Contents:

1 Introduction:

Scales, Bases, Equipment, Turn Sequence, Glossary

2 Movement:

Straight, Turning, Speed, Modifiers, Collisions, Special, Advanced

3 Command:

Speed Change, Signals, Boarding Parties, Surrender, Advanced

 

4 Firing:

Sequence, Targeting, Modifiers, Damage Hits, Critical Hits, Advanced

5 Boarding:

How to, Advanced

6 Repairs:

Advanced

« 1.1 Game Scales
Admiralty was designed primarily for use with 1/2400 scale naval miniatures, although any scale can be used. The medium scale format shown in Figure 1 is the default scale discussed throughout the rules, and may be used with either 1/1200 or 1/2400 scale miniatures. The small scale format may be used with either 1/2400 or smaller and the large scale format is meant primarily for 1/1200 scale and larger. Both the small and large scales will require corresponding adjustments to default game distances covered in the text and charts.

Fig. 2 - Beginner's Wind Compass showing the four wind directions. Front and back zones are 90° arcs and the broadside zones are 45° arcs.

« 1.2 Ship Bases
The mounting of naval miniatures on bases for game play is optional. However it is recommended since it allows easier handling and it also allows some reference marks to be applied directly to the bases. For players who do use bases, the recommended size for standard 1/2400 scale ships-of-the-line is 25mm x 50mm, with the ship mounted lengthwise on the base.

For purposes of game play and rules discussion, the terms model, ship and base are used interchangeably throughout the text. In all cases the reference is a general one meant to encompass whatever model and mounting format being used by the players. Every base (or ship model) is considered to have a single imaginary centerpoint which will be occasionally referred to.

Wind Compass - Each base may be marked with guidelines that show the wind direction compass used to control the ship's speed during game play. Figure 2 shows the outline of the beginner's wind compass and the four main game zones that compose it. At the beginning of each ship's movement phase, the orientation of the base is compared to the wind direction for the game. If the wind is coming from direction 1, it is directly behind the ship and therefore pushing it directly ahead. If the wind is coming from either of the two direction 2 sectors, the wind is still coming from behind the ship, but slightly off to one side. This is the most favorable wind position because it gives the greatest speed. If the wind is coming from either of the two direction 3 sectors, it is coming from a little bit ahead of the ship but still gives enough of a push to allow the ship to keep moving. This is the least favorable of the winds that allow the ship to move. Wind coming from direction 4 is coming from ahead and does not allow the ship to move at all. Players should avoid pointing their ships into the wind unless they really know what they are doing. See Section 2 : Movement for more about moving and ship's speeds.

The wind compass is always centered on the base (or the model). Two types of wind compass graphics are provided for game play, one is a basic version for beginners, and the other is a more sophisticated version for experienced fighting sail gamers. Both can be printed out and mounted for use.

Fig. 3 - Rake Zones (shaded in blue).

Rake Zones - Another feature which is not physically marked on the base is the rake zone. The rake zone is an invisible boundary area off the front and rear of a ship which defines when an enemy vessels receives a rake bonus for cannon fire. As a general rule, a ship should avoid letting enemy ships sail within its rake zone. The rake zone runs diagonally across the corners of a ship's base, forming a roughly 55° arc.


Measuring Distances - When measuring distances for movement, players will always measure from the front edge of a ship's base, or from the front edge of the model. When measuring for checking cannon fire ranges, players measure from the side of their ship model to the closest portion of the targeted enemy ship. For purposes of weapon ranging, the ship's bases are not considered.

« 1.3 Equipment
Naval wargaming is more technically demanding than some other forms of miniature wargaming, and a few extra tools are used for game play. The standard gaming equipment of tape measures, six-sided dice, calculator and pens/pencils will be needed. Beginning players should remember that two dice are called "dice" but that one is only called a "die." Players will also need to download the Admiralty combat chart, ship log and turning circles. Players using unmounted models or sea bases may want to use the additional wind compasses that come with the turning circles. Cutting out the turning circles and mounting them on thin cardboard will give them extra strength. A clipboard is also valuable for writing on the ship logs.

Combat Charts - There is a front and back side to the combat chart. Both sides are needed for game play, so players should make sure to print out both of them. For related overviews of each section of the chart, see More About Combat Charts [LINK NOT ACTIVE YET], which includes step by step illustrations and outlines.

Ship Logs: Each vessel used in combat will need to have an entry in one of the ship logs. These entries are used to track events on board each of the ships. The information shown in the Ship Values listings on the Admiralty home page should cover everything needed to fill out the ship logs for those vessels. For more detailed explanations, see More About Ship Logs [LINK NOT ACTIVE YET].

« 1.4 Turn Sequence
Once all players have gone through the set-up page, placed their ships and arranged their formations, game play is ready to begin. Each turn is split into phases, and some phases are split into steps. At right is an outline of the turn sequence and its basic steps. Below are more detailed outlines of each phase.

