Greg Smith
Mongoose
Germans (me)
Emden 75
Leipzig 95
Nuremburg (Leipzig class) 95
M class 160
Deutschland 280
British
Dragon (D class) 70
Fiji 135
Belfast (Edinburgh class) 130
Exeter (York class) 115
York 115
Southampton 135
This game was to try out the points on cruisers. We spend time before the game going over the points of our respective fleets, and it seemed obvious there were a few discrepancies. We were both sceptical about the high points value of the Deutschland, but more on this in the game.
Let Battle commence:
On turn one both fleets approached cautiously, largely keeping line abreast. Extrene range fire did a few points of damage. The Germans concentrated on the York. While the Brits split their fire at each firing ship’s closest target, spreading damage between the Leipzig, Nuremburg and Emden.
On turn two, the Emden turned to approach the British fleet. It needed to get in close with its light weapons and maybe get lucky with a torpedo strike. The M-class was steaming at full speed round the British starboard flank, using its superior speed to make it a harder target. Again the British spread their fire. The Emden was suddenly a prime target, being closer, but British gunnery didn’t do significant damage to any target. The Deutschland’s guns proved to be superb. Its range and extra damage dice scored enough to cripple the York.
Turn 4 was the only turn the Germans won initiative through the whole game. The Emden moved into position to torpedo the Exeter. The M-class cruiser continued to circle on the outside of the battle but the Dragon began to close on it. The Emden fired first and scored one torpedo hit, which did a poor 6 points of damage. In return the British fleet sunk the Emden. The Deutschland crippled the Southampton, but left it with most of its turrets remaining.
On turn 5 the Dragon was able to torpedo the M-class ship and cripple it. The Dragon’s 16” range torpedoes proved to outrange the German ship’s tubes and so it was safe from return fire. The rest of the British fleet finally saw the benefits of spreading the fire around as they crippled both of the other two cruisers. The Deutschland began to fire on the Belfast but was too far away to have much impact. Suddenly things looked bad for the Germans. The British hadn’t lost a ship, and even their crippled ships were continuing to dish out fire.
The British sank the Leipzig and M-class cruiser the following turn. The Nuremburg struggle on for one turn after that. In return the Deutschland sank the Belfast in short order followed by the Fiji in one salvo.
The German pocket battleship circled the edge of the battle shooting at the approaching British cruisers. It was crippled by the Southampton after many turns of shooting but limped on with one turret. Finally facing the York and Dragon, the game came down to the last few rolls, and the British failing to score a hit on their last salvo and the Deutschland surviving with only 5 damage remaining,
Conclusions
Cruiser points seem pretty balanced. The pocket battleship lived up to its name – those 2DD guns dished out a lot of damage.
16” range torpedoes are far more potent than 10”.
There are probably some small tweaks to points needed. The M-class, for example, is quite weak based on its performance in this game.
Emden 75
Leipzig 95
Nuremburg (Leipzig class) 95
M class 160
Deutschland 280
British
Dragon (D class) 70
Fiji 135
Belfast (Edinburgh class) 130
Exeter (York class) 115
York 115
Southampton 135
This game was to try out the points on cruisers. We spend time before the game going over the points of our respective fleets, and it seemed obvious there were a few discrepancies. We were both sceptical about the high points value of the Deutschland, but more on this in the game.
Let Battle commence:
On turn one both fleets approached cautiously, largely keeping line abreast. Extrene range fire did a few points of damage. The Germans concentrated on the York. While the Brits split their fire at each firing ship’s closest target, spreading damage between the Leipzig, Nuremburg and Emden.
On turn two, the Emden turned to approach the British fleet. It needed to get in close with its light weapons and maybe get lucky with a torpedo strike. The M-class was steaming at full speed round the British starboard flank, using its superior speed to make it a harder target. Again the British spread their fire. The Emden was suddenly a prime target, being closer, but British gunnery didn’t do significant damage to any target. The Deutschland’s guns proved to be superb. Its range and extra damage dice scored enough to cripple the York.
Turn 4 was the only turn the Germans won initiative through the whole game. The Emden moved into position to torpedo the Exeter. The M-class cruiser continued to circle on the outside of the battle but the Dragon began to close on it. The Emden fired first and scored one torpedo hit, which did a poor 6 points of damage. In return the British fleet sunk the Emden. The Deutschland crippled the Southampton, but left it with most of its turrets remaining.
On turn 5 the Dragon was able to torpedo the M-class ship and cripple it. The Dragon’s 16” range torpedoes proved to outrange the German ship’s tubes and so it was safe from return fire. The rest of the British fleet finally saw the benefits of spreading the fire around as they crippled both of the other two cruisers. The Deutschland began to fire on the Belfast but was too far away to have much impact. Suddenly things looked bad for the Germans. The British hadn’t lost a ship, and even their crippled ships were continuing to dish out fire.
The British sank the Leipzig and M-class cruiser the following turn. The Nuremburg struggle on for one turn after that. In return the Deutschland sank the Belfast in short order followed by the Fiji in one salvo.
The German pocket battleship circled the edge of the battle shooting at the approaching British cruisers. It was crippled by the Southampton after many turns of shooting but limped on with one turret. Finally facing the York and Dragon, the game came down to the last few rolls, and the British failing to score a hit on their last salvo and the Deutschland surviving with only 5 damage remaining,
Conclusions
Cruiser points seem pretty balanced. The pocket battleship lived up to its name – those 2DD guns dished out a lot of damage.
16” range torpedoes are far more potent than 10”.
There are probably some small tweaks to points needed. The M-class, for example, is quite weak based on its performance in this game.
