Were one to try to trace down the reason for the early demise
of
All war games which the
designers hope to sell to more than a small proportion of the public are bound
to displease the purist. Playability requires the sacrifice of realism. Avalon
Hill’s games, with their Options, achieve the optimum balance between
playability and the demands of the buffs — but they usually still require
additional modification in order to approach satisfaction for the latter group.
The prime modification is in the
search procedure, which was central to the struggle in the
The second major modification of the AH game is the Calendar Year rule. This provides a situation which is much more realistic, in that successive sorties reflect the passage of time, the ships being added, those being refitted or repaired, the differences in the hours of daylight, etc.
The third major modification,
which is allied to the second, is of the How To Win
conditions. No set of rules which permits the British to sit in harbor while
German Ships cruise the
The use of submarines is also revised in my variation, more accurately to reflect their actual employment in 1916. For example, while it is true that British submarines did not take part in the actual battle (neither did the German subs), there were a number of them in operation in conjunction with the British efforts to intercept the High Seas Fleet.
Also on this line, the Submarine Action Table is unrealistic. They did not attack in packs, as the table would encourage, but operated individually. In addition, they had varied possibilities of success against the different possible combinations of ships which they might meet. The table has thus been redrawn to reflect these facts and the chances of success which actual experience in 1916 would support.
Other changes are designed to cure deficiencies in the AH rules — notably the Gunnery and Torpedo Action Tables and Reduced Visibility Rule. The system of halving hits in long range and British night situations does not lead to realistic or equitable results. Neither do the Flotation Hit and Critical Hit Tables. Reduced Visibility in the AH game is needlessly simple.
Finally, some changes simply are designed to conform to the foregoing. Here are the Rules, listed in order as in the Battle Manual, with my modifications where appropriate. Rules not cited may be presumed to be the same as in the actual AH version.
Add to GERMANS win:
3. if the Germans are able to make 6 sorties into the shaded squares off the British or Norwegian coasts with units of their capital ships without being brought to action which results in one of the British victory conditions.
Black is in the position of Admiral Scheer when he assumed command of the High Seas Fleet, in January of 1916. He must attempt to bring the opposing fleet to action under favorable conditions, or if not possible, carry out a series of raids on the English coast and sorties against shipping along the Norwegian coast which will greatly embarrass the British, and may lead to a fall of the government and removal of the commander of their fleet. Thus, Black wins also if he can carry out 6 such raids or sorties without being brought to decisive action.
Blue is in the position of Admiral Jellicoe. He is by nature cautious, being well aware that he can “lose the war in an afternoon.” But he is under increasing pressure from the Admiralty to destroy the High Seas Fleet. This pressure will mount enormously if Black is able to carry out successful sorties into British or Norwegian coastal waters. Thus, he loses if he cannot stop them.
Black must plan his sorties
carefully, using his subs and zeppelins to the maximum. Good visibility is most
desirable. Scheer was not aware that the British had cracked the German code,
and would have their fleet at sea before he sailed, or that their directional
wireless interception stations would reveal his location to Jellicoe if he
broke wireless silence at sea (which occurs in the game whenever Black decides
to make course changes for any of his units), and Black must labor under these
handicaps. Thus, if Black is planning a sortie toward
Black must adhere to his plotted courses until the occurrence of one of the following:
1. A contact between his subs and Blue’s surface units. If his sub was not sunk, he may then change his plotted courses at the beginning of the third hour following the contact;
2. A contact between his surface units or zeppelins and Blue’s surface units, iii which case lie may change his plotted courses at the begin ning of the hour following the contact.
Blue must adhere to his plotted courses until the occurrence of one of the following:
1. A contact between his subs and Black’s surface units. If his sub was not sunk, he may then change his plotted courses at the beginning of the third hour following the contact;
2. Receipt of advice of the location of Black’s flagship, in which case he can change his plotted courses at the beginning of the next hour;
3. A contact between his surface units and Black’s surface units or subs, in which case he can change his plotted courses at the beginning of the next hour;
4. Black’s surface units enter one of the shaded squares adjacent to the English or Norwegian coast, in which case he may change his plotted courses at the beginning of the next hour.
If pursuant to one of the above occurrences, Black or Blue decide to depart from their plotted courses, they must erase the courses being changed, and draw new ones for the remainder of the time until their return to port. Whenever Black so elects to change courses, he must at the beginning of the second hour following the change give the location of his flagship at the time the election was made. Course changes may only be made to reflect the occurrence which permitted the change, and not other mores of the opponent of which the player has become aware. Players cannot depart from new courses so chosen until the recurrence of one of the enumerated conditions above.
