| GAME SCALES |
| |
Small Scale |
Large Scale |
| Feature |
Metric |
Imperial |
Metric |
Imperial |
| Measure Unit |
Millimeter |
Inch |
Millimeter |
Inch |
| One nautical mile |
330 |
13 |
660 |
26 |
| Point Blank Range |
0 - 100 |
0 - 4 |
0 - 200 |
0 - 8 |
| Short Range |
100 - 600 |
4 - 24 |
200 - 1200 |
8 - 48 |
| Long Range |
600 - 1200 |
24 - 48 |
1200 - 2400 |
48 - 96 |
| Torpedo Range |
25 - 100 |
1 - 4 |
50 - 200 |
2 - 8 |
| 1 turn |
Several Minutes |
« 1.0 INTRODUCTION
These
rules have been designed for fast play of pre-dreadnought era naval wargames
with a minimum of playing aids or charts. The combat chart itself is only one
page, and the log for tracking ship condition has six vessels per sheet. There
is an emphasis on gunnery and damage tracking, with many other factors either
minimized or left out altogether. For example there are no command rules in the
game, players simply move their ships. In this respect the game is for a much
more casual environment, yet the core combat results — especially for gun
fire — are realistic enough to give satisfaction (See Ranges
below).
« 1.1 Game
Scales
Quickfire can be played using any scale of gaming miniatures.
Each turn's movement is calibrated to a fairly low rate of speed, which helps
players make best use of more confined playing areas. The Game Scales
table above right shows the basic ranges and measures for both metric and
imperial measurement for two general playing scales; small and large. The small
scale is intended for use with smaller models such as 1/3000 or 1/2400, and the
large scale is for bigger models such as 1/1800 or 1/1500 - however players may
use either game scale for any sized miniature so long as the game results are
satisfactory. Feel free to experiment. Each of the three gunnery ranges shown:
long, short and point blank, have particular characteristics which reflect the
conditions at the respective distances.
« 1.2
Miniature Ship Models
Game play requires the use of miniature ship
models, many of which are available at the WTJ Store. The WTJ Naval
miniatures offer a variety of pre-dreadnought era ships, ranging from the big
battleships necessary for the core of your fleet to gunboats and destroyers
needed for supporting roles. Also available are minelayers, maintenance ships
and other auxiliary vessels to help add realism to the game. All of these
miniatures are in a range of scales, including 1/1500, 1/1800, 1/2400 and
1/3000 scale.
| DEFINITIONS |
| 1D6 |
One six-sided die |
| 2D6 |
Two six-sided
dice |
| 3D6 |
Three six-sided dice |
| ROF |
Rate of
Fire |
| LOS |
Line of Sight |
Miniatures and Bases - Small scale vessels
should be mounted on bases for ease of handling. For 1/3000 scale miniature
bases a standard size range of ¾" x 2" (20mm x 50mm) for most capital
ships should work well. The lengths may be adjusted upward or downward for
other ships sizes. For example the Russian battleship Peresviet and most newer
Japanese battleships may look best on 55mm long bases.
For purposes of
game play, the term vessel, model or ship does not usually
apply to any base upon which that model might be mounted. For movement purposes
it doesn't matter, so long as players measure their movement for the turn from
the same position on the ship or its base. For purposes of gunnery and torpedo
fire, players will usually refer only to the model and its immediate boundaries
and not the edges of the base. Unless otherwise stated, always measure from the
forward funnel on the spotting vessel to the forward funnel of the target
vessel when checking the distance between two ships.
«
1.3 Equipment
Naval wargames are a bit more
technically demanding than some other forms of miniature wargaming and require
a few extra tools. The standard gaming equipment of tape measures, six sided
dice and pencils are definitely required. Players will also want to download
the Quickfire Combat Chart and Ship Log, both of which are available on the
Quickfire home page.
Combat Chart — The combat chart is
made up of tables which allow players to assign damage to ships during a
battle. Any tables used for resolving combat are described in greater detail
below. Some other tables that are used for reference are not described here.
 Ship Log — The sheet used to track the
condition of vessels during a battle is called the ship log. Each ship log
sheet has logs for six ships, with each log showing the vessel's name, size,
gunnery rating, armor rating, torpedo rating, ROF rating, speed and number of
repair points. It also has an extra box for entering blast hit effects if they
should occur. At right is a sample figure of a ship log's data boxes and how
they might appear during a battle. Note the following details about the
log:
The ROF box initially contained only the ship's "5 - 6" ratings.
