Calling for Contributions

A while back, I had a crazy idea. Now I’ve finally decided to put it into action.

Taking a cue from the indie role-playing game (RPG) scene, I would like to produce a small “zine” for naval wargamers. The idea is to promote naval wargaming in an easily accessible format that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The focus will be mainly historical, although I’m open to fantasy and even sci-fi naval wargaming (not spaceship gaming, though).

The working title is The Armchair Admiral’s Almanac. Naval Wargaming Zine.

What is a zine?

Zines are small, cheaply produced magazines made by amateur enthusiasts. They are characterised by a DIY aesthetics and ethos. The format encourages experimentation and trying out ideas.

Indie RPG zine.

Why?

Judging from social media, there seems to be continuous, perhaps even growing interest in naval wargaming. However, social media is increasingly becoming unpleasant to use, with ads and paid content swamping timelines and drowning out interesting content. It is also very fleeting, making it hard to find useful content that was posted some time ago.

Zines are very successful in the indie RPG world, as people seem to enjoy the slower pace (compared to social media) and the DIY ethos – both things that are generally also appreciated by wargamers.

The Armchair Admiral’s Almanac is intended to appeal to veteran naval wargamers as well as newbies. One of its aims is to show prospective naval wargamers the variety of the hobby, point them towards periods and rules and show them accessible and creative ways of approaching the hobby.

What could my contribution look like?

Mainly stuff that is inspirational for gaming. It would be great if the zine would contain a good share of scenarios, mini-campaigns and even short rules or rules ideas. Modelling tips (especially regarding scratch-building) and hobby projects are also great. Rules reviews and AARs are welcome if they are succinct. Book reviews and other stuff (descriptions of events, visits to historical sites etc.) should only take a small amount of space.

If you are a rule author, contributions about your own rules (scenarios, campaigns, optional rules etc.) are of course very welcome.

How will it be distributed?

The aim is to make the zine available for free in pdf format via different plaforms. If a print-on-demand edition is also made available, it will be priced to cover the production costs and not to generate any profits.

THE ROYAL NAVY IN THE HOME WATERS, 1914-1918 (Q 19552) Naval ratings drawing a rum issue aboard the Royal Navy battleship HMS King George V. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205253936

Is there a submission deadline?

There will be, but at the moment, I just want to gauge interest and see if this is a project people could get behind.

Is this supposed to be a regular thing?

Now, the idea is to produce one issue. Depending on the number of contributions, readers’ interest and the actual work involved I wouldn’t rule out a continuation, but let’s not jump the gun here.

Will you use AI?

I’d rather shoot myself in the foot. So no, I won’t use AI in any stage of the project. I will also not accept contributions created wholly or partially with AI or containing images created with AI.

The title is stupid; I don’t like it.

You might be right. I’d be grateful for ideas and suggestions!

I’d be very happy if you would consider contributing something!

If you have an idea for a contribution, please leave a comment with your contact info or contact me via Bluesky (@thomasbrandstetter.bsky.social) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/frank.shandy.5/).

If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, please let me know!

I hope to hear from you!

Cool Things People Have Done With Torpedoes and Tides

I am extremely pleased with the positive reception Torpedoes and Tides has received. Judging from the very kind comments I have read, it seems that people are genuinly enjoying the game, which makes me very happy.

Here are some of the cool things people have done with the game:

Staunch ally and all-round good guy Alan Saunders has continued his campaign featuring Harvey Knight. It really is a nerve-wracking tale of daring and bad luck and of heroics and frustrations. Read it on his blog: http://hordesofthethings.blogspot.com/

Image © by Alan Saunders

Alan also created a scenario about MTBs attacking U-boats and we are now working on hammering out the scenario for publication.

Prolific gamer and hobbyist Jim Jackaman also has a Torpedoes and Tides project running and also worked on designing a scenario. He is currently working on beautiful 1/600 models and I’m really looking forward to seeing some of his games: https://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/

Image © by Jim Jackaman

Over on the Lead Adventure Forum, Jon played TnT at his club with 1/300 scale ships. Here’s what he wrote:

“We used the 1:300 Cruel Seas scale minis on an 8 by 6 board.  I also increased the ranges to 5”, 8” and 12”.  I made some measuring triangles, the angle between S and M sides being 47 deg was close enough to 45 that we used that for turns as well.  I also managed to fit all the tables on an A4 and onto the measuring triangles so we didn’t have to refer to the rules during play.”

And here are some images. What a glorious spectacle!

Image © by Jon (Jon_1066 on LAF)

Martin Hogg took my cardboard standees and transformed them into 3-D printable files. It makes them look much more hefty, while still retaining the simplicity of silhouettes. Martin has kindly made the files available for free: https://www.printables.com/model/1679713-torpedoes-and-tides-standees-and-tools

Image © by Martin Hogg

Ilya Yudovsky has created a whole set of stl files, among them not only ship models in 1/1250, but also blind markers, moon markers and a measuring tool. He will make them available for download at a later date – I will keep you updated.

Image © by Ilya Yudovsky

All of this enthusiasm is very humbling. A big “thank you” to all of you who bought Torpedoes and Tides, played it, devised scenarios, created material and posted kind words about it.

You also motivate me to continue working on new scenarios and other material. I have a new campaign in the works and another playthrough video with an interview with a historian. Stay tuned and have fun!

New Torpedoes and Tides scenario and videos!

To support Torpedoes and Tides, I want to regularly publish historical scenarios. The followers of this blog know that I enjoy nothing more than researching and writing scenarios!

The first one is out now. It is set in the Adriatic and features an attack by Canadian Coastal Forces legend Capt. Tom Fuller on a German convoy. You can download from the Torpedoes and Tides section of the blog or directly from here.

As a special treat, I have also made video Quick Strike AAR in the manner of Little Wars TV. It’s my first attempt at making such a video and unfortunately this can be seen, as some of the footage is pretty crappy due to overexposure. Well, I’m learning as I go along…

You can find the video on Youtube.

And there is a bonus video: an interview with historian Sean Livingston about Tom Fuller. Sean has written a great biography of Fuller that provided the inspiration for the scenario.

The book is available on Amazon.

I hope you enjoy the scenario and the videos! More is to come.

Torpedoes and Tides pdf out now!

The pdf version of the Torpedoes and Tides rulebook is now available via Ganesha Games and Wargamevault.

If you prefer a physical book, this will be available in a couple of days via Amazon. I will keep you informed!

Torpedoes and Tides is a quick play miniature wargame about night actions involving motor torpedo boats during the Second World War. It puts the focus firmly on command decisions and tactics and aims at giving a fast game that mirrors the frantic and chaotic nature of coastal forces actions.

It uses an activation mechanism that rewards risk-taking and keeps the players focussed on decision making instead of book-keeping.

The book contains all the rules needed for tactical combat, 4 generic and 4 historical scenarios, a full campaign system and 160+ unit profiles covering all major and several minor countries that took part in World War II.

Although based on the same engine seen in Nic Wright’s wonderful Galleys and Galleons adapted to WW2 technology, this is a complete, standalone game. No other books are required.

I have created a dedicated page for the game here on the blog to publish additional material: https://wargamingraft.wordpress.com/torpedoes-and-tides/

I have big plans for the game – more cool things are to come!

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.