After both players have plotted their initial courses, Black calculates the first hour that a contact is possible, assuming the Blue forces were to depart at noon of the day prior to Black’s departure and proceed at fastest speed to Black’s nearest units (usually this would be a submarine). At the beginning of the first such hour that a contact is theoretically possible, and of every hour thereafter, Black rolls the die to determine visibility, (unless it is one of the first 4 daylight hours). He then asks: “Do you have ships in squares............?” (Calling out: (1) all the squares outside the German mine fields in which he has ships, either subs or surface units; (2) if visibility is 30,000 yards or better, all squares in which he has zeppelins during daylight hours; and (3) if visibility is 40,000 yards or better, all squares adjacent to those in which he has surface ships, or zeppelins, during daylight hours.) He does not disclose at this point the nature of the units he has in or adjacent to the squares called out, unless he has surface units in one of the shaded squares adjacent to the English or Norwegian coasts, in which case he must inform Blue of the types of ships and their direction of movement.
Blue’s answer must be one or more of the following: (1) No; (2) 1 have subs in squares—; 3) I have surface units in squares —, moving
He does not disclose at this time the nature f the surface units which he has in the squares involved. If this exchange reveals that: (1) a contact has been made between subs of one slayer and surface units of the other; or (2) a contact has been made between Black’s zeppelins and Blue’s surface units (either in the same or in adjacent squares when weather permits); or (3) a contact has been made between surface units in the same square, or in adjacent squares when weather permits, the appropriate procedure is then followed. Thus, if subs are in the same square as surface units, players resort to the Submarine Action Procedure. (No provision has been made for contact between subs; if subs of opposing players occupy the same square, it is assumed that they were unable to sight each other.) If the surface units of both players have entered the same square, they resort to Battle Procedure. In the other instances, the entitled players decide whether they wish to make course changes. Then the hour is marked off, and Search Procedure begun for the next hour.
Add a new second paragraph:
A ship which has had its movement factor reduced or lost may be towed by another capital ship of equal or larger size. If Battle Procedure is in process, the ship providing the tow must remain next to the ship being towed without movement for one movement and fire turn. The two ships may then proceed. Towing can be no faster than half the movement factor of the ship providing the tow.
Note also that the Weapons Systems Damage option should be used. The Gunnery Table has been revised as well, providing a better system for deciding long range action and British night action. See Exhibit A.
|
DIE ROLL |
GUNNERY FACTORS |
DIE ROLL |
||||||||||
|
1-3 |
4-5 |
6-7 |
8-9 |
10-11 |
12-13 |
14-16 |
17-20 |
21-26 |
27-32 |
33 & Over |
||
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
|
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
|
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
|
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
|
DIE ROLL |
GUNNERY FACTORS |
DIE ROLL |
||||||||||
|
1-3 |
4-5 |
6-7 |
8-9 |
10-11 |
12-13 |
14-16 |
17-20 |
21-26 |
27-32 |
33 & Over |
||
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
2 |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
3 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|
5 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
|
6 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
6 |
Table changed to eliminate Flotation Hits option. See Exhibit B.
|
DIE |
TOTAL TORPEDO FACTORS FIRING |
DIE |
|||||||||
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
|
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
2 |
|
3 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
3 |
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
4 |
|
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
5 |
|
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
6 |
During daytime the weather
conditions in the
If the Battle Procedure is being followed for that hour, then Black must also roll the die at the beginning of the second maneuver and fire turn, and each succeeding one thereafter during that hour. This time, however, the die roll affects the visibility in terms of half the difference to the next level n the chart. Thus, if the initial visibility for the hour was 18,000 yards and the die roll was 2, the visibility would increase to 21,000 yards; if the die roll was 4 or 5, it would decrease to 15,000 yards; if the die roll was I, visibility would increase to 24,000 yards, etc.
Maximum firing range cannot be greater than the current visibility range. Increase or decrease in firing ranges does not change the ranges where hits are doubled, tripled or determined by reference to the Long Range Table. Where visibility is over 30,000 yards, all zeppelins and surface units have a sighting capability as to adjacent squares.
|
If daylight and die roll is: |
Maximum visibility becomes: |
|
1 |
Over 40,000 yards, or Up 2 levels (search procedure), or Up 1 level (battle procedure) |
|
2 |
30,000 yards, or Up I level (search procedure), or Up ½ level (battle procedure) |
|
3 |
24,000 yards, or Stays same (search & battle procedure) |
|
4 |
18,000 yards, or Down 1 level (search procedure), or Down ½ level (battle procedure) |
|
5 |
12,000 yards, or Down 1 level (search procedure), or Down ½ level (battle procedure) |
|
6 |
6,000 yards, or Down 2 levels (search procedure), or Down 1 level (battle procedure) |
Modified per rewritten Search Procedure.