The ship has received two G hits which lowered the heavy ROF rating by two
points. The ship has also fired its guns, as evidenced by the crossing out of
the "Auto Shot" box. The ship has also suffered one S hit which affected the
Speed, and it has suffered two blast hits which started two fires, one of which
has gone out. At some point the ship used one repair point to make a repair die
roll, and it then used another two repair points, bringing it's available total
down to four from an original total of seven. None of the repair rolls appear
to have succeeded, as evidenced by the lack of any upward adjustments for ROF
or Speed.
| TURN SEQUENCE |
- 1) Movement
- Players simultaneously move their ships.
- 2) First Gunnery
- Declare gunnery targets
Roll for hits and record
damage.
- 3) Second Gunnery
- Declare gunnery and torpedo targets
Roll for
gunnery hits and record damage
Roll for torpedo hits and record damage.
- 4) Repair
- Roll for all fires
Attempt repairs
Roll for
sinking.
|
This figure does not include the extreme left column of
the ship log which contains the basic text data noted above: Vessel name, size,
gunnery rating, armor rating and torpedo rating. These are filled in before the
game starts and remain unchanged during the battle.
«
1.4 Turn Sequence
Once all players have filled out
their ship logs and laid their fleets out, game play is ready to begin. The
game follows a turn sequence which is repeated until both sides agree to stop
the game, one side admits defeat and runs away or if all of a player's ships
are sunk.
1 Movement — Both sides move their
ships. All movement is conducted simultaneously, and players must avoid
watching other players move first before then moving their own vessels. An
alternative is to roll dice, with the high roller deciding who moves first.
This may be done once at the start of the game or at the start of each
turn.
2 Gunnery — Both sides declare targets and resolve
gunnery. The same side should always resolve gunnery first in order to speed
game play. All damage within this phase is consider simultaneous, so the order
in which damage is resolved does not confer any advantage. Damage inflicted
during this gunnery phase becomes effective at the end of the phase and before
the start of phase three. This means that any losses suffered during the
first gunnery phase reduces effectiveness of fire for the second gunnery and
torpedo phase (Phase 3).
3 Gunnery and Torpedo Fire
— Both sides declare targets and resolve gunnery and torpedo fire. The
same side should always fire first in order to speed game play (all damage
within this phase is also considered simultaneous). Note that torpedo fire may
only occur in the second of a turn's two firing phases. Also note that any
damage which occurred in the previous phase two: gunnery directly
effects weapons availability in this phase.
4 Repair and
Sinking— All ships with fires burning on board must roll for automatic
fire effects on the Damage table. Players may then attempt repairs to their
vessels. Once all fire effects and repairs are resolved, any vessels with zero
speed must roll for sinking.
« 2.0
MOVEMENT
The maximum distance a ship may move each turn is limited by
the number shown in the topmost undamaged speed box on that vessel's ship log
(Crossed out speed boxes do not count toward available speed). A ship may move
less than the maximum available, and it may change its speed (distance moved)
depending on the amount it moved on the previous turn. The distance moved
should be measured from the front edge of the ship using a tape measure or
scale, marking out the distance in inches or millimeters depending on the scale
being used.
| Turn Angles |
| 45° |
90° |
| 45° |
45° |
| 90° |
0° |
| 90° |
0° |
« 2.1 Turning
In
Quickfire, a ship turns by pivoting on its centerpoint and then moving in the
new direction. The maximum angle a ship may pivot during any one turn
corresponds to the speed box that the vessel is currently using. See the figure
at right, which duplicates the layout of a typical ship's speed table, with
maximum turn angles replacing the various levels of speed to which they apply.
A ship may only turn once during each movement phase, and turning ships do not
pay any movement penalties.
Example: The British battleship HMS Hannibal has an
original maximum speed of 60mm. Using the first speed box (top-left on ship log
showing 60mm), she can turn a maximum of 45° during any one movement. If
she uses her fourth speed box (38mm) she would be able to turn 90° during
any one movement. If for some reason her speed for the turn is using her eighth
speed box (bottom-right on ship log showing 8mm) her maximum turn would be
0°, meaning that she couldn't turn at all.
