1. Warlord Black Seas: Frigates & Brigs Flotilla for Table Top Ship Combat 2. Warlord Black Seas: Merchant Vessels for Table Top Ship Combat

Frigates were perhaps the most hard-worked of all warship types during the Age of Sail. They were small warships with a perfect balance of speed, armament, and resilience, making them ideal for single-ship actions and privateering against merchant ships. Typically, they had one main gun deck as well as guns positioned on the top decks, and were categorized as either 5th or 6th rate within the British Rating System, depending on the number of guns they carried. The 5th rates were the archetypal frigates of the period, known for their use in single-ship actions and privateering, which could make their crews very rich through the share of prize money for captured ships. A frigate was a desirable posting for a Royal Navy officer, as they often saw action, increasing the chances of glory and promotion, as well as monetary benefits. These vessels were used for scouting, commerce-raiding missions, patrols, and the conveyance of messages and dignitaries. Frigates usually fought in small numbers or singly against other frigates, avoiding contact with ships-of-the-line, and it was considered bad etiquette for a ship of the line to fire on an enemy frigate that had not fired first.

A Brig is a two-masted, square-rigged vessel, typically with between 10 and 18 cannons, often used in combat actions by various navies. Ships with less than 20 cannons were considered Unrated and were not meant to participate in large battles, but they still played a valuable role during larger engagements, relaying orders and messages in a similar fashion to the 6th rates. The Frigates & Brigs Flotilla box contains everything needed to bring these vessels to the tabletop, suitable for navies of any nation. The kit includes a bobbin for rigging, detailed sails and pennants for every nation, as well as all the gaming materials for using the vessels in Black Seas.

The Black Seas game allows players to prepare their fine array of 1/700th scale tall-ships for battle, focusing on the golden age of sail military maritime warfare ships from 1770-1830, the 'carronade era'. The game features a unique and innovative initiative system based on the most important factor of sail-powered combat: the wind. Additional rules enable players to fight in a 'line of battle,' engage shore batteries, rake their enemies with withering initial broadsides, or capture vessels in heroic boarding actions, all while avoiding hazards such as fog banks, fire ships, and shipwrecks. The rules allow players to field fleets ranging from the tiniest gunboats to the true giants of the waves, the mighty 1st rate warships, on a 4' x 3' table or unobstructed floor space. Each ship in Black Seas is accompanied by a ship card detailing its speed, weaponry, and other key ratings to help strategically plan battles based on their advantages. The construction and painting of the models, as well as watching them come to life, are just as much fun as the game itself.

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