Getting Started in Naval Gaming

Where to begin.

Hi all! Just a quick note before I get into the meat of this post. This is something of a cross-platform experiment. I recently posted a video to the MBS YouTube channel with the same title. This post is derived from the script I wrote for that video. I thought it might be fun for folks who have watched the video to see what I wrote and where I deviated (in minor ways) from that written essay. Also, I suspect that this might be useful for those that don’t feel like sitting through a 20 minute video and would rather read the post instead. Anyway, a link to the video is below, and then there is the rest of the script. This is the first time I’ve tried something like this for the Substack, so I am curious to see if there is anyone who likes this method of posting and if you have any feedback on ways to make it better! This first attempt is definitely a bit rough around the edges. - Andy

Ahoy there! This time around I’m going to be talking about a naval wargaming from the perspective of someone who is just starting out. Perhaps you are new to wargaming as a hobby, or perhaps you are familiar with wargaming and are looking to try something new. Either way, hopefully you will find something useful in this post!

As always, lets take a quick look at the topics we’re covering in this video. First, I’ll briefly discuss why you might want to try a naval game in the first place. Next, I’ll spend some time building a framework that will hopefully allow newcomers to make sense of the incredible variety and diversity of naval games out there. ’ll attempt to provide a basic overview of the different sub-genres and settings that are out there. Having established those rough categories, I’ll then touch on the topic of scale - both of physical miniatures and of the game itself. Once we’ve got a handle on the naval gaming landscape (so to speak), I’ll then dive into the meat of this topic; what one should consider when picking a ruleset and accompanying miniatures. I will do my best to cover games across the spectrum, to include low cost (even free!) options to more expensive buy-ins.

So, why naval gaming? Well, first of all the barrier to entry for naval gaming is going to be somewhat lower than it will be for a lot of land-based games. Due to needing fewer models and less terrain, your average naval game is going to be less expensive in terms of time and money. Additionally, the mechanics and gameplay for a naval game tend to be very different to land-based games, which provides for great variety, especially for established gamers. Thirdly, naval games provide a great thematic way to explore different aspects of your favorite time frame and setting.

Speaking of setting, that brings me to my next point, which is a breakdown of what “flavors” of naval game are typically seen on the market. Now, don’t get me wrong; this is a general overview, and by no means inclusive. I will readily admit up front that there are undoubtedly games that I have failed to touch on. However, what I’m presenting here will hopefully cover 90%+ of the games out there.

The first major split is between what I call “Historical” games - those based on real historical conflicts and using historical ships, and “Sci-Fi/Fantasy” games, which are based in settings that are either partly or entirely made up. On the historical side, the major time periods for naval gaming include Ancients (think galleys and triremes), Age of Sail, WWI, WWII, and “Modern” which includes anything from post WWII to the present day. From my experience, WWII is by far the most popular era, followed by Age of Sail. WWI and Modern seem to be about tied in popularity, while  ancients are very much a rarity.

On the Sci-Fi/Fantasy side of the divide, the major categories as I see it are Space, Alternate History, and Fantasy. Space is fairly obvious as a category, and also extremely diverse, as it encompasses everything from X-Wing to Starfleet Battles. As a likely consequence of that diversity, space naval games are quite popular. In fact, I’m willing to wager that space combat games are rivaled only by WWII naval games in overall popularity! I don’t have a lot of hard data to back that up, but that has largely been my observation. The “alternate history” category is a bit of a catch-all. Typically, this means a “steam punk” or “Victorian Science Fiction” setting, like Dystopian Wars. An interesting sub-category of the alternate history category are airship combat games, such as Leviathans or Castles in the Sky (though I will grant that neither of these are, strictly speaking, Victorian…they are more Edwardian, as it turns out). And finally, there is the Fantasy category. Specifically, I’m talking Tolkien-esque “high fantasy” here. Humans, Elves, Orcs, and the like. I would say the current leading example of this sub-category is Mantic’s Kings of War Armada.

So, there you go. This is how I see the basic categories of naval games. I’m sure there are many of you out there saying “What about this game?” or even the famous “Acktually…” reaction. To that, I direct you back to my statement at the beginning of this section where I said this is a very simplified overview, and isn’t going to perfectly encapsulate every game on the market. However, hopefully newcomers will still find it of some use, and who knows? Maybe I’ll expand on it further in future videos. For now, though, lets move on.