Movement

a) Roll for active M hits – The first step in each movement phase is to roll on the critical hit table for all Mast hits. Commanding players roll for their own ships and immediately apply all results before proceeding.

b) Roll for fire danger – Roll Fire Danger checks for any ships which are currently within 10mm of any other vessels which have active Infernos burning on board.

c) Downwind player move – The player which has ships furthest downwind (in the lee position) moves first. In most cases this will be fairly obvious. In closer cases, the initial definition of "furthest downwind" can be used for a tie breaker.

d) Upwind player move – The player which does not have ships furthest downwind moves second. In both cases, a player must move all of his ships which have available movement. The only way to normally stop a ship in this game (outside of destroying its rigging) is to cut its sails to the stop position and anchor.

Command 1

a) Mobilize Boarding Parties – Both players declare and record all boarding dice additions and the resulting gun dice losses.

b) Send signals – Both players may attempt to send maneuver signals and basic instructions to other players.

Firing

a) Roll for active I hits – The first step in each firing phase is to roll on the critical hit table for all active Infernos. Commanding players roll for their own ships and immediately apply all results before proceeding.

b) Roll for active F hits – Roll on the critical hit table for all active Fires. Commanding players roll for their own ships and immediately apply all results before proceeding.

c) Conduct cannon fire – All cannon fire is considered simultaneous. Players may fire any of their ships which can bear on targets. See Section 4 : Firing for more about conducting cannon fire.

d) Roll for fire danger – Roll Fire Danger checks for any ships which fired their guns while a) Unrepaired B hits existed on the same side of the ship, b) speed was set to normal or full. All results are immediately added to the respective vessel's critical hit boxes.

Command 2

a) Change speed setting – Both players attempt to change the speed settings for their ships.
b) Check for Surrender – Ships which are immobilized and without guns must check proximity of friendly and enemy vessels to see if they surrender.

Boarding

Repair

« 1.5 Glossary
The rules text has been kept as plain as possible for those unfamiliar with naval terminology. Some words are in such broad usage however, that they are inevitably used. Below is a short list of definitions for those that would likely show up.

Bow – The front end of a ship
Broadside – When all the guns on one side of a ship fire.
Hull – The main body of a ship, built out of heavy wooden timbers.
Lee – Downwind. The lee side of a ship is that which is downwind, and a fleet in a lee position is downwind from their enemy.
Port – The left side of a ship
Rake – Firing down the length of a ship from a position off of its bow or stern. Very nasty.
Rigging – The part of a ship which supports and operates the sails.
Starboard – The right side of a ship
Stern – The back end of a ship
Weather – Upwind. Opposite of lee, the weather side of a ship is that which is facing into the wind. A fleet in a weather position is upwind from their enemy.

« 2.0 Movement
Ship models are moved on flat, open surfaces without use of square or hexagonal grids. All movement is conducted in millimeters and available speed is controlled by several factors including ship type, wind direction and speed setting (sail selection). According to these factors, each ship is allotted a specific movement to be made for the turn. Commanding players may move their ships in any direction of their choosing, including those directions which are not advisable. The rules do not prevent players from making mistakes, and so a bit of practice may be needed in order to help players make the best movement decisions. Players should keep in mind that naval battles of this time were decided in part by the side which made the least number of maneuver errors. Admiralty tries to reflect this reality.

« 2.1 Moving Straight
A ship is moved by first referring to its log and confirming its basic speed value, which is the number in the Speed box that matches the current wind direction. This number will be one of three that was recorded at the time the ship log was filled out. For reference, there is also a Speed table on the combat chart that gives the same information based on ship's speed type and wind direction.

The basic speed value may sometimes be modified by the current speed setting and wind intensity modifiers. Use of alternate speed settings – also called sail settings – allows the basic speed value to be changed. The five available settings are: Stop, Slow, Battle, Normal and Full. The three wind intensities are Weak, Normal and Brisk. See Modifiers below for more about these speed modifiers. The basic speed value may also be modified by the number of Sail Hits a ship has suffered. As a ship suffers sail hits, it's "100" value is lowered, reducing the basic speed value by the same percentage. See section 4.4 for more about Sail Hit effects.

Once the modified speed for a ship is confirmed, it must be moved that distance in millimeters. It may not move more or less than that amount. If a vessel or obstacle is in the path of the moving ship, the ship must turn to prevent a collision. This method of moving requires players to pay attention to their speed settings (I.E. - Their sail settings). If ships to the front slow down, a prompt reduction of the speed setting for the next turn is advised. By the same token, if a gap opens between two ships, the rearmost should consider adjusting its sail setting for a turn to reduce the gap.

Move Example 1: A ship of the line with a speed type of Heavy Slow is moving with the wind directly behind it (from direction 1). A quick check of that ship's log shows its basic speed with that wind direction to be 70mm. However, the ship has suffered ten S hits, which has reduced its Sail Hits number to 90. This means the ship can only move 90% of 70mm that turn, which is 63mm.

Move Example 2: A ship of the line with a speed type of Heavy Fast is moving with the wind coming from direction 3. This gives the ship a basic speed of 40mm. However, instead of using its usual battle speed, the ship is using the Full Sail speed setting, which will double its movement to 80mm for the turn.

Fig. 1 Turning Circles To turn a ship, place the flat zero position of the turning circle against the center of the ship's side. Then, moving the edge of the ship's base along the outer edge of the circle, count off the speed consumption, which is marked along the edge of the circle. The model shown has just used 30mm of it's movement to make a turn to starboard.

