I think there used to be one for the old Yaquinto Ironclads, that let players avoid the hideous amount of tables and cross-referencing involved.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I've set out to program one for Ironclads a couple of times myself, but never finished it... the sheer complexity defeats me every time.

 

[rebelatsea]

When I was a member of the Naval Wargames Society (UK), I and several other wrote or co wrote three sets of rules for the ACW/ironclad era, culminating in "The Devil at the Helm" by myself and Bob Walker. I have copies of them all, but don't know if any of them are still in print.
The last one was what stopped my wargaming - I just got to do nothing but research, write and re-write rules.
The whole thing just got a bore ! I still have my ship model collections though.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

The whole thing just got a bore ! I still have my ship model collections though.

I have a lovely box full of Thoroughbred, Bay Area Yards, and Peter Pig ironclad miniatures on my shelf. Someday, I tell myself, someday...

 

[rebelatsea]

Same her, plus a load of scratchbuilds.