Scale is an interesting word with regards to miniature gaming. Most gamers will immediately associate that word with the physical size of the miniatures, so I’ll start there. Going off the categories started earlier, I’ll start with the standard scales for historical gaming. Traditionally, historical games have been played in 1/600, 1/1200, 1/2400, 1/3000, and 1/6000 scales. In general, the larger scales, such as 1/600, have been used for age of sail and ancient games, since the ships were physically smaller during those eras and engagement rangers were shorter. By the time we get to WWII and Modern, larger ships and longer engagement ranges make the smaller scales more popular. Of note is 1/1800 scale, which is a relative new-comer to the naval gaming hobby. This scale was essentially created by the Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures game, which launched in 2008. The popularity of this scale has grown in recent years, with the recent re-launch of Victory at Sea from Warlord Games adopting this scale as well.

On the Sci-Fi/Fantasy side, space games are less about the specific scale and more about the overall size of the miniatures. In general, there are two rough size bins for starship combat games. In the smaller bin, large ships such as battleships are roughly 2-3 inches in length. In the larger bin, battleships are more like 6-8 inches. The larger size was popularized by Battlefleet Gothic in the late 90s. In general though, scale and miniature size are less important for space games, as most rule sets measure ranges not from the minis but from the stems of the “flying bases” the minis are based on. For Fantasy and and Alternate History games, they tend to largely follow the historical naval gaming scales, since they are loosely based on real-world naval technology.

There is another meaning to scale beyond just the size of the models being used, however, It can also refer to the size of the game, in the sense of the scope of the battle that’s being represented by the game. On one end of the scale, you have “duel” games that give a detailed portrayal of a small battle with one or two ships on each side. Great examples include Star Fleet Battles and Sails of Glory. On the other end of the scale are the mass fleet battle games, where the goal is to play an epic game between large fleets of ships. These games are somewhat less common, but I would argue that Halo Fleet Battles is one of the better recent entries in this sub-category.

However, these are the ends of the scale. In the middle are a large number of games where you have in the neighborhood of a dozen or so ships on the table for each side. Classic examples include Battlefleet Gothic, the A Call to Arms series, Dystopian Wars, Firestorm Armada, and Victory at Sea. The venerable Starship Combat News website categorizes these games as “small fleet” games, while I prefer a term I came up with, the “Standard Naval Game” or SNG, a reference to the fact that games of this type encompass a majority of the games that are out there.

And of course, I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the fact these three sub-categories are not hard and fast; it is very much a spectrum. I argue though that the spectrum also falls along a normal distribution, with the “SNG” format occupying the center of the curve.

At this point, having discussed categories and scale, I now turn to the question of how to get started in naval gaming. The previous discussion may have seemed superfluous, but it was essential to this part of the video because the first question I would ask any potential naval gamer is “What game do you want to play?” For a complete newcomer to naval gaming, that inevitably leads to a follow-on question of “What do you find interesting?” And, when answering such questions I personally find it helpful to have some idea what the boundaries are to my set of options. At the start, I would look to decide what sub-category of game I’m interested in, and what scale of game I’m interested in. That will help narrow down your search quite a bit.

If I’ve chosen space naval gaming as my choice, and I’m particularly interested in a specific IP like Star Trek or Star Wars, that further narrows my search, though not as much as one might imagine. There are indeed well-made officially licensed games for just about every major space IP out there, from Star Trek and Star Wars down to Bablylon 5 and Halo. However, there are also a lot of fan-made rules and conversions for other rulesets. To give just one small example, there is an entire fan-made conversion of Star Wars Armada for Star Trek.

Another major question to ask when choosing a game  is “Who are you going to play with?” If you have  a local community that is already active in a specific naval game or in naval games generally, then you have a ready-made support network and your choice of game might already be made for you. On the other hand, if you are looking to start a community from scratch, then you might be a bit more constrained by those games that are readily available at retail. And, of course, this might not be about “community” at all, but rather you and one or two close friends or family  members may simply be looking for a game to play with each other. In that situation, you will naturally want to have worked out with your group which game or games you might like to try.

