Movement Strategies: Top Tips for Sailing in Oak & Iron

A massive, massive portion of the strategy in Oak & Iron comes down to movement and positioning. Learning to improve your sailing skills in the game will help you win more games.

Movement Strategies & Tactics

The following is a collection of tips and tricks to help you make the most of your Movement actions. We’ll also discuss some of the Initiative Cards that will hopefully help you increase your victory percentages.

Movement Speed

There are 5 movement markers that represent the speed at which your ship is capable of traveling. They also determine the maximum angle at which it can turn.

Speed 1 is the slowest speed you can move. Because you aren’t moving fast enough, it also reduces your turning radius. Speed 2 & 3 both offer the maximum turn radius for ships. A sailing Speed of 4 & 5 allows you to move the largest distance, but because of the higher speed, you forfeit a bit of maneuverability.

It is important to note that movement distances are not consistently spaced by rank. Meaning a Move 3 is not 3 times as far as Move 1

When moving, it is important to understand the physics of how a turn affects your ship’s position during movement.

Movement Strategies Using Seamanship Actions

There are two Seamanship Actions that directly affect a ship’s movement – Change Heading & Adjust Speed.

Change Heading

Rule: If this ship is not In the Wind’s Eye, Entangled, Aground, or Anchored, the ship makes a turn before it moves using the speed 1 tool.

Change heading is probably my most used Seamanship Action. A Turn 1 may not seem like a very big advantage, but it can be useful to line up shots. It is also incredibly important when attempting to cross the Wind’s Eye in a single round.

The following diagram shows a comparison of your ship’s movement with a standard Move 3 with and without a Change Heading Seamanship Action.

Adjust Speed

Rule: If this ship is not In the Wind’s Eye, Entangled, Aground, or Anchored, the ship may increase or decrease its current speed rating by 1. This is not a permanent adjustment and its effect only lasts for this move.

Adjust Speed allows you to adjust your ship’s speed up or down for a single round only. This means if you make your Skill check your ship with a Speed 3 could move a speed of 2 or 4 for a single round and will return to a speed of 3 at the start of the next round (assuming consistent wind/facing, no damage, etc.). This is one of the primary actions you will use to stay in formation.

Movement Strategies Using Crew Actions

There are two Crew Actions that directly affect a ship’s movement – Change Sail Setting & Row.

Change Sail Setting

Unlike Seasmanship actions changing your sail setting with a Crew Action does NOT require a successful Skill Test. Additionally, any changes with Crew Action is continues indefinitely until this action is taken again or another game effect, such as rigging damage or a collision, causes it to change.

Keep in mind, that a ship may only change its Sail Setting up or down by 1 level per round (Unless some ability or game effect changes it ). That means if a Ship is at Full Sail, it will take 3 rounds to come to a full stop(Anchored). That means for a Sloop it will travel a full 157 mm/ 6.17″(Move 4 + Move 3 + Move 1) before it can come to a complete stop. This is extremely important for Scenarios with Landing Parties.

At the start, especially if you are the Attacker, using a Change Seamanship action to speed up is a good strategy. It allows you to close on your enemy quickly. Remember that when you got to Full Sail you can’t use a Reload action so you need to slow back down the round before you are going to engage an enemy with cannons. If you are a reasonable distance away and have a maneuverable enough ship you can take a risk to leave your speed at Full Sail and fire from one side of the ship and turn sharp enough to fire from the other section.

SAIL SETTING

A ship’s Sail Setting describes how much sail a ship is using. There are 4 possible Sail Settings:

• Full Sail This is the highest possible Sail Setting. A ship on this Sail Setting takes a Full Sail token. While on this Sail Setting, ships increase their speed rating by 1. While at Full Sail, a ship may not make Reload actions during the Crew Action step.
• Battle Sail A level lower than Full Sail. This is the default Sail Setting and requires no token. The speed values found on a ship’s card assume a ship is on this Sail Setting.
• Minimal Sail The ship is using the least amount of sail possible. A ship on this Sail Setting takes a Minimal Sail token. While on this Sail Setting, ships reduce their speed rating by 1.
• Anchored At this setting, the ship is carrying no sail at all and cannot move. A ship on this Sail Setting takes an Anchored token.

Row

Row allows a ship to make a Speed 1 action without making a turn (this ability requires a ship to have the Seeps ability).

• Row is particularly effective on ships that you intend to use in boarding. If you have a Boarding Party, Marines or Additional Crew (or some minor other upgrade cards), consider taking Sweeps to use a nice surprise and close on a ship that thought they had another round before melee combat would ensue.

• While not specified in the rules, you could theoretically move backward a Speed 1. This is almost guaranteed to throw your opponent for a loop. (NOTE: this has been clarified in the Facebook group that moving in reverse is not legal. If you want to do this, you should agree to it as a house rule. Rowing backward is certainly logical and is done to free ships from docks or when approaching other obstacles so it’s not unreasonable.)
• Row can affect Line of Sight and Range by giving or denying it with just that extra 0.86″ of movement for a Speed 1 Move.
• Row is also extremely useful when you are at a disadvantage due to being Windward or In the Wind’s Eye. It allows you to still move forward with a Crew action even if you don’t get a move under sail.

Movement Strategies Using Ship Abilities

Yare

Rule: This ship may make an additional turn at the beginning or end of its movement.

Yare is arguably THE BEST ability in the game that a ship can have. The option to change your heading either before or after your movement can result in up to a massive change in the final position of your ship. Without using Seamanship Actions a ship with Yare can do a full 180° change of heading in just two turns if moving at a Speed of 2 or 3.

Choosing when to use your standard turn and bonus turn from Yare can have a massive difference in the final position and heading of your ship. The following is a breakdown comparision of how much difference it makes taking your turn before or after or in the middle of your move. (The diagram assumes a maximum turn on both actions).

Remember, many ships have Wind-based abilities and upgrades:

Additional Content Suggestions

• Boarding 101: A Strategy Guide for Oak & Iron
• Combat Strategy & Tactics Tips
• Deployment Guide: Top Strategy & Tactics for Oak & Iron