Build Batteries or Invest in Ironclads? A Key CSA Conundrum In Rebel Raiders on the High Seas

Each turn in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas both players are faced with making choices as to how to spend their builds.  The South has two arsenals, Richmond and Atlanta, each of which gives the Confederate player either a Battery to place on the map immediately or an Ironclad – which is placed on the turn record track to come in during the next Rebel build phase.   Several players have been debating the merits of Batteries vs. Ironclads. 

Before reading what Pat Kairns and John Bolash have to say, readers not yet familiar with the game should know the following:

Characteristics of a Battery

-a Battery is immobile.  Once placed it may never be moved.

-a Battery adds 1 die in land combat to the Confederate defense.

-a Battery is destroyed in land combat should the Union win the battle.

-a Battery rolls two dice in combat against ships

-a Battery is only destroyed in combat against ships if one of the ships targeting it rolls at least one “6” on a six-sided die.

-a Battery can be taken out by play of the Union mortar boats card (USN Card 2)

Characteristics of an Ironclad:

-an Ironclad may move along the rivers; although a Union Ironclad may be towed at sea from port to port, a Confederate Ironclad may not go to sea.  It may attack the Blockade Station off its port, but except for one special Ironclad (CSS Albemarle, CSN Card 75), no Rebel Ironclad may enter a Coastal or High Seas Zone.

-as long as an Ironclad, or any Confederate warship, is in a port, the Union may not complete an Amphibious or River attack on the port – the Union Navy can attack Batteries and other warships as part of its Assault, but it cannot complete the final round of that Assault – the round to take control of the Port.

-an Ironclad rolls one die in ship combat

-an Ironclad is only destroyed in ship combat if one of the ships targeting it rolls at least one “6” on a six-sided die.

There are cards that help and hurt Batteries and Ironclads.

The Rebels can trade in 20 Victory Points accumulated from their Blockade Runners etc. to purchase an Ironclad or Battery.  The Rebels can never place more than one Battery in a space in a turn, nor can they place more than one Ironclad  (other than through the play of a card).

That said, here are two views by gamers:

First,  Pat Kairns:

Rebels “Have the toughest turn-by-turn choices for their Build Points”
 
As I said in my summary of the early game back when I started this, I think the Rebels in particular have the toughest turn-by-turn choices for their Build Points, especially when it comes to choosing between a Battery and an Ironclad. This has given me an idea to ONLY build Batteries in a game until I run out of them & see how well the Union LAND assaults do against 2 or 3 batteries stationed in key cities. Worth a shot and then I'll probably turn around and build a preponderance of Ironclads. Many, many options in this game; I just want to try the extremes.  

A well placed sudden Counter Attack by the CSA can really deflate the Union player's morale.... believe me, it's happened to me and I've devastated a few over confident Yankees.

Now, John Bolash:

“I almost never ‘waste’ my free batteries to build Ironclads”

As the Confederate player I almost never "waste" my free batteries to build Ironclads. Instead I can generally rely on the ironclads I get from cards (Manassas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Albemarle etc.). After about mid-1862 I build/buy and use counterattacks very often which typically frustrates and slows the Union. When the opportunity arises I'll attack to clear weakly held blockade stations typically with gunboat(s), but sometimes even with a Raider: in other words an active defense. What ironclads I receive from cards are mostly used to hold Mississippi River ports. I build three-battery stacks in Richmond, Atlanta, and at in least one Mississippi River port (preferably two of them), and two batteries in Mobile, two in Savannah, and at least one battery in each of the remaining ocean ports, and as I can one battery in each of the adjacent approach spaces to Richmond & Atlanta, including Chattanooga. 

Finally, The Designer:

Never underestimate the power of an Ironclad

While a Battery is arguably a better buy for the buck, never underestimate the power of an Ironclad. A single Rebel Ironclad on the Mississippi signals the start of an arms race; one the Union cannot afford to ignore.  Gunboats alone are very vulnerable, and can rarely defeat Batteries on their own – especially if there is an Ironclad fighting alongside or lurking behind the Batteries  (the Rebels can keep their warships protected and fight only with Batteries, or vice versa, or put everything on the line at once).

If the Rebels start adding to the Ironclad fleet on the River, the Union will have to more than match them or give up all hope of fighting down the Mississippi by river – they will instead have to slog by land, as Ironclads do not defend against an attack from the land route.  This, however, means the Union will need two Assaults (and it only gets two free ones a turn, and can buy at most two more):  one by River to use ships to knock out some of the Batteries, after which its fleet will either retreat from or be sunk by Rebel ironclads, which costs ships and Victory Points, and then a second Assault immediately following against the port from the land side – assuming the Union ships knocked out one or more of the defending batteries.  If the port falls, the Ironclads can retreat down river to the next port.

