Heart of Oak

Description

Heart of Oak is perhaps the best of the single-ship or small-squadron age of sail miniatures games.

Players typically command individual ships. They order the setting of sails, the direction of movement, the general actions of the crew, and the firing of the guns. Play is governed by a relatively simple turn sequence, which concentrates of the movement of the ships. Gunnery is interesting, in that a ship may fire at almost any point in a turn, whether it has the initiative or not, and whether it is moving or not.

While gunnery was unquestionably important, it was the ability of captains to achieve the most advantageous positions which tended to determine the results of smaller actions. The detailed maneuvering of ships is the most notable feature of the game. It is the player who best maneuvers his ship who will be the most likely to emerge victorious.

Heart of Oak by Jon Williams, 1978 & 1983, published by Fantasy Games Unlimited, Inc., P.O. Box 1082, Gilbert, AZ, 85234-1082.

Good Points

• Ground Scale. The game's ground scale is 1 millimeter to 1 meter (1:1000). Conversions are quick and simple with just a shifting of a decimal place.
• Ground Scale verses Model Scale. The game's ground scale of 1:1000 is one of the closest matches to model scale in all of wargaming. The most common model scale for this period is 1:1200, which means models in this scale are actually slightly smaller than the corresponding ground scale. The greatest variance, with 1:2000 model scale makes the models only twice as big as the ground scale. Typical relationships have the model scale anywhere from four to ten times the ground scale.
• .

Bad Points

TBD

Author

Name:	Walter Jon Williams (aka Jon Williams)
Born:	15 October 1953, Duluth, Minnesota
Web Sites:	Personal   Wikipedia Entry

Walter Jon Williams is an author. He has written at least twenty novels, contributed to a number of anthologies, and written at least one episode for television (Andromeda #10). Most of his work, especially the more recent, has been in the science fiction genre. In the early 1980s he produced five books of historical fiction set in the later Age of Sail, plus the role playing game Privateers and Gentlemen, which included the Heart of Oak rules as a combat supplement.

• The Privateer, Dell 1981
• The Yankee, Dell 1981
• The Raider, Dell 1981
• The Macedonian, Dell 1981
• Cat Island, Dell 1981

Publisher

Heart of Oak is published by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU), which also controls the copyright. A few years ago FGU was thought to be dead. Their rather anemic web site suggests otherwise in a less than impressive manner. They offer a large line of game produces, mostly their older games. There are some new products listed, and others announced.

Related products offered (current late 2009):

Privateers and Gentlemen -		(5401) A reprint of the original boxed set of Privateers and Gentlemen books in a single unit.
Privateers and Gentlemen -		(5401PDF) A pdf of the original boxed set.
Heart of Oak -		(5400) The Heart of Oak game rules.
Decision at Djerba -		(5403) A Privateers and Gentlemen scenario.

Controversy

A question was raised regarding the originality and authorship of the rules. According to the report, Jon Williams was a play tester in Santa Fe, NM during 1975 for a game titled Tars and Spars by John McGregor [1997, by Robert Jones, http://theminiaturespage.com/rules/nap/heartofoak.html]. The Heart of Oak rules are supposedly very similar to the Tars and Spars rules.

What is the validity of the report?

Cons:
•	According to the same web site, Jon Williams wrote a denial of the report in October of 1999.
•	Only one instance of the report was found; but then very little is on-line for this game.
•	Nothing seems to have ever been heard of the Tars and Spars game.
•	Jon Williams wrote a number of historical novels set in the Age of Sail. He had to have some knowledge of the ships, and their use.
Pros:
•	There are notable errors in the rules, especially in the parts which talk about the history associated with the time period. It suggests less knowledge than one might hope for in the author of such rules.
•	Jon Williams never produced any other related products. There were no modifications (except the modestly edited second edition), supplements, or other expansions for the game; but then the game itself was a supplement for the Privateers and Gentlemen role playing game system.