Crueller Seas

Cruel Seas has caused quite a stir at my local games clubs. The South Devon Games Club have particularly become enamoured with the idea and there is even talk of a club campaign, something we haven't done in years.

I'll be honest, Cruel Seas is a surprising hit. If you'd asked me six months ago how well a fast attack boat game would have done, I think I'd have been very sceptical about its chances. Yet, the first batch of Cruel Seas sets sold out in record time. I would have been completely wrong, and having played the game, it hits the sweet spot of being fun with a nod to history.

There is something in Cruel Seas which has captured gamers' imaginations like few games before it. There are a few grumbles about the rules (summed up well by Jan Willem on his blog), but despite a few hiccups, people still love the game. Warlord Games were also brave enough to release errata for the rules very quickly. Ok, honestly speaking again, a 10-page errata doc with V1.1 of the game coming out quicklydoes sound like it was hurried to production.

You may be wondering why I've posted the pictures of a Fletcher Class destroyer. Well, everyone has started thinking about what factions to play. Alex M went US, Ian W for Japanese and very soon, I was left with either representing the Soviets or having to choose a side already taken. One gamer, Brent, had already bought the above Fletcher class destroyer and was planning to collect every faction! As it happens, I have a Zvesda model of a Bronekater or two, so it looks like I'll be playing Russians.

I'll do a review on the Project 1125 kit from Zvesda shortly.