Round Breakdown: Oak & Iron

[@SlyBlu7]

It's not the size of the boat that matters, it's the... quality of your rulebook? Good thing Firelock's got both. Good game you guys, excited to get my KS in!

[@mattyoung9075]

There’s definitely things I like about this system. Just ordered Black Seas gear and the clear advantage of this system over that is the ability to sail line astern, and the bonus given for remaining in formation.

[@NScaleCPRail]

You can sail in line in Black Seas. It grants a huge advantage as you would activate every ship in the linebstarting with the one in front.

[@Jan_Tabletop]

Both systems have different attempts.

[@mattyoung9075]

Oh I didn’t realize black seas had that advantage!

[@seanmorgan2257]

was looking at black seas but may wait for this to become retail

[@lavvgiver]

How do we get the blue distance/turn markers?

[@topperdepop]

Quick question: @27:45 who do a Skull and a Cannon equal 1 damage on a Fortitude 2 ship? Wouldn't both damage dice be cancelled by the Fort2? I understand the 1pt of Fatigue, I'm just unclear on the actual Damage.

[@FirelockMike]

RT , a ships fortitude is the number of hits required to cause a point of damage.

[@jamiebroughman5626]

me and a good friend going to be playing a good bit of this one i really like that it comes with everything out of the box cheers good learning round im going rogue with the pirates expansion lol

[@OmegaViper]

Hows this in gameplay and price compared to Black Seas?

[@FirelockMike]

Raine OShae Check out the “Elephant in the Room” post below for thoughts on that :)

[@FreeFragUK]

I realise you posted this quite some time ago and I'm assuming that you've long since answered your query concerning gameplay and concerning price, however, I'll address the price side of things for those interested. For those of us in the UK Black Seas is at a far better price point, both in terms of initial buy in and when looking at expanding upon the original contents. As an easy comparison the starter box for Black Seas can often be found for £40 - £45 in the UK or £50 straight from the maker. In contrast to this Oak & Iron can be found for £60 at one retailer I've come across but the average appears to be £69 which is a 1:1 conversion when compared to the USD price. As far as contents are concerned both boxes contain everything you need to get you started but when it comes to ships Black Seas includes 3 Frigates and 6 Brigs for a total of nine ships. Comparatively Oak & Iron includes a mix of 6 different ships. An argument can be made that Oak & Iron features 6 different ships whereas Black Seas comes with only 2 different types but when you consider that the ships of Black Seas are more highly detailed then this becomes somewhat of a moot point.

[@Jan_Tabletop]

Still like the rules / the game. As i red the rules before, i am realy interested especially in the full batrep. Hopefully it will go up today. :D Thanks to OnTabletop & Firelock Games

[@HethwillWargames]

Hell yeah, buccaneer age with Oak&Iron and late period napoleonics and lakes wars with the other naval one :) A good year.

[@SlyBlu7]

wait for it, Napoleonics will be coming to this game as well... ;)

[@HethwillWargames]

@@SlyBlu7 Aye but somehow the heyday age of anglo dutch wars, buccaneer wars back and forth in the west indies. That stuff rarely gets looked into :) And honestly, I like different rulesets for different periods, like horses for courses.

[@FirelockMike]

@@HethwillWargames The Napoleonic version will probably be a separate, but very similar ruleset to account for the changes in that period.

[@HethwillWargames]

@@FirelockMike Great to hear. Flavour - specific to the tactics used in any given period ( more so in fighting at sea ) - is essential.

[@FirelockMike]

@@HethwillWargames Definitely agree.

[@redmist1122]

Great game overview and play. I'm not a BIG fan of a lot of data cards to play out a game. I like a "clean" table. I really enjoy the "Blood & Plunder" rules, as they are my go-to rule systems for any and all ship action. I know this system is more grand-tactical, but not for me now. BTW, with the new promotion of Black Sails, curious on a comparison game overview and play. Thanks again for another great video!