«
2.2 Changing Speed
During each movement phase,
vessels may change their previous speed by the equivalent of two boxes worth of
movement. The Actual Speed is the amount of movement used by any one
vessel on its previous turn. This contrasts with maximum Available
Speed, which is the highest general speed available to that vessel
according to its current highest speed rating.
« 3.0
GUNNERY
Gunfire is conducted by rolling one black and two white
Firing Dice (three dice total) and consulting the Gunfire & Hits
tables in the combat chart. The black die is always considered the ROF
die, and white dice are always considered the Gunnery dice. Actual dice
used do not have to be these colors, but for sake of rules clarity the ROF and
Gunnery dice are always referred to as the black and white dice respectively.
To conduct gunnery, follow the steps below:
1) Take note of the firing ship's ROF rating, it is
the number needed on the black ROF die.
2) Declare the firing ship's target
and the gunnery rating (heavy or light) to be used against it.
3) Compare
the firing ship's gunnery rating to the target's corresponding armor rating and
establish the percentage difference between the two.
4) Roll all three
firing dice and establish whether: a) the ROF die let the ship fire and; b) the
Gunnery dice resulted in a G or S hit.
5) Record resulting hit (if any) in
the ship's log and total the values of all three dice to see if any Blast
Damage occurred.
6) If any blast damage did occur, record it in the Blast
Hits box in the ship's log and/or resolve the damage in the Damage
table.
Ranges — All gunnery takes place within one
of three range categories: Long, Short and Point Blank. Long and short range
are subject to the same gunnery rules regarding rate of fire (ROF), gunnery
ratings, etc. The main difference between the two is that short range has a
more effective blast damage profile. Point blank range functions in the same
manner as short range except that it allows ships to use heavy and light
gunnery simultaneously, and at two different targets. See the
Game Scales table above for specific ranges listed by
measuring system and use standard distance measuring for naval gaming (forward
funnel to forward funnel).
ROF Rating — Every vessel has
Rate of Fire ratings (called ROF ratings) which reflect the ship's overall
volume of fire relative to other ships on the field. This volume of fire is
affected by the number of guns, their size and their loading systems. Each ship
has two ROF ratings: one relating to its heavy gunnery rating and one relating
to its light gunnery rating (see Gunnery Ratings belows). During the gun fire
phase, a ship must roll a number on the ROF die equal to or less than its
current ROF rating for that gunnery type. If the number is greater than the
current ROF rating for that ship, it has failed to "put enough lead in the air"
that turn and is considered not to have fired. This is not to say the ship did
not fire at all, just that it did not fire enough to warrant calculating. Ships
with numerous quickfiring guns begin the game with very high ROF values. Ships
with fewer numbers of slow loading guns will tend to begin the game with much
lower ROF ratings.
Quickfire Effect – Ships with light ROF
ratings of 6 may combine their gunnery points against targets within short or
point-blank range. The combined points are set against the individual
light-fire armor value of the target ship in order to achieve higher die roll
odds on the gunnery table. Ships with modified light ROF ratings of 5 or lower
may not combine their fire into such quickfire attacks. Making such an
attack does not affect a vessel's ability to make individual point blank range
heavy fire attacks in addition to the combined light fire attack. A ship may
not participate in a quickfire attack and also conduct a separate light
fire attack during the same phase.
Game
Hint
When a ship misses its target, place a splash marker
near the vessel that was being fired upon as a sign that firing against it has
been resolved. Splash markers add a realistic and interesting effect to the
battle, as do smoke markers for burning vessels. |
Gunnery Rating — Most vessels have two
gunnery ratings; one for the heavy fire of its main guns and heavy
secondaries, and another for the light fire of all guns less than 10"
(25cm). At long and short ranges, a ship may only use one of its fire ratings
during any one fire phase, and that rating must be compared against the
corresponding armor rating of the target ship. Heavy gunnery ratings are always
compared to a target's heavy armor rating and light fire ratings are always
compared to a target ship's light armor rating. Heavy fire is not allowed
against size one or two (1 or 2) vessels moving one or more inches (25mm+). At
point blank range, a ship may use both of its fire ratings simultaneously at up
to two different targets during both fire phases. During point blank fire,
other normal gunnery rules apply including matching of ratings (heavy versus
heavy, light versus light), etc.
