I just picked up a copy of the inspiration for Kings of War Armada to get a better understanding of the rules construction underlying both, and I have a breakdown of the Black Seas book following…
Black Seas 1770 to 1830 – 96 pages – 9781911281504
Introduction, Credits, Components – 11 pages
Of which 4 pages cover assembly and rigging instruction basics for the models. [A word of caution: this process is intricate and can be fiddly; we recommend it only to the dedicated modeler. pg 90]
Background / History – 24 pages
Full art pieces of painted models take up 3 pages, and another four are devoted to sail diagrams. Assorted other historical paintings and smaller painted pieces are scattered throughout the other sections of the book.
Rules – 28 pages
Advanced / optional rules make up a 7 page smaller subsection.
Fleet Building – 14 pages
Standard rules for ships and upgrades (including fortifications) are the first 4 pages, and the next 10 pages cover national rules, famous ships, and captains for the English, French, Spanish, and United States fleets. Especially useful are the two comparison tables that list all of the statistics included on ship cards.
Scenarios – 14 pages
Two beginner scenarios, and ten scenarios recommended for advanced rules, are followed by a two page massive block of rules representing the Battle of Trafalgar. This 13th scenario has the lines of sail with named ships and order all specified as opposed to the other generic twelve that are suitable for any nation.
Campaign – 4 pages
There are guidelines for linking battles, and basic ideas on incorporating Black Seas and Black Powder into a larger joint campaign.
Reference Sheets, Index – 2 pages
At first glance, Black Seas is a very different product from Armada as both are serving dissimilar audiences and are built around opposite distribution models. But any Black Seas player could sit down at an Armada table to play, and vice versa for Armada players trying out Black Seas. Now neither would win, because the rules differences between the two are very significant and designed for different table experiences, but they would understand what was happening and better know what to do in the next battle.
I now appreciate much more the development work that went into adapting Armada, and am looking forward to exploring the specifics of Black Seas to see what can be brought over.