[@FirelockMike]

I also really hate lots of table clutter! Thats a big part of the reason we designed the game to work for a smaller table size (3'x3' or 3'x4') unless you are playing a really large game. You can lay out your sea mat and have plenty of space to put your cards and tokens off of the seascape. The only cards you really need to have around once you get going are the stat cards for each ship and your hand of 5-7 initiative cards. Not so bad really :)

[@redmist1122]

Oh ok, really appreciate the response...I did notice all is really needed is a smaller play area. May have to hint for this for a B-Day gift for next month. Thanks again.

[@FirelockMike]

@@redmist1122 Happy to help :)

[@redmist1122]

Awesome! Hey...I'm the guy from Facebook with the open invite to you and/or staff to come out next month for our annual BIG B-Day Pirate game. Take care.

[@SlyBlu7]

@@redmist1122 it's cold weather season, and they're Floridians - good luck getting the guys out of their pools and t-shirts to hike up north for a game. They're already whining about coming to Pennsylvania in November :D

[@ralphcooper9207]

Could improve by adding carronades as a gun choice - using half the range distance. Creates more damage vs less range.

[@FirelockMike]

Ralph Cooper game is set between 1650 and 1750. No carronades yet :)

[@memorarenz]

So... Elephant in the room. What one is better?

[@SGusky]

Different time periods.... Play both

[@memorarenz]

@@SGusky most people, well my gaming group anyhow, are unlikely to play two different age of sail systems especially with them both being so new and both being currently reviewed. I don't really expect an answer, and it's a subjective topic, but you know one of the systems will play and feel better than the other.

[@anab0lic]

@@SGusky not everyone is about the time periods though, they play the games with the best rulesets.

[@SGusky]

anab0lic agree to a point Yes they are both sailing ship combat games But There is a big difference in types of ships, combat doctrines and what you choose to immerse yourself in I grew up near Put-in-Bay Ohio and relate to the battle of Lake Erie War of 1812 plays differently than a galleon in the Caribbean It’s the look and feel of the game One rulesset may be better, and if that one expands to other areas- that’s fine Just saying Yes For some of us it’s about the time.... You don’t fly SE.5s and triplanes in the Battle of Britain Have fun in the historic period you like and roll dice Just sayin

[@FirelockMike]

Oak & Iron! Not that I'm biased or anything ;) Seriously though, I do think Firelock Games has the superior system in Oak & Iron. Especially if you are looking for a historical result and to be rewarded for using period tactics. The Initiative card system really gets players thinking like a period admiral. Keeping your squadron in good order, using the proper signals at the proper time, The fatigue mechanic which adds a simple yet effective way to track the effects of combat on the crew, and the general pace of the movement and combat I think really captures the tactical chaos management that made this period so fun and interesting. Plus, we actually have real pirates ;)

[@matt759537]

oh nice another ship game! ships would be enjoyable to paint.

[@SunDancerGE]

The card choosing at the start feels like it's directly taken from Star Wars Legion... or did FFG copy that to? ;)

[@FirelockMike]

This card mechanic was originally part of Blood & Plunder, but didn't end up quite fitting with that game. The concept was actually inspired by Dust Warfare, which was a Fantasy Flight game also :)

[@SunDancerGE]

So FFG invented it and everybody copied their homework XD Thanks.

[@SlyBlu7]

@@SunDancerGE FFG didn't invent the advanced card play like that. There are a lot of games, going way WAY back that used scheduled moves. It's pretty common in games dealing with aircraft, where you schedule your movement in advance. I think the worst I've seen is planning 3 movements ahead, and recycling that 3rd card every turn.

[@willkilla]

Dont be a dick to a small company. Legion copied pips from DBA/WAB, and almost all of its other mechanics from Bolt Action

[@FreeFragUK]

I'll be honest this had piqued my interest as an alternative to Black Seas as it appeared to address many of the issues I have with the latter. Unfortunately the price for Oak & Iron in the UK is such that it just isn't comparable. While the rules and setting are definitely stronger the price places Oak & Iron outside the sphere of competition. It's unfortunate but I suspect that this is one title which will perform far better in the US than in the UK. I wish Firelock all the best with this, it's just a shame for many of us with an interest in this period.

[@peatmoss4946]

arrrrrgh