Gunnery ratings are never modified, and
the two white gunnery dice always inflict very specific damage. Even-numbered
gunnery dice results always inflict G hits and odd-numbered gunnery dice
results always inflict S hits. As with ROF dice, gunnery dice results must
always be equal to or less than the Die Roll numbers shown in the corresponding
Gun/Armor column.
Blast Caps – Each heavy fire rating may
have a small Blast Cap value shown next to it in the ship values list. If
present, this small number places a cap on a ship's ability to score damage on
the Blast Damage table by limiting the die numbers which can be used to score
these extra hits. See the Blast Damage section below for more about Blast
Caps.
Gunnery Table — To use the gunnery table,
compare the appropriate gunnery rating against the corresponding armor rating
for the target ship. Take the resulting percentage Gun/Armor difference
and match it to the column in the combat chart's Gunnery table which matches
that value. Note that the columns are for percentages which are equal to or
greater than the gun/armor differentials. If a gun/armor differential is 98%,
that counts as being in the 50% column.
The die roll value shown in
each column is the highest total a ship can roll on the two gunnery dice to
score a hit. If the sum of the two white dice is greater than that value, no
hits were scored. If thesum of the two white dice is equal to or less than the
number shown, a G or S hit is scored. Even-numbered gunnery dice results always
inflict G hits and odd-numbered gunnery dice results always inflict S
hits.
Blast Damage Table — To use the blast damage
table, total all three fire dice results and compare them to the appropriate
short range or long range line at left. If the value matches a number
indicating a damage hit, apply that hit to the ship's log or resolve it via
additional die rolls as required. Note that damage type is affected by target
range, and that heavy fire die roll totals may be affected by any limits
imposed by blast caps called for in the ship value. Blast damage
may only occur in conjunction with gunnery damage. If no G or S hit is
scored, no blast damage occurs.
Blast caps are limits placed on heavy
fire effectiveness due to lower than normal presence of heavy secondary weapons
which help cause the types of damage found in the blast damage table. Blast
caps only limit the effectiveness of blast damage and do not affect other
gunnery results. A blast cap value limits the numbers allowed for use in the
blast damage table to a maximum shown next to that vessel's heavy fire rating.
For example, if a vessel has a heavy fire rating of 4, it has no
blast cap. If a vessel has a heavy fire rating of 9², it has
a blast cap of 2. This means that each of the three fire dice
results must be a two or less in order for the example vessel to score blast
damage. A blast cap value of one (X¹) is most limiting. It restricts a
ship to scoring blast damage hits on a "perfect" score of three on three dice
(all ones). A blast cap value of three is most forgiving in that it allows the
three fire dice to be ones, twos or threes while still scoring blast damage.
Gunnery Examples — Refer to the following examples for
outlines of the gunnery process. Fire dice results are always called out in the
order "Black, White, White." So for example, and fire die result of 4,1,6 would
be a black die roll of "4" and white die rolls or "1" and "6."
Example #1: The Japanese battleship Mikasa is
conducting long range heavy fire at the Russian battleship Borodino. The Mikasa
player's fire die roll is 2,5,5. The black die roll of "2" means that the
Mikasa did fire this turn because its heavy ROF rating is a 5. The Mikasa's
heavy gunnery rating is a 10 and the Borodino's heavy armor rating is a 7. This
means that the Mikasa is using the 100% Gun/Armor column, which requires a
white die total of 7 or less. Mikasa misses the Borodino. Had the Mikasa rolled
a 4,1,3, she still would have fired for the turn, and with a white die total of
4, she would have scored a "G" hit on the Borodino. Had Mikasa rolled a 6,2,1,
she would have rolled a white dice total that might have allowed an "S" hit,
but unfortunately her black die roll of "6" would mean that she failed to fire.
As a result, no "S" hit would be scored even though the white dice gave that
result. The black die roll must indicate that gunfire occurred in order for the
white die roll totals to count toward damage. Otherwise they count for
nothing.
 |
| Above: Russian battle line under
fire - 1/1500 scale ships. |
« 3.1 Targets
A vessel may
only fire at one target during each gunnery phase using each of its weapon
types (guns and/or torpedoes). Hence a ship may fire guns at one target and
torpedoes at another, but it may not fire guns at two different targets during
the same gunnery phase. A ship may fire at targets different than those it
fired upon in any previous gunnery phases, including gunnery phases during the
same turn (IE - a ship may fire on two different targets on two consecutive
gunnery phases). Each gunnery and torpedo target must be declared before any
firing is resolved. Chits may be used to assign targets.
