Poll: Naval Strategy Games

[Tiger Sora]

Navel Ops is a really good game. It's on the PS2, you get to design you own ships.

 

[Enrathi]

My advice would be to take a step back and enjoy some of the old tabletop naval wargames - detail of strategy and game mechanics combined with the simplicity of the resources involved (flat space & figurines/cut-outs) and the satisfaction that comes with painting, modelling, immersion and playing mano-a-mano against friends.

If you're interested I'll russle up some details on some systems you might enjoy playing. Tabletop gamers are a loyal, knowledgable bunch so if you hit up a few forums/groups you might find help on this closer to home.

Ah, yes, tabletop games. I've been thinking about playing Battle Fleet Gothic- the only thing I could find- but truth be told I've got enough models in need of painting right now. Still, worth a try I suppose. The problem would be trying to find an opponent

I also played Man o' War (Warhammer Fantasy naval battles) and that was a lot of fun. If I could easily find models, I'd still play Battlefleet Gothic (Warhammer 40K space battles).

I didn't realise there was a Warhammer Fantasy thing of this type; I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of where to get the rules?

Took some digging, as the game has been out of print for over a decade, but here they are.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/50540187/Man-O-War-Warhammer-Rulebook

Normally I would tell you to look at the Games-Workshop Specialist Games site, but even they don't have the rules there. Though I did find I can get BFG models, also Bloodbowl (completely unrelated, but another fun game).

 

[nukethetuna]

And would the naval combat portions of Empire/Napoleon/Shogun 2: Total War count?

Yeah, this is what I was thinking too. Despite not being exclusively navy-focused, the naval combat can be pretty fun and meshes well with the entire package of Shogun 2. Plus there's THE BLACK SHIP and all.

 

[Hop-along Nussbaum]

I think I know what you're looking for, but I haven't seen many around. If you're looking for a sea-going and historically accurate game, try Sid Meier's Pirates.

 

[EllEzDee]

East India Company was pretty good. The "uncut" patch made the game shite, but it was quite fun. It's like a more trade-based version of the Empire Total War naval mechanics. You play as one of the many Companies from the 18th century, and deal with trade from Europe to Africa to the Indias. It was pretty fun, and the naval combat was quite good too.

Of course, there's always Empire Total War aswell, as has been said. I loved the naval mechanics in Empire, though they're ridiculously micro-manage oriented. It's a little annoying when your enemy gets a lucky shot on your ammunition stores, especially when it's on your flag ship
Napoleon pretty much broke the naval mechanics, don't bother with it.