« 2.2 Turning
Players wanting to move their ships in any path but a straight line must use a turning circle. A turning circle lays out the average turn a ship will make, while also showing the rate at which available movement is consumed during the turn. Players may not pre-measure, re-measure or otherwise "take back" any turns they conduct or even begin to conduct with their ships. Once a turning circle is laid down and a player begins moving his ship along the circle edge, he must complete the maneuver. If a player begins making a turn and realizes that the ship's alignment is not correct in relation to the other ships ahead or behind (usually because of starting the turn too early or too late) nothing can be done about it at that point. The imperfect move must be completed and any resulting errors in alignment resolved on later movement turns. Note that turning a ship will dramatically change the direction of the wind in relation to the sails, which will have a corresponding effect on available movement for the next turn.

Turning Downwind - The naval term for turning downwind is wearing. This is when a ship moves so that its bow turns away from the wind. Turning downwind is the safest and easiest way to turn, and is often the only option available for ships slowed down by rigging damage.

Turning Upwind - The naval term for turning upwind is tacking. Tacking has advantages over wearing, mainly because it takes less time to resume movement in the same direction as before. However, if a ship makes a mistake while tacking, it can end up stuck motionless with its bow pointing into the wind – a very bad way to be when there are enemy ships loitering in the area. So a ship never turns upwind and stays that way on purpose. Its goal is to get up some speed and suddenly whip around as quickly as possible so that it ends its turn with the wind on the other side of the ship. If that isn't possible, players may consult the Turning Upwind column on the Movement table. If a ship ended its previous movement phase in the middle of a turn into the wind, it may roll one six-sided die on the Turning Upwind column. The crew grade of the vessel will decide the die roll range, and any die roll value equal to or higher than the number shown allows the ship a 10mm move on the turning circle. This essentially allows any vessel with the minimum requirement for tacking to finish its turn, even if that takes several game turns to complete. Players should note that different ships and crews will show varying abilities to tack upwind. Ships with poorer quality crews will find that turning downwind is best unless they don't mind spending a long time tacking and running other risks.

Minimum requirement for turning upwind is 50mm of total available movement and no more than one mast hit (resolved or active). Ships which begin their movement with less than 50 mm of modified movement and/or two or more masts hits may not turn upwind.

« 2.3 Changing Speed
A ship may not change its speed during the movement phase. It may change its speed for the following turn by changing its sail setting during the second Command Phase. See section 3.1 for more information.

« 2.4 Speed Modifiers
All movement modifiers are multiples and divisors, and it does not matter which order they are applied. The same number will result no matter which modifiers are applied first. Note that the Speed table also include modifiers according to current number of Sail hits. A ship may only have one sail setting at any one time.

Brisk Wind — Add 20% to the basic movement if the current wind intensity is brisk (as opposed to normal or weak).
Weak Wind — Subtract 20% from the basic movement if the current wind intensity is weak (as opposed to normal or brisk).
Slow Sail — Halve the adjusted basic movement if the sail setting from last turn's command phase is Slow.
Battle Sail — Leave the adjusted basic movement unchanged if the sail setting from last turn's command phase is Battle Sail.
Normal Sail — Add fifty percent to the adjusted basic movement if the sail setting from last turn's command phase is Normal Sail.
Full Sail — Double the adjusted basic movement if the sail setting from last turn's command phase is Full Sail.

Sail Hits — The sail hits modifier appears on the ship log instead of the speed table. If the number shows as less than 100 (IE - Less than 100% of rigging is intact) multiply the basic speed by that amount. See section 4.4 for more about sail hit effects.

« 2.5 Collisions
If a ship moves within 10mm of another vessel during its movement, both must roll on the Collision table to check for hits and damage. Begin by establishing whether the combined courses of the two ships are Collision or Other, and at what point the affected areas of the ships are most in danger of colliding. Each player then rolls one six sided die and modifies the roll result with all applicable modifiers. Cross index the modified number with the portion of the ship most affected – bow, side or stern – and apply the results shown.

The collision check should always be made at: (a) The point during the active ship's entire movement that it comes closest to the other vessel, or (b) The point during the active ship's movement that both vessels are at maximum engagement. In either case, the collision check will often not occur at the moment the ships approach within 10mm, but the moment at which they are most in danger of collision and fouling for the entire course of that move. This last item is an important one, as many vessels should be allowed to "come alongside" other ships before checking for collisions – if such a maneuver is their intent – rather than checking for collision and locking at the very first moment they approach within 10mm.

Combined Courses – There are two basic categories of courses: collision and other. A collision course is one in which the ships are clearly in danger of striking each other or becoming locked due to fouling. Other courses are usually when ships are travelling parallel to each other or passing one another. The combat chart includes a basic outline of Collision Course figures showing the general intent of the two main categories.

Affected Areas – Deciding the affected portion of a ship will usually be easy. If two vessels have come alongside each other, then each will use the side column. If a vessel is being passed astern, it will use the stern column while the ship passing it will use the side column. If a vessel is headed straight for the side of another ship, it will use the bow column while the other vessel uses the side column.

As noted above, players should keep in mind the portions of the ship most at risk at the mostly like point of collision. For example, if two ships are passing each other in opposite directions (collision course) and their sides are parallel to each other, they would check for collision when they are fully abreast of each other (the point of maximum engagement) not at the moment their bows come within 10mm.

