HOLF Players' Guild Forum

(Registrar's note: The British team was the clear victor in the Spanish Main scenario after a very strong Summer campaign. WM Matt Majewski provides the British perspective, speaking on behalf of Monarch Jim Voege, C. Reid Vaughan, Matt Majewski, and Matt Young).

The British team started the Spring Game scenario with two ships and six frigates operating within the Caribbean Sea. We also had two transports and a handful of infantry units (which were essentially limited to garrison duty throughout the conflict) spread throughout our ports. Some ports had no garrisons at all. While we started with some treasure in our ports, we did not possess an actual “treasure port.” We assumed (correctly) that other nations would be hampered (as we were) by the lack of at-start units, and that financial/manpower management and unit construction decisions were going to play an especially significant role in determining the eventual winners. These decisions would also be exacerbated by the narrow time constraints that the Spring Games operated under (relative to the build times for frigates and ships). I believe our decisioning-making and planning at these early stages was the reason for the eventual success we had. We had a very experienced team (especially as PATE goes) and a well-thought out and executed game plan, the best quality units, and a decent amount of good fortune.

British OOB

Our rationale for success was pretty simple. Since there were a lot of teams (as well as Pirates) spread out over the Caribbean, and since we had very few ships (and sets of eyes) out there, and since we started out at war with everyone in the game, England sought out a truce with Holland. We targeted the Dutch for truce since we felt we had more to gain by going after the more prodigious (we assumed) Spanish and French treasure fleets and ports for the win. We also agreed to an information (only) sharing deal with Blackbeard and Sam Bellamy, although I do not believe any information was ever actually shared between the two sides.

The plan was to try to be as aggressive as possible in seeking out and destroying enemy ships in the very early going without putting our own ships into unnecessary risk. We knew that British ships would have distinct quality advantages in nearly every fight, and so we looked to engage in at least even fights throughout the Spring while we waited for reinforcements to arrive in early Summer. In the meantime, we would focus on reconnaissance, port defense, and transport of our existing treasure back to England. The first campaign was characterized by small-scale (often individual) ship combat, raids on ports, and general mayhem by the area Pirates. This mayhem caught up with the Anarquia pirates late in the Spring when the furious Spanish occupied not one but both of their Pirate strongholds (moving them into an early commanding lead).

British builds during Spring included: 10 frigates, 2 transports, and 8 HA s (easily the best bang for the load capacity in off-map port combat). As our new forces moved across the Atlantic, we settled on a strategy of sweeping (East to West) across the ports of the Surinam Coast and Southern Caribbean (one of our areas of strength in the region). Although our primary Summer targets were the (first-place) Spanish and Haven pirates, our first target was one of opportunity: the French treasure port at Surinam in T3. Originally, we planned on moving next to Trinidad in the SOC. But since the Dutch already had it targeted, we deferred to them and moved to the all-important port of Tortuga instead. One of our special rules gave us 400 extra VPS if we took a Pirate port. We were able to occupy it in T6, and the Spanish ports at Maracaibo and Santa Marta in T7/8 (even though we lost Dominica during that time). The arrival of our captured French treasure (from Surinam) to England in T19 capped off a whirlwind of a Summer campaign for Britain.

The Scenario was a huge test for the PATE module and the entire NWOL system as a whole, as far as I am concerned. PATE has been tested and then put through the ringers in the first two big games, but never have we pushed the outer confines of the envelope like this before. We created a PATE only scenario with a ton of new rules, and even new ways of determining victory, and then we put it in arguably the most untested portion of the map. And then we ran it simultaneously with two other games on the same map at the same time. As expected, we uncovered some bugs, and the GA was required to perform a huge amount of manual changes to accommodate all those rules and player requests. But under those unprecedented and daunting circumstances, the game system held up amazingly well and provided a unique experience that will not be forgotten soon and leaves me excited about future gaming possibilities.

Complaints:
1. It would have been better if naval build times were shorter for a 20-turn game.
2. Maybe a few more at-start units for all sides.