In an ocean port, an Ironclad on defense is less versatile – but still makes an Amphibious Assault against the port much more difficult – unless the Union tows in some Ironclads of its own.

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

-Dedicated to Civil War episodes, battles, people and ships that also appear in my game, GMT’s Rebel Raiders on the High Seas,  

August 29, 1863 –  Bad Day for the CSS Hunley

            Historical Event:   On this day in 1863 the experimental submarine CSS Hunley sank during trials in Charleston.  Five crew members drowned.  The ship’s commander, Confederate Navy Lt. John A. Payne and two other crewmen escaped.  The vessel was raised but a second trial on October 15 proved even more catastrophic – as the ship’s inventor, H.L. Hunley, and seven others drowned.  The Confederate Army, which despite the Navy crew remained in charge of the vessel, raised her again.   CSS Hunley did go on to attack the Union fleet, and for that story see the blog entry cited below.

            Game Connection:    The CSS Hunley is represented in Rebel Raiders by CSN Card 73.  The target of its attack in 1864, the USS Housatonic is also represented in the game (USN Card 27).   For the story of their tragic yet historic duel, see my entry from August 26:

http://markgmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2013/08/uss-housatonic-first-warship-to-be-sunk_26.html

Goodreads' Reviewers Like Princess Ryan's Star Marines!

Goodreads' Reviewers Like Princess Ryan's Star Marines!

Two of Goodreads’ top sci-fi reviewers (rated numbers 1 and 2) reviewed Princess Ryan’s Star Marines. David Wilson sums up what he and his brother, Johnny, thought of the novel with this simple single line: “We both liked it and found the humor to be its greatest redeeming quality as well as some of the action scenes.” He also noted that there were “A lot of clever jokes and what appears to be a few nods to old movies and actors. Lol”

Link to David’s Review
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/702129842
Link to Johnny’s Review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/700403454

...and a PS:  They both also like the original board and miniatures games AND Johnny Wilson sent me a note saying how he also likes Rebel Raiders on the High Seas!  What a coincidence!

...and here is the opening from David Wilson's review....

a review of Princess Ryan's Star Marines: Save the Princess!
www.goodreads.com
This quality space opera sneaks in a whole lot of humor and attempts to be a parody without seeming like a parody. What I mean is that this is more a nod at something like Star Wars than an out and out parody like Spaceballs.

USS Housatonic: First Warship to be Sunk by a Submarine

The Ships of Rebel Raiders    - The Men o’ War

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships. 

USS Housatonic:  First Warship to be Sunk by a Submarine

 The mighty USS Housatonic (USN Card 27)  was the first warship to be sunk by a submarine  (falling victim to the  CSS Hunley – CSN Card 73 in Rebel Raiders).  Before that fateful encounter that night in February 1864, however, the USS Housatonic earned other honors, most of them while blockading the very harbor, Charleston, in which she would be sunk.

Launched at the Boston Navy Yard in November 1861, USS Housatonic was one in a class of four powerful screw sloops, each capable of moving under sail or steam, and each carrying 11 guns – including a 100-pounder Parrot rifle, three 30-pouner Parrot rifles, and an 11-inch Dahlgren along with a mix of other rifles, guns and howitzers. 

Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Charleston, her first capture came in January 1863 when, working with the gunboat USS Unadilla (USN Card 17) she cornered and then sent boarding parties to seize the Princess Royal.  The blockade runner was carrying engines, armor and ordnance meant to equip a pair of rebel ironclads.  At the time USS Housatonic was hailed for having been responsible for capturing “the war’s most important single cargo of contraband.”

The South knew this as well, and sent two ironclad rams out of Charleston to try to recover the Princess Royal, which USS Housatonic was attempting to refloat after having driven her aground.  Initially successful in driving back Union gunboats, the two ironclads could not contend with the massive broadsides of the mighty screw sloop – and soon retired under the protection of Charleston’s guns, leaving USS Housatonic with her prize.  

USS Housatonic took many other prizes off Charleston, bombarded her forts and frequently sent landing parties ashore to harry the Rebels, seize prisoners and conduct raids. 

No wonder  that  when the Confederates launched their first submarine, USS Housatonic was chosen as the target for the CSS Hunley.

USS New Ironsides: U.S. Navy’s First Armored Steam Frigate

The Ships of Rebel Raiders    - The Men o’ War

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships.

USS New Ironsides:  U.S. Navy’s First Armored Steam Frigate

The first of a new breed of modern warships, the USS New Ironsides (USN Card 26) was an ocean-going, wooden-hulled, armored man-o-war; a true battleship, with plenty of big guns, powerful steam engines – and even a ram, just in case.