« 2.6 Special Rules
Rotating at Anchor – Any ship which is anchored may attempt to rotate in place by rolling one six-sided die and then consulting the Special Moves table on the combat chart. If the roll result is equal to or higher than the number shown, the ship may rotate 10mm in place. The ship's centerpoint must remain stationary.

Fine Tuning Sails – Crews of C grade or better may vary their actual speed used during movement by scoring a die roll result equal to or higher than the number shown in the Tune Speed column in the Special Moves table. Speed tuning may be attempted at any time during the movement of a particular ship, but not before. Players may not "go down the line" and roll for fine tuning of multiple ships before moving them.

« 2.7 Advanced Movement Rules
Advanced rules are not required for general game play, and they may slow the game down. But experienced players already familiar with the rules may enjoy these ideas and the historical feel they help to create.

Sails Aback – If any vessel with normal or full sail moving under wind direction 1 or 2 turns into wind direction 3 or 4, its movement for the turn is immediately halved. This represents the braking action of the sails when they go "aback" and slow the ship. For example, a ship which began its move with 160mm of movement would be reduced to 80mm, and if it had already consumed 70mm of movement making the turn, it would have only 10mm of movement remaining.

A second optional step to the sails aback rule, is that any vessel under full sail conducting the above movement must immediately roll once on the Mast Hit table for rigging damage, and must also roll immediately for each existing Mast hit.

« 3.0 Command
During the command phase, commanding players may attempt to execute a range of standing orders and settings. Unless otherwise stated, these actions may only take place or be ordered during this phase.

« 3.1 Changing Speed
Ships may attempt to change their current speed setting during the first step of the Command phase. To do so the commanding player refers to the Change Speed column of the Movement table and cross indexes it with the matching Crew Grade line. If the value rolled on one unmodified six-sided die lies within the corresponding range shown on the table, the ship may change its speed (sail) setting to any other of the types: Stop, Slow, Battle, Normal or Full.

Stopped — Used in preparation for anchoring. In advanced rules stopped ships which don't anchor may drift.
Slow Sail — A slow speed commonly used for maneuvering, especially in congested areas.
Battle Sail — Standard for combat. Gives some speed while preventing excessive stress to rigging.
Normal Sail — Standard non-combat, full rigged movement. Vulnerable to damage in combat.
Full Sail — Used to gain maximum speed, also vulnerable to combat damage.

« 3.2 Signals
Because Admiralty re-creates the core combat environment of a naval battle, the ability to send signals and messages to other players and their ships has been severely limited. As a rule, once a battle started the ability to send signals – which was an imperfect process to begin with – became almost impossible. For game play, messages are not sent from one player to another. Instead, a player posts a message on his flagship's ship log, and other players must pass a die roll test to be allowed to read it. A failed die roll indicates that player either did not see the message, or saw the signal flags and could not read them.

To post a signal, a player writes a five or ten word message on the adhesive side of a small "post it" style message tablet. The message may not be shown to other players and must be either one through five words long, or six through ten words long. A number counts as a word, and run-on words and word/number combinations are not allowed. If a commander manages to artfully avoid the obvious intent of these rules, his fellow players should feel free to place a syllable limit on each message. Once a message is completed, it is pasted to that signalling vessel's ship log. Most players post it onto the back of the log page to keep it out of the way.

To read another ship's signal, a player consults the Signals table on the combat chart. Cross reference the message length with the line of sight condition to establish the modified die roll needed in order to read the message. Modify the die roll value using the die roll modifiers which are defined below.

The player attempting to read another commander's signalling is referred to as the reading commander. The player issuing a signal is referred to as the signalling commander. A clear line of sight must pass from the centerpoint of the reading ship to the centerpoint of the signalling ship without any other ships or landmasses intervening.

Signal Roll Modifiers:
Each in combat — A player suffers a minus one to his reading roll if his own ship is currently in combat and an additional minus one if the signalling ship is in combat. Combat in this case is defined as firing or being fired upon. So if the signalling ship is in combat but the reading ship is not, the reading player will suffer a minus one. If both are in combat, the reading ship will suffer a minus two.
Each 20 S hits — Subtract one point from the reading die roll for each 20 S hits that have been suffered by the signalling ship.

« 3.3 Mobilize Boarding Parties
A player may add to the number of boarding dice which can be used during the Boarding phase by temporarily deactivating gun dice. One boarding die is gained for each five gun dice that are deactivated. Do not cross out mobilized gun dice values. Instead, mark an MG at the bottom of the Gun Dice box, followed by the number of gun dice deactivated. Because gun crews are mobilized in groups of five, the MG values should read MG5, MG10, etc. Their function is identical to the B hits, which temporarily suppress gun dice until repaired. In this case, the gun dice remain suppressed while the boarding dice are being used. If boarding dice are lost during the boarding action (due to lost rounds) the gun dice may be permanently lost and are then crossed out, with those contributed by the suppressed gun dice being considered last to be lost. Note that the number of mobilized gun crews (and hence the dice they contribute) may shrink in following turns as the ship suffers gun hits.

