Apparently, Sunday 6 August is the inaugural International Naval Wargames Day (it being Fred T Jane's 152nd birthday). The idea is that around the world, wargamers sit down and play a naval wargame in honour of the old man.
Naval wargaming (like naval warfare) covers a huge spectrum, from full-fleet battles down to single-ship actions. Settings can be historical, counter-factual, fantasy, near-future or far-future. They can be played with miniatures, as pen-and-paper exercises, or as boardgames. Some rulesets are notorious for their complexity, whereas others can be written on a single sheet of paper (some of the latter can be downloaded very cheaply or for free at the Wargame Vault).
So whether you fancy getting hundreds of teeny-tiny ships out and re-fighting Jutland, modelling Amethyst's dash to the sea, or raiding the Lego box to have pirates boarding a fat merchantman, join in! It should be fun.
My interest in things naval pre-dates my interest in wargaming and is centered on the period 1860-1920.
This may be just what I need to spur me on to doing some actual gaming. Being a magpie I have acquired several rulesets (mainly the aforesaid free ones from the Wargame Vault). At the moment I'm thinking of trying out Bob Cordery's Portable Naval Wargame and am tailoring a free set I obtained from the Topside Miniatures website to a pre-combat-aircraft setting. Phil Barker's Damn Battleships Again! has also been suggested. But if anyone knows rules better suited for solo play in this period, please let me know.
I have a week to choose one and work out how I want to represent the units involved...
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