Osprey Games new ancient naval rules – Poseidon’s Warriors

Osprey just released a set of ancient galley naval wargaming rules titled “Poseidon’s Warriors”! Here is a little about the rules in Osprey’s own words,

“Poseidon’s Warriors is a set of wargaming rules for large-scale naval actions between fleets of Classical galleys from the Greek and Persian clash at the battle of Salamis to the battle of Actium that decided the fate of Rome. With so many of these battles taking place around islands or in narrow channels and shallow waters, sneaky tactics and cunning manoeuvres are a hallmark of warfare of this era, and the rules use an integrated turn system to allow a commander to position ships to go in and ram without being rammed in return, or to employ feints and traps to tempt the enemy out of position and leave his ships vulnerable to a follow-up strike. With data for ships throughout the period, rules for famous admirals, historical scenarios, a campaign system and a brief historical summary for those who wish to refresh their memory of the era, Poseidon’s Warriors offers everything players need to bring to the tabletop the battles and campaigns of the first great age of naval warfare.”

I’ve had the naval itch for a while, so I was excited to see this set of rules hit the market. This is one of the Osprey “blue book” rules and clocks in at 64 pages of rules, and includes notes on classical war galleys and tactics, advanced rules, generic scenarios and historical scenarios. Its got the all the info a gamer needs to start gaming the period! Of course it’s of the same high quality gamers expect from Osprey and includes a ton of fantastic color illustrations, diagrams, and color pictures of minis. Great stuff!

The rules use some standard simple d6 mechanics to resolve rams, artillery shooting, oar strikes and morale. Players roll a d6 and the winner may choose to go first or second and move a squadron, which might consist of five smaller galley models, three medium galleys, or one large galley, and then the opposing player moves a squadron. The turn alternates until all ships have moved. Players can attack other ships, rolling a d6 for effect, using all of the available weapons and tactics of the period. There is a quick reference sheet at the back of the rules to help resolve combat, which of course comes in handy during play.

Each ship has stats for its own class and enemy actions reduce these stats for each hit inflicted. It’s pretty basic stuff really, where a slow trireme has 2 oar bank, 1 hull, 1 ram, moves 5″ and saves on a 6+. I’m no expert on ancient galleys and it will not likely be my “hard core, stuck up to my neck” gaming period, so I like that these rules are not complex and you can focus on moving your ships around and not reading some sub-section of a complex tome like rule set! John Lambshead is a veteran author and he did an outstanding job making these rules comprehensive, but elegant and fun to play. You get the feel and essence of the period without all the fuss!

Some of my favorite parts of the book include the advanced rules (unique ship capabilities, harpax, Rhodian fir ports, towers, leaders, etc), campaign ideas, and especially the historical scenarios.

I liked these rules so much that I played a couple games with some hand drawn cardboard counters (thank you Peter Dennis for the inspiration!) and then I placed an order for some 1/1200 galleys. I can whole heartily recommend you do the same! I like that I’ll be able to put my mat, galleys and rules in a small box in my backpack and be able to travel light to my local club for a game. I can highly recommend “Poseidon’s Warriors”!

Happy sailing! Cory@cigarboxbattle.com

The only galley I have painted so far (test run) sets out for a short trip on the Mediterranean Sea!