Here are some instructions for making a beautiful game board — complete with islands for WizKids’ Pirates of the Spanish Main constructable miniatures game.
naval
Coal and the Kaiser naval miniatures rules
Coal and The Kaiser is a set of free naval miniatures rules.
Author Leonard Heinz writes:
This is a game of low to moderate complexity portraying tactical naval combat in the period from 1904 through 1918. While it will not yet you play Jutland in a day, it will let you play some fairly large actions reasonably quickly. It uses a scale of 4 minutes to the game turn and 1000 yards to an inch on the playing surface. The rules focus on big ships and big guns: battleships (and particularly the Dreadnought-type battleships that began service in 1905), battlecruisers and armored cruisers.
WWII Ship ID Plans
Veteran Gamer Lou Coatney offers a page with printable WWII ship plans from US government sources. I’ve got an idea about printing the side views,coloring and basing them and using them for a naval game.
Age of Sail Campaign
David Manley has written campaign rules for the 1782-1783 naval campaign between the French and British off the coast of India. Manley writes:
Between February 1782 and June 1783 the fleets of French captain Pierre Andre de Suffren de St. Tropez and British Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes fought a series of naval actions along the Indian Coromandel coast in what has become one of the most popular campaign settings for wargamers of the age of sail. Five actions, all largely inconclusive and fought between fleets that were relatively equal in numbers, were fought on the Coromandel Coast, at Sadras, Providien, Cuddalore, Negapatam and Trincomalee.
Pieces of Eight Rules
Pirates anyone? Pieces of Eight is a set of free wargames rules from Andy Watkins portraying Hollywood pirate skirmishes. They are a relatively simple set of rules — but that’s a good thing! Who wants complications when you’re playing pirates.