Protected by 4.5 inches of belt armor, the USS New Ironsides would be hit many, many times by the Confederate guns she dueled with at Charleston and Fort Fisher – but like her namesake, the original “Old Ironsides” (USS Constitution) most shots seemed to bounce off; she was never seriously damaged by enemy fire.  USS New Ironsides, however, did have the dubious distinction of being the first victim of a submarine (technically a “semi-submersible torpedo boat”)– when the CSS David (CSN Card 65) set off a spar torpedo on October 5, 1863.  Damage, however, was minor – USS New Ironsides remained on station.

 (In Rebel Raiders, if the Confederate player declared an attack with the CSS David card on a Union warship, say the USS New Ironsides, each side would roll one die, with the Confederate player adding one to his die if his target is the only warship in the port or blockade space.  If the Confederate die roll is higher, the Union ship is sunk.)

USS New Ironsides was the flagship for Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont (USN Card 54) during the April 1863 naval attack on Fort Sumter and the other defenses of Charleston harbor, and went back into the harbor for the second attack on Charleston.  She also supported the abortive assault by the gallant 54^th Massachusetts (as depicted in the movie, Glory) on Fort Wagner, and took part in the two bombardments of Fort Fisher, the second of which resulted in a Union victory in January 1865.  

Decommissioned and laid up in Philadelphia after the war, she was the victim of an accidental fire, allegedly caused by a watchman’s unattended stove, and burned and sank in December 1866.

Rebel Raiders Updated on VASSAL

Rebel Raiders Updated on VASSAL

A big Rebel Raiders' thanks to Joel Toppen, for making Rebel Raiders available on VASSAL and for once again updating it!

This is his announcement today of the update:

Version 1.3 of the Rebel Raiders VASSAL module is available:http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Rebel_Raiders_on_the_High_Seas

Modifications include:
1. Made cargo counters smaller so they don't obscure MPs when stacked on ships.
2. Added Load/Unload functionality to Blockade Runners. Load will dispatch a cargo piece.
3. Added individual "Draw Cards" buttons to each hand window.
4. Added mouse-over zoom to hand windows.

Module:Rebel Raiders on the High Seas - VASSAL

www.vassalengine.org

2. Some Confederate cards say to reshuffle into deck at the end of the next turn. I've created two "deck" spaces to aid in staging these cards back into the deck.

USS Mississippi (USN Card 23) “Largest Ship in the U.S. Navy”- Perry’s Flagship

The Ships of Rebel Raiders    - The Men o’War

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic game of the Civil War which focuses on the role of the navies on the rivers, along the coasts and on the oceans.  While most ships are represented by generic counters for Ironclads, Blockade Runners, Gunboats, Screw Sloops and, of course Raiders, there are cards and corresponding counters for many individual vessels.  This series presents those cards and offers a glimpse into the history of these storied ships.

USS Mississippi (USN Card 23) “Largest Ship in the U.S. Navy”- Perry’s Flagship

......and the bane of Confederate Coffee Drinkers!

When Commodore Matthew Perry went to Japan he wanted to make a big impression – and so he chose the biggest vessel he could find for his flagship.  At over 3,300 long tons, in 1861 the USS Mississippi (USN Card 23) was easily the largest ship in the fleet.  Having served in the Mexican War, she was also already a veteran combatant. 

As the Civil War broke out, USS Mississippi was sent to blockade Key West, and within less than a week on station, captured an inbound blockade runner packed with Brazilian coffee (a highly-prized commodity the South would do without for four years). The massive warship was then sent to the mouth of the river whose name she bore -  and while on blockade duty captured another coffee ship, thus depriving the Confederacy of much-needed caffeine.

When David Glasgow Farragut took on Forts Jackson and St. Phillip in April 1862, USS Mississippi was with him – and it was two massive broadsides from her huge Paixhans Guns that wrecked the Confederate ironclad ram, CSS Manassas. (CSN Card 71).  (Farragut is a leader counter in the game and appears on three cards – giving strategic and tactical advantages on USN Cards 33 and 1, respectively, and with his presence on the map allowing play of the card marking his flagship, USS Hartford – USN Card 37).

Despite protestations by Captain Melancton Smith that her displacement and length made her unsuited for operations upriver, in March 1863 Farragut sent her to support the attack on Port Hudson. As Smith feared, she grounded while under enemy fire.  Smith and his exec, George Dewey (of Manila Bay fame over 40 years later), struggled mightily to refloat her – but Confederate gunners could not miss this huge, immobilized target.  Smith finally gave the order to scuttle her – and when the fires he set reached her magazine, the largest ship in the U.S. Navy became a part of the river with which she shared her name.