« 3.4 Surrendering
Any ship which has become immobile with all of its gun knocked out may end up surrendering if enemy ships are too close, especially if friendly ships are too far away. If during the Post and Read Signals step of the game, any ship is immobilized with all guns destroyed, consult the Surrender table on the combat chart. Start on the line matching the crew grade of the ship and check if enemy ships are within the distance noted at far right, in the proximity column. This distance is the Enemy Proximity. If any enemy ships are within that distance, check to see if all friendly ships are equal to or further away than the distance shown on the left side of the proximity column. If no friendly ships are in the vicinity, the ship in question will surrender.

Example: A disabled, immobilized ship with a crew grade of C has at least one enemy ship within 25mm. All friendly ships are 70mm away or further, and so the disabled ship will surrender. If any friendly ships were within 70mm, the ship in question would not surrender. If friendly ships were all more than 70mm away and all enemy ships were more than 30mm away, the ship also would not surrender.

« 3.5 Advanced Signalling Rules
Advanced rules are not required for general game play, and they may slow game play. But experienced players already familiar with the rules may enjoy these ideas and the historical feel they help to create.

Repeating Frigates – Any frigates within line of sight of a fleet's flagship will immediately post a copy of the flagship's message into their own ship logs. This is done merely by posting additional notes to the frigate logs with the flagship's name on it – it is not necessary to write new copies of the original message. Other fleet commanders who can see the frigate more easily than the fleet flagship, may use the more favorable signal table conditions to read the original message via their line of sight conditions with the frigate. Repeating frigates may not be firing at enemy ships while acting in this capacity, and they may not be within 20cm of any enemy vessels.

« 4.0 Cannon Fire Sequence
A ship's guns are fired by declaring an enemy ship within that vessel's arc-of-fire as a target (see 4.2 Targeting below). Cannon fire is then conducted by rolling a number of six-sided dice based on the gun dice numbers shown on the ship log. The gun dice numbers correspond to the number of light, medium and heavy cannons available on each side of the vessel. Note that within a gun dice sequence, each digit is treated individually. For example, a gun dice value of 609 is not six-hundred and nine, it is six, zero and nine, indicating that vessel has six light guns, no medium guns and nine heavy guns available for use on each side. In some cases the last heavy value is followed by a fourth number which reflects the number of heavy carronade guns which may be added to the last heavy gun value at close range. Otherwise, all cannons may be fired at all three of the available gun ranges.

Now choose one of the gun types to fire. Most players start with their heaviest guns and work down. Whatever size is chosen, the initial number of gun dice for that size may be modified by the Dice Modifiers in the Gun Dice table. The modifiers change the number of gun dice to be thrown. In the same Gun Dice table, check for the hit roll values, which are the numbers that actually have to be rolled on each gun die for a hit to have occurred.

Next, begin at the Start Line on the Hit Table and modify it up or down according to the Line Modifiers — if any apply. The maximum cannon fire line is +2 and the minimum is -2. A certain portion of the dice to be rolled will apply to the Hull Target column, and the remainder will apply to the Rigging Target column. See Targeting below for more information about the the numbers of dice that can be used for the two target types.

Once the gun dice and fire table are established, the dice are rolled. All hit results cause the corresponding sets of damage hits shown for that line and target type. Hull targeted dice only inflict damage hits shown in the Hull Target column and rigging targeted dice only inflict damage shown in the Rigging Target column. Record the resulting hits — if any — on the ship log and proceed to the next gun size.

General Fire Rules – Different ships firing onto the same target with identical modifiers may group their dice into one roll. Each set of guns or "battery" may only fire once each turn. All fire conducted during a turn is considered to be simultaneous. Damage inflicted during the course of the Cannon Fire step only becomes effective at the end of the step when all ships have had their opportunity to fire. Passing fire effects also become active at this time (see Passing Fire below). All gun hit fractions are rounded down.

Multiple 6 Results – If during the course of rolling his gun dice a player rolls more than one natural six, each extra six rolled will immediately result in a CR hit and a corresponding roll for additional damage on the CR line of the Critical Hit table. For example, if a player rolls nine gun dice and the results are 2,2,3,4,4,5,6,6,6, the player is considered to have rolled two "extra" sixes and inflicts two CR hits on the enemy ship in addition to any other damage suffered. Note that CR hits are modified by the gun size which inflicted the original damage.

Firing Example 1: A 100-gun ship of the line with a B grade crew and a gun dice profile of 609 is going to fire her nine heavy guns at a target that is 40mm away under full sail. Because this is in the close range bracket, there are no reductions due to range, and her B rating allows die rolls of 5 or 6 to score hits at close range. Because the heavy guns are being fired at a target that has full sails, the hull targeted dice used the +1 line and the rigging targeted dice use the +2 line of the Hit Table. If the target ship were under battle sails, all dice would use the +1 line on the Hit Table.

Firing Example 2: A 74-gun ship of the line with an F grade crew and a gun dice profile of 022 is going to use her two medium gun dice against a target that is 160mm away under battle sail. Because this is in the medium range bracket, the number of gun dice is halved to one, and her F rating allows only die roll pairs of 6 to score hits (shown as "12" on the combat chart table). Because of this, the player does not roll because a minimum of two dice would be needed in order to have any possibility of scoring a hit.

