I love sailboat racing and I'd love to tell you stories of my yacht racing victories around the world, but the truth is that I only have a radio-controlled model sailboat and I am terrible at racing it. All during this past sailing season I've been rolling ideas around in my head for a sailboat racing simulation game to play in the off-season.
When I say "simulation game" I mean a game that accurately models the operation of racing a sailboat at a level satisfactory to actual sailboat racers. I doubt this game would find a general market.
A few weeks ago I put the bare bones of the game down on paper - no examples, no explanations of anything that can't be found elsewhere, and no fluff. I intend to base a racing game around this engine; it can be played now as a course-plotting game.
The concept is simple; players are allotted movement units that can be used to move or turn. First one around the course and across the finish line wins. To play as-is, players plot points on a "map" to represent boat position and draw lines n units long to indicate movement.
Required for play: 2d8, pencil, protractor (or turning gauge), ruler.
Optional, but mighty handy: A parallel ruler or a rolling ruler.
As written these rules can be used at any scale; use whatever units are convenient for you along with an appropriately proportional map. I have personally been using centimeters on standard letter size paper.
The map is nothing more than a piece of paper with three dots on it representing the buoys that mark the race course. These are usually in a triangle with one leg parallel to the wind direction. When using letter sized paper, I space the buoys at least 15cm apart. If you want to use inches, space them at least 12 inches apart on an 18"x24" piece of paper.
A race game is all about movement, and movement in sailing is entirely dependent on the wind. Put an eight point compass rose on your map and make an indicator vane to track wind direction.
It is at this point that my rules begin. Play or comment on them as you see fit. I have no idea where to take this concept, so I am open to any ideas.
---{PASTE}---
WIND
At the start of the game, players determine the initial wind direction by rolling one eight-sided die (1d8) and consulting the following table. This is the direction from which the wind blows.
1=N, 2=NE, 3=E, 4=SE, 5=S, 6=SW, 7=W, 8=NW
Wind direction will change throughout the game.
After determining the initial wind direction, players determine initial wind velocity by rolling one eight-sided die and adding 8 (1d8+8). The result is wind velocity in knots within a range of 9 to 16. Wind velocity determines boat speed and will change during the game.
At the end of each sequence of turns, players determine if there are any changes in wind conditions by rolling two eight-sided dice for each attribute and consult their respective tables.
Wind Direction Change 2d8
Wind direction changes 1 or 2 points clockwise or counter-clockwise on the compass rose as determined by the table below.
2=2 pts CW, 3-6=1 pt CW, 7-11=No Change, 12-15=1 pt CCW, 16=2 pts CCW
Wind Velocity Change 2d8
Wind velocity changes 1 or 2 knots as determined by the table below.
2=-2 knots, 3-6=-1 knot, 7-11=No Change, 12-15=+1 knot, 16=+2 knots
Wind can never be less than 8 knots or greater than 16 knots. If any dice result would cause a velocity outside these limits, consider the roll "No Change".
MOVEMENT
Players move a number of units determined by Base Speed plus a Wind Velocity Bonus if any.
Players must use all their allotted movement units every turn.
Base Speed is dictated by angle to the wind.
Base Speed Table:
Point Of Sail (degrees to wind):
Beat (45-67)=5 units
Reach (68-112)=7 units
Broad Reach (113-157)=6 units
Run (158-180)=3 units
Wind Velocity Movement Bonus:
8-11 kts=No Bonus, 12-14 kts=+1 unit, 15-16 kts=+2 units
TURNING
Turning requires 1 unit of movement for every 60 degrees turned or fraction thereof.
1-60 degrees = -1 units, 61-120 degrees = -2 units, 121-180 degrees = -3 units, etc
A 360 degree Penalty Turn costs 6 units.
Players turning from a faster point of sail to a slower with a number of movement units left over greater than the number of units allowed by the new point of sail can only continue to move the maximum number of units allowed by the new point of sail and no more.
Players turning from a slower point of sail to a faster only gain the difference between the maximum number of units allowed by the new point of sail and the number of movement units already expended.
IN IRONS
Players caught facing upwind may turn as needed subtracting the number of movement units required from the number of units allotted by the new point of sail.
THE START
Determine positioning order, then place boats in starting area making sure to indicate facing.
Roll one die (1d8) for number of turns before starting gun and consult the following table:
1-2 = 2 turns, 3-5 = 3 turns, 6-7= 4 turns, 8 = 5 turns
Players must complete this number of turns before crossing the start line.
TURN SEQUENCE
Play order is windward to leeward in general, or as Right of Way dictates.
At the end of all players' movement, Wind Direction and Velocity Change Rolls are made.
THE COURSE
Standard courses are advised.
THE RACE
As per standard racing rules or as desired.
Comments
Sailboat racing
Sounds fun and interesting. Its unique and realistic. What about damage to sails or the rope lead lines? Will there be a factor to this or straight racing?
Cheers
There will be now. It's a great idea that I hadn't previously considered. It also has me thinking about incorporating surface conditions and weather. Boats could have hull and sail/rigging integrity ratings that if depleted cause catastrophic failure. Partially damaged boats may have to sail slower headings to avoid further damage.
For hull integrity I imagine cross-indexing boat velocity with surface condition: The faster the boat is going and the choppier the water, the more potential hull damage.
For sail/rigging integrity, what? Weather cross-indexed with surface conditions?