Hello! I’m Jamie, and I’m new to the PATM team!

I was fortunate enough to be forwarded a copy of Oak & Iron by Firelock Games to review by the PATM team, and with squeals of girly delight accepted the offer.

So what is Oak & Iron? Well the blurb is taken directly from the website www.firelockgames.com

Oak & Iron is a 1/600th scale naval game set in the age of piracy, imperial expansion, and above all, fighting sail. It allows players to recreate battles between small fleets and squadrons of armed sailing ships. The game is designed to be simple and intuitive while also challenging players by providing significant tactical depth, being true to the theme and tactics of the period, and supplying significant flavor for the various factions represented in the game.

So what’s that? Tall Ships ? Well yes! Think pirates, think Black Sails, think Blackbeard, think … well I’m guessing you know which way this is going.

It’s a game for two or more players where you get to let your Fleet Admiral loose and direct battles or skirmishes in the late 18th Century from the comfort and safety of your own tabletop.

So let’s dive in at what you get in the box for your hard earned hobby money…

As you would expect from a starter set it comes with everything you as a player need to jump straight into the game so I’m going to run through the checklist.

Rules

The Rulebook for Oak and Iron is 32 pages and this instantly tells me that I won’t be overwhelmed with bloated rules, as there isn’t enough space! It’s full colour and leads you through the four turn phases as well as explaining, well, the rules: how to fleet build, deck build etc, as well as a handy Quick Reference sheet on the back page.

Tokens

Like an increasing number of games, Oak and Iron has a number of tokens included to help you keep track of your game.

I punched them out of their original boards and I’m going to be completely honest with you as to why - the bins were due out and it’s recycling week!

Honestly, I do like tokens in games for that very reason. Life is too short to have to remember everything when you’re trying to decide if you want to deliver a broadside against a bearded maniac.

Included with the tokens are the Wind Gauge, Speed Rulers and Combat Gauge, as well as scenic cut outs you can use to represent shallows, islands etc… .but I will come onto them more in a later article.

Cards

Many, maaaaaaany cards. 19 admiral cards, 46 upgrade & captain cards, 39 Initiative cards, 15 event cards and 21 scenario cards. They are, as you would expect in this day and age, well printed and of good stock (sounds like a dating profile line for a member of the gentry!).

These cards allow you to build your deck. That is to say to choose a theme and equip your Admiral etc to fit your gameplay style or plan.

Once again this is very much a whole section in its own right which I will try and do justice to in a later article.

Sea Mat

What would naval battles be like without the big wobbly blue thing to play on? A generously sized 3’x3’ area to play on comes neatly folded to fit in the box, and this is but one of the many folded sections.

I decided to just take a pic of this as it shows the detail of the mat nicely. A sea scape with what looks like coral reefs of various depths looming beneath the waves. Being 3’x3’ it would also be good for games of Blood Red Skies. Instantly boosting its usability and warranting TLC to maintain its pristine appearance.

Dice

Ooooh I do love a bespoke dice set. These are D8s and come printed with skulls, sails, cannons, muskets, pistols and cutlasses. The reasoning for this will become clearer as we play the game later, but I like it!

… mmmm bespoke dice …

Ships

What sea based game worth its salt would come without ships? Not this one! There are six ships included (along with their bases). These are as follows: Light Galleon, Fluyt, Petit Frigate, Corvette, Brigantine and a Sloop.

I’m going to be covering these in their own article too. There is a fair bit to go over, and to wedge it in here would be information overload at this point.

Final First Impressions

Initial impressions are positive. For $69 you get a lot of components, they are well presented, and don’t appear to lack in quality. However, this is PATM so shiny presentation isn’t the be all and end all. Is this value for money? Will I want to play this time and time again? What is the quality of the ships and how do they compare to the offerings from Warlord Games and their Black Seas ships? Is it even fair to compare the two games? How do they paint up? Will I need to keep buying to enjoy? For my hobby time and money am I getting a good deal?

Sooooo many questions but I hope to answer them as I move along this hobby adventure on the high seas.