« 4.1 Targeting

Fig. 1 – Arc of Fire Targets. Ship A represents a vessel which is just moving out of the arc of fire. Because part of its stern still lies within the arc, it may be fired at. Ship B is entirely within the arc and may be fired at. The centerpoint of ship C lies just within the arc, and so it may be fired at. The centerpoint of ship D lies just outside of the arc, and so it may not be fired at because the ships is only just moving into the arc of fire and does not yet represent a broad enough target.

Example: A vessel which is in a closer range bracket than three other vessels, but further away from the line of fire will still be the primary target. If three vessels are all within the same range bracket but are individually at different ranges, the vessel closest to the firing ship's line of fire will be the primary target. All of these situations are subject to the pre-existing target option.

Fig. 2 – Valid Passing Fire The green ship may conduct passing fire against the red ship because the red ship passed through more than half of the green ship's arc of fire.

Fig. 3 – Invalid Passing Fire The green ship may not conduct passing fire against the red ship because the red ship moved through less than half of the green ship's arc of fire.

Target Types – When rolling for cannon fire, the dice themselves are used to define the mix between hull targeted guns and rigging targeted guns. Players should use two different colors of dice for the two target types, but should still roll the gun dice all at once, with one color assigned to hull hits and the other color assigned to rigging hits.

The ratio of dice used is decided according to the range and the national doctrine of a vessel's parent fleet. As a general rule, the gun dice mix for guns fired at long and medium range should follow a 66/33 mix. A ship from a fleet whose national doctrine is to fire at an enemy's hull should consider two-thirds of the dice rolled as counting toward the Hull Target column and one-third toward the Rigging Target column, with a general bias toward the dominant type. Fleets whose doctrine was firing at an enemy's rigging should consider two-thirds of their gun dice as being for Rigging Targeted fire and one-third for Hull Targeted fire. Hence, a French ship firing only two gun dice of a certain size at medium or long range will likely fire both of them as rigging targeted, but if rolling three dice will fire two at the rigging and one at the hull.

An interesting option for medium and long range fire is to mix the two dice colors into a can and blindly draw the desired number for each firing. Adjusting the ratios of dice inside the can could randomly show national differences while allowing unpredictable fluctuations in targeting. This would completely randomize hull/rigging targeting, and allows an interesting variety of options.

For close range firing players can choose among several possibilities, but in general the amount of heavy gun dice assigned to hull targets should be higher. Medium and light guns may be more selective about where they aim. Below are outlined several possible methods of deciding close range dice mix. Players should decide in advance which method will be used throughout a game, or roll to randomly decide which method to use before the game starts.

Close Range Options:
Battery Targeting (recommended) – Heavy cannon are always hull targeted, medium and light cannon may fire any combination of their guns as hull or rigging targeted.
Basic Targeting – All but one of the gun dice for each type are hull targeted.
Advanced Basic Targeting – When firing five dice or less, all may be hulled targeted. When firing six dice or more, one must be rigging targeted.

« 4.2 Modifiers
All gun dice and cannon fire table modifiers are cumulative.

Dice Quantity Modifiers
Stern Rake – Double the number of dice if the center-point of the firing ship lies within the stern zone of the target vessel. Note that all gun hits which are caused by a bow or stern rake must be evenly split between the two sides of a ship.
Bow Rake – Add one-half (50%) to the number of dice if the center-point of the firing ship lies within the stern zone of the target vessel.
Medium Range – Halve the number of dice if the target lies within the medium range bracket.
Long Range – Quarter the number of dice if the target lies within the long range bracket.
Choppy Seas – Halve the number of dice if current sea condition is choppy.
Heavy Seas – Quarter the number of dice if the current sea condition is heavy.

Line Modifiers
Weak Hull – Go up one line on the fire table for hull-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel with a weak hull.
Stout Hull – Drop one line down on the fire table for hull-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel with a stout hull.
Heavy Firing – Go up one line on the fire table if the gun dice being rolled are for heavy guns.
Light Firing – Drop one line down on the fire table if the gun dice being rolled are for light guns.
Rigging Target vs Normal/Full Sail – Go up one line on the fire table for rigging-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel using normal or full speed (sail).
Rigging Target vs Anchored/Slow Sail – Drop one line down on the fire table for rigging-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel using slow speed (sail).

« 4.3 Damage Hits
During the course of the game a ship can suffer damage that slowly reduces it ability to fight. In order to keep the game moving, we have chosen not to concern ourselves with damage and hits that do not dramatically affect the operation of the ship. Our main concerns are basic: Are the guns still firing, can the ship still move, will it sink soon? Those primitive concerns and others like them are the concerns of the moment for Admiralty.

There are two basic types of damage in the game: static and active. Static damage happens once and doesn't need to be bothered with any further. Active damage is damage that can somehow trigger additional damage, sometimes immediately, sometimes later in the game. In any case, active damage is usually dangerous in some way and will usually be a source of concern. The most common types of damage are suffered from the Hit Table. Less common types of damage are inflicted through the Critical Hits table. All types of damage inflicted should be recorded on the ship log under the name of the ship which has suffered the damage. A few damage types can be repaired, a function which is discussed more in Section 6 - Repairs.

Below is a master list of each damage type and its respective effects.