Line of
Sight — Vessels may only fire upon targets which are within their
direct line-of-sight. Line-of-sight is drawn from the forward smokestack of a
firing vessel to the forward smokestack of a target vessel. The potential
target may not be fired upon if line-of-sight is blocked in any way by other
vessels or land.
Arcs-of-Fire — Most ships concentrate
their greatest firepower in a 120° arc centered on each broadside. Within
this arc, ships fire using their full ROF rating. In the remaining 60° arcs
to the front and rear (fore and aft) of a ship, all ROF ratings are halved. In
some special circumstances a ship's weapon performance may not match this
average rule. In such cases, like those of citadel type vessels, the ship
values section will note the differences and how they should be treated for
game play. The main Quickfire page includes a sheet of simple firing arcs to
help players establish valid arcs of fire.
Friendly Fire —
A ship may not fire on an enemy vessel if any part of a friendly vessel is both
on the other side of the prospective target and in the line of fire. Set-up
line of fire using standard distance measurement (forward funnel of firing
vessel to forward funnel of target vessel).
« 3.2
Torpedoes
During the second fire phase, a ship which is within
torpedo range of any enemy ships may roll to see if it launches any torpedoes.
As with gunnery, all torpedo targets must be declared before die rolling
begins. Unlike gunnery, torpedoes have a minimum range within which they may
not be used and any vessels within that minimum distance do not check for
torpedo fire. Each vessel may check for torpedo fire against either one or two
target ships, with the following limitations in cases where two target ships
are involved: (a) If checking for fire against two ships within the same firing
arc (both targets to starboard, etc.) the ship must split its torpedo rating
amongst the two targets. IE - A vessel with a torpedo rating of 3 could check
as a 2 against one target and as a 1 against another. (b) If checking for fire
against two targets located in different firing arcs, the ship may use its full
torpedo rating against each of the two targets.
Note that a ship's
torpedo rating may be modified during a game as the vessel suffers damage.
Ships may attempt to check for torpedo fire once each turn until they score a
hit against any one target. At that time their torpedo rating is crossed out
and they are considered "out" of torpedoes for the rest of the battle.
Torpedoes use the same arcs-of-fire as guns although unlike gunnery ratings,
torpedo ratings apply equally within each fire arc.
To check for torpedo
fire, roll three six sided dice (3D6) and consult the Torpedoes table on the
combat chart. Cross index the target vessel's movement type with the current
torpedo rating of the firing vessel to arrive at the torpedo hit number. In
order to result in a hit, the dice total must be equal to or less than the hit
number shown in the table's center field. If the total falls within the hit
range, roll one more six sided die (1D6). The result is the number of S hits
suffered by the target ship. Die roll totals outside the hit range cause no
damage. A ship is considered moving if it used two or more speed boxes during
the current game turn. Ships which used one or fewer speed boxes are considered
immobile (static) for purposes of torpedo fire.
« 4.0
DAMAGE
As a ship suffers damage during the game, players will mark it
on the ship log according to the type of damage inflicted. It is usually best
to mark damage as a single slash until after both sides have fired, then fully
cross out existing slash marks to show full loss. In cases where boxes –
such as speed boxes – are marked off, this method works especially well.
In cases where damage is the result of Blast Damage, players may not mark off a
box, they may instead need to mark the blast damage code in the Blast Hits box
on the ship log. This will happen with such damage codes as F (fire) and D
(direction hit). It will usually be obvious which is necessary: Adding a code
or simply crossing something out.
