The USS Essex was a 36-gun frigate that participated in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and the War of 1812. She was very successful in disrupting British whaling in the Pacific, before being captured in 1814, and re-purposed as the HMS Essex under the Royal Navy. Launched on 30 September 1799, she was armed with short ranged carronades...
Though galleys were out of favour by the Age of Sail, they were still used. Galleys are very low, long, and slender ships that use banks of oars as their main mode of propulsion. Identified easily by their long hulls and shallow drafts, they still maintained sails that could be used should the winds prove favourable – though this never superseded manpower...
Though galleys were out of favour by the Age of Sail, they were still used. Galleys are very low, long, and slender ships that use banks of oars as their main mode of propulsion. Identified easily by their long hulls and shallow drafts, they still maintained sails that could be used should the winds prove favourable – though this never superseded manpower...
A Xebec is a two- or three-masted vessel usually found in the Mediterranean that was used mostly for trading. It had a long overhanging bowsprit, an aftset mizzen mast and lateen sails. Favoured by Barbary Corsairs (Muslim pirates operating off the coast of North Africa) and Algerian Berber corsairs, early xebecs had two masts, whilst later examples had...
A Xebec is a two- or three-masted vessel usually found in the Mediterranean that was used mostly for trading. It had a long overhanging bowsprit, an aftset mizzen mast and lateen sails. Favoured by Barbary Corsairs (Muslim pirates operating off the coast of North Africa) and Algerian Berber corsairs, early xebecs had two masts, whilst later examples had...
Black Seas focuses on the golden age of sail, which encompasses the period between 1770 and 1830. During this period the navies of Europe and beyond fight for dominance of the high seas. Hold Fast! is a supplement for the Black Seas age of sail game. Inside, find new ways to play, such as charting your course as an independent smuggler or following a navy...
How could that have happened? Blue Stories is a game similar to the Black Stories game series. The players try to reconstruct an obscure event by asking, guessing and fiddling about. Only yes/no answers are allowed. This version of the black stories has mysteries related to maritime themes - sailors, pirates, desert islands, see creatures, vikings, and...
Introduction (from the rule book): BLACKBEARD recreates "The Golden Age of Piracy" at the turn of the 18th century. Each player becomes one or more pirates and attempts to amass a fortune and retire before a King's Commissioner tracks him down, a Warship stumbles across him, or his own crew cuts his throat! Merchant ships plying the trade routes are the...
One of the Avalon Hill games of the early 1990s was Blackbeard, a pirate game totally different from any others available because it simulated the actual life and careers of historical pirates, and how they went about their chosen professions. Richard Berg has now taken the original and redesigned it, almost entirely, to bring it into line with what gamers...
Bleak Moor is a single player card game that forces you to enter into the unsavoury world of wrecking – the despicable act of luring ships onto treacherous rocks so you can plunder their cargo. Your nightmare begins with the delivery of your first ransom note. It details a ship that is about to set sail, the amount of cargo it carries, and the price you...
Blockade is played on a grid of sixty-four hexagons (in three alternating colors or shades) arranged in a four-sided diamond (rhombus) shape, with eight hexes on each side. Two players, black and white, have pieces in three types: four captains, three commodores, and one admiral. To start the game, the board is positioned with the extreme corners of the...
From the Rules: Blockade is played with multi-shaped wooden pieces representing Naval Formations, Air Units, Submarines and Cargo Ships on a six-color map. Victory consists of capturing or sinking all enemy Merchant Shipping so that the enemy is completely blockaded and cannot obtain further supplies from Neutral sources. The Map shows four countries (two...