« 4.4 Critical Hits
The Critical Hits box on the combat chart controls the ongoing side-effects caused by damage hits. Some critical hit results will be recorded in the ship log, and others will be immediately acted upon in the form of additional hits and die rolls. Each critical hit line contains a line of blank spaces and damage hits which correspond to the die roll lines above them. Rolling one six sided die and cross indexing the result with the corresponding hit type will give the result. Each result matches a damage code which is outlined on the combat chart and defined in detail in section 4.4 above.

« 4.5 Advanced Firing Rules
Advanced rules are not required for general game play, and they may slow game play. But experienced players already familiar with the rules may enjoy these ideas and the historical feel they help to create.

Partial Broadside – Whenever a ship has just come into another ship's field of fire and is positioned so that it blocks over half of an enemy ship's arc-of-fire, yet still has its centerpoint outside the arc, the enemy ship may still fire half of its broadside batteries at it. Note that this will usually only apply when ships are offset enough that full broadsides are not allowed, yet too close to ignore the potential for even half the guns to do damage.

Weather Effects – In choppy or heavy seas, ships firing from a weather position onto a lee target lose use of half or all of their heavy guns due to the ship heeling into the ocean.

Crashing Masts – Any vessel Locked with another vessel (either with its own L hit, or locked with a vessel that has an L hit against it) must roll on the M hit table if the other ship suffers an M hit table die roll result of 5 or 6. Apply all hits as called for. In addition, a result of 5 or 6 on the second ship's die roll will also result in one die roll worth of L hits for each of the locked ships.

Inferno Aid – Ships with an inferno burning on board will immediately surrender to the closest enemy ship and ask for aid. The enemy ship must stop between 15mm and 30mm distant from the burning vessel. Both ships will remain in that position as non-combatants until the burning ship either explodes or successfully evacuates its crew on a die roll of 6, whichever occurs first. If the ship explodes first, the formerly assisting enemy ship may resume fighting. If the burning ship's crew successfully evacuates, the assisting enemy ship will take a station away from the battle area but remain as a non-combatant. It may not attack enemy ships, and enemy ships may not attack it.

Frigate Immunity – Ships of the line may not fire at enemy frigates unless the enemy frigates fire on them first.

« 5.0 Boarding
In order to conduct a boarding action, a ship must be stationary and within 10mm of a stationary enemy ship. The vessels may be locked together, but they do not have to be in order for a boarding attempt to be made. They may be in any attitude to each other, and may have any sail setting. Boarding actions do not take place automatically. They must be declared by a player who controls the ship initiating the boarding attempt, who is then referred to as the attacker for the duration of that boarding try. The player whose ship is being boarded is considered the defender. All boarding attempts are considered simultaneous, and are resolved during the Boarding phase of the game.

« 5.1 Conducting a Boarding Action
Players begin the boarding phase by declaring all qualified ships which will attempt a boarding action. If two opposing ships are declared against each other, only one may be an attacker. In such a case, each player rolls one six-sided die. The player who rolled the highest value (re-roll tied die rolls) becomes the attacker. Once all boarding attempts are declared and all attackers and defenders defined, players resolve each action separately.

Boarding Attempts – Once all boarding attempts are declared, players accumulate dice according to the Boarding Attempt table and roll once for each attempt. This establishes which attempts turn into boarding actions and which do not. It does not matter which player rolls the boarding attempt dice. The meaning of the Boarding Attempt lines are as follows:

Starting Dice – Every boarding action test begins with two default dice.
Ships Fouled – Add one die if any of the combatant vessels are fouled with each other.
Size Difference – Subtract one die if any of the combatant vessels are different sizes.

As players establish the boarding attempt dice for each attempted action, they are rolled. Any one die roll result of 6 means that a boarding action has begun. Once a boarding action begins, no further attempt rolls are required for that action. It will go on until one side wins, withdraws or surrenders, even if that takes several turns. If no 6 is rolled, no boarding action developed for that attempt and players must wait until the next turn's boarding phase to roll again. Note that boarding attempts will always use between one and three dice, and that one roll is done for each attempt. The result will be some boarding attempts turning immediately into boarding actions, and others sputtering along as the crews just don't manage to get across to the enemy ships.

Boarding Actions – For each new boarding action, players refer to the Boarding Dice table to establish how many dice they can use for the action. Once both sides have gathered the proper number of boarding dice, they simultaneously roll them, which is called one round of die rolling. A maximum of two rounds of dice may be rolled per boarding action per turn. For each round of die rolls, each side compares or "opposes" their three highest values against the three highest values rolled by the enemy ship, with the high value for each opposed pair being the winner. The losing dice are removed, and any dice involved in ties remain. A player facing someone with fewer dice than the three dice allowed may add the points from his unopposed die (or dice) to those dice which are still being compared against enemy dice.

Example: Player A has a size 2 ship that is attacking player B with a size 3 ship. Both sides have mobilized one gun dice for the pending action. Player A will start with three dice: two for the ship's size, and one for the mobilized gun dice. Player B will start with five dice: three for the ship's size, one for being defender and one for the mobilized gun dice. For the first round or fighting, Player A rolls 5, 5, 1 and Player B rolls 5,4,4,3,3. So the top value for each (5 vs 5) are ties. The second highest values for each (5 vs 4) cause Player B to lose one die. The third highest values (1 vs 4) cause Player A to lose one die. So each side lost one die in the first round.