« 4.1 Damage
Types
Several of the Quickfire combat chart tables contain
abbreviations of damage which may be inflicted on participating vessels. Each
of these damage codes triggers a very specific damage type. The glossary below
offers definitions of all damage codes. Immediately following are guidelines
for recording the various damage types. If a certain type of damage is called
for on a vessel and there is no feature of that type on board, then the hit is
counted as no effect unless otherwise called for by the nature of the
hit in question.
| Damage Code Glossary |
| B |
Blast |
Go to the Blast line of the Damage table
and roll 2D6. Apply resulting damage hits to the vessel. Results may require
further die rolls, in case of D hit, etc. |
| D |
Direction |
May cause ship to move
uncontrollably on the following turn. When a D hit occurs, roll another 1D6 and
note the results below in the vessel's Blast Damage box:
1 = 135°
Left
2 = 90° Left
3 = 45° Left
4 = 45° Right
5 =
90° Right
6 = 135° Right
Direction damage can be repaired
during the Repair phase of the game by rolling a two through seven on two
six-sided repair dice. |
| E |
Explosion |
Go to the Explosion line of the Damage
table and roll 2D6. Apply resulting damage hits to the vessel. G hits caused by
explosions are removed as equally as possible from the heavy and light ROF
columns. |
| F |
Fire |
Mark an "F" in the
Blast Hits box of that vessel's ship log. Each turn that a fire burns, the
player must roll on the Damage table to see if it has burned out (out) , caused
a blast or an explosion (B or E) or continues burning (n/e). |
| fix |
Damage Repaired |
The S or G hit in question is repaired.
Erase the damage from the log and reapply the previously lost ROF or Speed
rating. |
| G |
Gun
Hit |
Mark off one ROF
rating point from the ROF box on the vessel's ship log according to the follow
rules:
Each G hit caused by heavy fire reduces the target vessel's
heavy ROF rating by one point. If the target vessel's heavy ROF rating is at
"0," a light ROF hit is inflicted instead. If all ROF points are at "0," a T
hit will be inflicted instead. If the Torpedo Rating (TR) is also at "0," an R
hit is inflicted instead. If the Repair point level is at "0," an F hit is
inflicted instead. The outline of this procession is:
HROF>LROF>T>R>F.
Each G hit caused by light fire reduces
the target vessel's light ROF rating by one point. If the target vessel's light
ROF rating is at "0," a T hit is inflicted instead. If the Torpedo Rating (TR)
is at "0," an R hit is inflicted instead. If the Repair point level is at "0,"
an F hit is inflicted instead. The outline of this procession is:
LROF>T>R>F. |
| out |
Fire
Extinguished |
The fire in question has either burned
itself out or been extinguished. Note that players may not specifically attempt
to extinguish a fire using their repair die rolls. |
| R |
Repair
Hit |
Mark off one repair
dice point from the Repair Dice box on the vessel's ship log. If no
repair dice points remain, this hit becomes an F hit.
Note that
unspent repair dice function as fire fighters. By their very existence they
prevent fires which would otherwise happen in their absence due to the R hits
ability to become an F hit. |
| S |
Speed Hit |
Cross out one speed box in the ship's
log. Speed hits may be repaired on a repair roll result of 8 - 11 using 2D6.
See the Damage Repair section below. |
| T |
Torpedo |
Subtract one point
from the vessel's torpedo rating. Torpedo damage hits cannot be repaired. |
« 4.2 Damage
Repair
Each repair roll is conducted using two six sided dice (2D6).
Repair rolls are not reusable and once a vessel's supply is exhausted it has no
further repair ability. Players may use as many of their repair die rolls as
they wish on any one turn and against any damage they wish, so long as the
rolls apply to allowable repair tasks shown on the Damage table. Damage repair
points do act as buffers against extra fire hits, and players are advised to
keep one in reserve if possible.
« 4.3
Sinking
Any vessel whose speed is reduced to zero is considered in
danger of sinking. At the end of each turn, roll two six sided dice (2D6) for
each immobilized vessel, applying all pertinent modifiers to the die roll. If
the modified result is equal to or less than the value shown in the Die Roll
column for a vessel of corresponding size, the vessel in question has sunk and
is removed from play.
Example: The French cruiser Dupuy de Lome has nine
speed hits. This means that all of her speed boxes are marked off, and there is
an extra "S" written in the margin next to her speed boxes. She also has one
fire burning on board. Because her size is a 7, she will sink on any turn that
a 2 through 4 is rolled on the dice. If the fire
goes out, the sink roll is reduced to a 2 or 3. If
there is an explosion on board (ships with zero movement continue tracking
on-board events) which causes a fire and two more S hits, the sink roll will
increase to a 2 through 7.
End of Turn — Once all damage and sinking tests
are completed, the turn in complete. If the game is to continue, players now
begin a new turn by conducting a new movement phase.
 |