The next major factor to consider is cost. How much are you willing to spend on getting into a game? As I mentioned at the start of the video, the good news here is that most naval games are relatively inexpensive to get into compared to land-based games. The even better news is that it is possible to try many naval games for free. The first matter of business is tracking down the rules. Rules might be completely free, or else a free sample of the rules may be available. Star Wars Armada, Dropfleet Commander, and Dystopian Wars are all games that are currently in production, and their rules fare available as free downloads from Atomic Mass Games, Tabletop Combat, and Warcradle, respectively. Older games that are now solely fan-supported, such as BFG, are also available for free. For those games that do not have free rules, your next option would be to track down a lets-play video, a podcast review (such as the ones I do on the MBS podcast!), or a blog post that discusses the basics of how the game works. For the most part, if rules are not free they are at least moderately priced. The rulebook for A Bilion Suns, for example, will run you about $20 US direct from the Osprey website.

Once you have rules sorted, the next matter of business is models. Now, for most naval miniature games, the models used to represent your ships on the tabletop are going to be the most significant expense in time and money. There are some ways around paying that cost upfront, especially if you aren’t sure if you will like the game just yet. First, many naval games are playable on a computer using programs such as Table Top Simulator and Vassal. In addition to trying a game out, these methods are also great for playing the game with friends who you are unable to meet in person for whatever reason. If you then decide to move into the physical realm, or if you simply prefer to play your game physically, then you still have some low-cost options. For example, there are a number of print-and-play options for naval miniatures of all sorts, from starships to triremes. For a slightly more upscale option, you can use boardgame markers or offerings from Topside Minis to up the look of your game for a relatively nominal cost. These will all be 2D representations of ships, though, so there is a limit on just how immersive your tabletop can become.

Moving to three dimensional models adds significant expense, though even here there is a range of options to suit different budgets and price points. If you are finding it difficult to justify the expense of purchasing highly detailed metal ship models from GHQ, for example, XP Forge has much more economical 3D printed versions available.

As a side note, in my opinion if you have settled on playing a specific naval game that is being produced and supported with a bespoke line of miniatures by a game company, it is generally preferable to support that company (and the game) by buying into that range of miniatures if you are able to do so. That will help the support for the game continue, and might also aid greatly with the next topic I want to cover, which is supporting components.

What I mean by “supporting components” are things like special dice, movement templates, firing gages, status tokens, cards, dials, and so on. Naval games, like all miniatures games, use these devices to greater or lesser degrees. Some games are heavily dependent on such components, like Star Wars Armada. In such cases, the most cost-effective way to get a set of these components is to buy the starter sets from the company that produces the game. Replacements and/or substitutes for those components might well be available, but these are typically marketed as premium upgrades for the stock items, and therefore cost a bit more. Gooing back to Star Wars Armada again, Admiral Tater does some amazing work with custom movement and messing tools that are themed to particular factions and commanders. However, that quality does not come cheap, and his products are generally aimed at the hard-core fans and are hardly necessary for a player that is just starting out.

For games that require fewer components, or else are out of production and as such official components are hard to come by, there are a number of low-cost options available. Most such games have print-and-play sheets of tokens and markers available, for example. These can either be printed and cut out to be used as-is, or else you can mount those printed bits of paper to cardboard or even wooden bases. I find that 20mm by 20mm square wooden bases are perfect for this use, and you can get 100 of them for $12 from Litko. Special dice can be trickier, although it is in principle an easy matter to use standard dice and a conversion chart. That is a bit clunky to be sure, but can be an effective way to minimize costs when first starting out. I’ve also found that it isn’t too hard to get used to after a game or two. It is also possible that a third party has stepped up to provide an alternative to custom dice. For example, the Baron of Dice has several sets of special D6 that can be used for BFG.Those dice aren’t exactly cheap, but they can be less than you might pay for a set of original GW Special Order dice off of outfits like eBay.

I could do a deep dive on several of the points I’ve just made, but this video is getting long already. Maybe I’ll revisit those points in future videos! For now though, I’m going to wrap it up here. Hopefully, if you are looking to get into naval gaming this video has given you a few ideas about how to proceed. If you are already a naval gamer, I hope this video gave you a few new ideas, but if not then at least I hope it will be a resource you can point potential converts to.

Thank you so much for watching! Until next time, this is Ruckdog, saying good luck and good hunting!