Galleys & Galleons: Blockade running

The sloop sets out to run the
Barbary blockade

I fought another couple of Galleys & Galleons playtest games, this time using the Blockade Runner scenario from the draft rules. The forces were a Sloop - the blockade runner - versus three Xebecs and a Jacht.

Readers may note that my Peter Pig ships now have a little more paint on them than the last time they were photographed. The xebecs, of course, come ready painted.

In the first game I was the runner and placed an island in the middle of the table so my opponent would be forced to concentrate his ships on one side of it or to divide them.

My opponent decided to concentrate his forces, so I slipped by on the other side of the island! With the wind against him he had to revert to sweeps (oars).

Going, going...gone

In the second game we used the same layout but swapped roles.

As blockader, I deployed two ships on either side of the island. I had high hopes of a successful interception.

This time the sloop's passage was a little more difficult and there was one point when one of my xebecs might have grappled it...

...but the sloop once again escaped!

I like the narrative of this scenario, and despite their bloodless outcome the games were quite dramatic. I now have a better strategy for the blockader, but I couldn't possibly reveal it.