Now Player A has two dice and Player B has four dice and they roll again. Player A rolls 5,2. Player B rolls 4,4,2,1. So the two highest are 5 vs 4, but because Player A now has only two dice to oppose three usable dice for Player B, Player B may use his third highest die value to apply to his highest value, turning his 4 roll into a 6. Since the second highest for each is a 2 vs 4, Player A loses both remaining dice and the boarding attempt has failed. Not only has Player A lost the boarding attempt, but the loss of all dice means that the previous temporary loss of five gun dice becomes permanent.

For boarding actions left over from the previous turn, players will use the same number of dice as before, the only modification allowed being the addition of one die which can be added through the mobilization of gun dice. This may only be done to replace losses from the previous turn's boarding action, and is limited to the addition of one die per turn using this method.

In order to win a boarding action, an attacker must fight until the defender runs out of boarding dice, and which time he is considered to have captured the enemy ship. A defender wins a boarding action if the attacker cancels his boarding attempt or runs out of boarding dice. A defender does not capture the attackers ship if the attacker runs out of dice, and must declare a new boarding attempt if he wants to board the former attacker's ship.

An attacking player may call off a boarding action at any time. Even a boarding attempt which has gone several rounds during which the attacker has made vital gains may be called off. To do so, the attacker declares that the attempt to board has stopped and no further die rolls are made.

Boarding Dice – Each player begins a boarding action without any dice. Dice are only added and subtracted according to the Boarding Dice list. If a boarding dice list entry does not apply to a particular action, it is ignored. All boarding dice entries are cumulative. For example: If a ship is both defender and has an A grade crew, it will receive one die for each. Dice are totalled until both sides have all the dice they are able to gather for the action. Below are the definitions of each boarding die qualifier and its application:

Each size point – Add one die for each size point of each ship involved. A size three ship (a three decker) will get three dice, and size two ship will get two dice, etc. If two size two ships are trying to board a single size three ship, the starting dice for each side would be four and three respectively.
Defender – Add one die for the boarding action defender.
Mobilized 5 GD – Add one boarding die if a ship has mobilized five gun dice for this purpose during this turn's command phase. Players may mobilize a maximum of one boarding die per turn in this manner: Once to start a new boarding action; and later to replace lost boarding dice. A player which has not lost any boarding dice may not mobilize extra gun dice if one has already been mobilized.
A Crew – Add one die if a ship's crew is A grade.
F Crew – Subtract one die if a ship's crew is F grade.
Over 50 S hits – Subtract one die if 50 or more sail hits have been suffered by that ship. If there are multiple attacking ships, use the sail hit values for the least damaged vessel.
Each 5 GD hits– Subtract one die for each five gun dice hits that have been suffered by the ship. If there are multiple attacking ships, use the hit values for the least damaged vessel.
Failed Attacker– Subtract one die if the ship was previously a boarding action attacker which failed with the loss of one or more boarding dice.

« 5.2 Advanced Boarding Rules
Advanced rules are not required for general game play, and they may slow game play. But experienced players already familiar with the rules may enjoy these ideas and the historical feel they help to create.

Weather Effects – In choppy seas, subtract an additional die from the boarding attempt and add two dice instead of one for the boarding action defender. In heavy seas, no boarding actions are allowed.

« 6.0 Repairs
During the Repair Phase of the game, players may attempt to repair some damaged portions of their ships. Repairs are not usually easy to make, and they can only be attempted in limited ways. All repairs are conducted using the Repair box located on the combat chart. Adjoining each repair type is listed the die roll value needed to achieve that repair. Below is an outline of each possible repair type and its limitations:

Unblock B Hit – Players may roll for each B hit currently active on both sides of a ship. As each hit is repaired, it is permanently crossed off.
Repair Pump – Roll one six-sided die. If the value matches the range shown on the repair table, one P hit may be crossed out (deactivated). A ship may only roll to repair one pump hit per turn, regardless of the current number of pump hits.
Repair W hit – Roll one six-sided die. If the value matches the range shown on the repair table, one W hit may be crossed out (deactivated). A ship may only roll to repair one waterline hit per turn, regardless of the current number of hits.
Repair L hit – Roll one six-sided die. If the value matches the range shown on the repair table, one L hit may be crossed out (deactivated). A ship may roll to repair one L hit each turn. The ship that it is locked to may not be an enemy ship that has not surrendered. A ship must repair its own L hits before lending aid to other ships. A ship with no L hits may roll to attempt repair of any one L hit suffered by a friendly or surrendered enemy ship with which it is locked.
Emergency L hit repair – A ship may automatically repair one L hit by taking 30 S hits and recording them on the Sail Hits box in the critical hit list. A ship conducting this action is essentially cutting away anything which may be interfering with the two vessels. The only good reason to do this will usually be if a ship is locked to another vessel which has caught on fire or burst into an inferno.

« 6.1 Advanced Repair Rules
Cranky Pump - A repaired pump must roll a die each turn in order to keep working. It will fail on a roll of 5 or 6.
Crew Loss - A ship which has lost more than half of its original gun dice and suffered at least 50 S hits may not attempt any repairs to L, B or S hits.