Oak and Iron Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Oak and Iron, a light skirmish game set during the Age of Piracy. Published by Firelock Games, Oak and Iron let's two players face off in a game of nautical warfare.

Take a step back to the 1600s and 1700s with me. It was a time when tall-masted wooden sailing ships ruled the seas. An era of pirates, imperial expansion, and broadside shots. The age of sail has always been a fascination for me so I’ve long wanted to try Oak and Iron from Firelock Games. It’s a 1/600th scale naval game set during the Age of Piracy. The core box offers a fully contained experience for 2 players that takes about an hour to play. If you’ve ever considered trying out an age of piracy skirmish game, then read on!

Like many miniature skirmish games, players start out by building their fleet. In this case, it’s choosing an admiral and a set of sailing ships. Oak and Iron comes with 6 mostly-assembled ships for the players to choose from (the sails must be slotted in). The ships come in different weight classes from small Sloops to Light Galleons. Players will build out their navy using a point value system that should be familiar to anyone who’s played a skirmish game before. This will also be a high-level overview of the gameplay, if you want the full rundown, you can download a pdf of the rules here.

Every game is divided into a series of rounds, each of which has four phases:

1. Initiative Phase – Both players reveal their initiative card and the player with the higher number gets to go first in the next two phases. They also may activate the power on their chosen card, if applicable. Finally, they must secretly choose their initiative card for the next round. This means you’ll need to pick your initiative card before you know the