Neither side employed submarines with their fleet; however, both attempted to use their subs for ambushing capital ships. In addition, the Germans used theirs for reconnaissance. The German strategy was to post their subs in areas where it could be expected that the Grand Fleet would sail in responding to movements of the Highs Seas Fleet. The British strategy was to dispatch their subs, upon learning that the German fleet was going to sea, to positions outside the German minefields in an attempt to intercept the Germans on their return trip.
Black may start 14 subs on any search squares he chooses, including the shaded squares along the British and Norwegian coasts. Blue need not be informed of their location if placed in the shaded squares, however. Blue may start 6 subs, 3 from any of the squares except the German minefields, and 3 from square CC2. Subs must be employed singly. Since they moved quite slowly they may only move 2 squares every 3 hours. Their movements are recorded exactly the same as surface ships. When contact is made between a sub and surface units of the opponent’s fleet, play proceeds to Submarine Torpedo Procedure:
STEP 1: The player having surface units in the square must disclose which of the 4 possible combinations of surface ships indicated on the Submarine Action Table (See Exhibit D) he has in the square.
STEP 2: His opponent then indicates which of the types present he elects to attack.
STEP 3: The player having the sub in the square then rolls the die and consults the Submarine Action Table to determine the result.
STEP 4: If one or more hits are scored, the players place the counters of the ships being attacked into a hat, and the attacking player draws one. This is the ship receiving the hits.
STEP 5: The players then make appropriate notations of the delayed notice on their time records (unless the sub was sunk), and Search Procedure is resumed.
Each German sub may attack 6 times before returning to port; each British sub, 4. Both may be used for reconnaissance, even if their torpedoes are exhausted.
German subs available: U-24, U-32, U-43, U-44, U-46, U-47, U-SI, U-52, U-63, U-66, U-67, U-70, UB-2 I, UB-22. British subs available: D-I, D-6, E-26, E-31., E-53, E-55,
NOTE: If contact occurs at night, the player having the sub must roll the die: if a I or 2 is rolled, play proceeds as outlined above, if a 3, 4, 5, or 6 is rolled, darkness precludes any sighting or action by either side
|
Die |
DD DD & CL |
CL |
DD’s & B, CA, BB, BC |
B, CA, BB, BC |
|
1 |
No hits, Sub sunk |
No hits, Sub sunk |
No hits, Sub sunk |
No hits |
|
2 |
No hits |
No hits |
No hits |
No hits |
|
3 |
No hits |
No hits |
No hits |
No hits |
|
4 |
1 hit, Sub sunk |
1 hit |
No hits |
2 hits |
|
5 |
1 hit |
2 hits |
2 hits |
4 hits |
|
6 |
2 hits |
4 hits |
Roll die, Number = hits |
8 hits |
Not used — see revised Gunnery Tables.
No change, except resort to long range portion of Gunnery Table, rather than cutting hits in half.
Add new sentence at end of paragraph: Similarly, all ships with a movement factor of 10 may move 2 squares in every hour divisible by 3, i.e. 3, 6, 9, and 12.
Except as noted below, Blue must follow the actual British fleet dispositions as they existed during 1916:
February 1: Same as at Jutland, except: 5th Battle Squadron at Scapa Flow; 3rd Battle Squadron at Rosyth (Dreadnought flagship of 4th Battle Squadron Dominion flagship of 3rd); 3rd Battle Cruiser Squadron at Rosyth; 3rd Cruiser Squadron at Rosyth.
After April 25: 3rd Battle Squadron at
After May 15: 5th
Should an action take place
prior to these dates which, while not decisive of the game, does involve heavy
losses to the forces of one of the bases, redistributions may be made immediately.
In addition, ships can be reassigned from one squadron to another to replace
such losses. However, no more than 8 BB’s or BC’s may be based at Cromarty, no
more than 12 at Rosyth, and no more than 1 BB at
Admiral Scheer assumed command
of the High Seas Fleet in January of 1916. Immediately thereafter, he began to
engage in sorties designed to bring a portion of the Grand Fleet into action.
Contact between the fleets prior to
Under this option, therefore,
play begins on
The hours of daylight are as follows:
|
February |
|
to |
|
|
March |
|
to |
|
|
April |
|
to |
|
|
May |
|
to |
|
|
June |
|
to |
|
|
July |
|
to |
|
|
August |
|
to |
|
|
September |
|
to |
|
|
October |
|
to |
|
|
November |
|
to |
|
|
December |
|
to |
|
If a sortie fails to result in a decisive action, Black cannot sail again for 10 days after return to port. Ships which have been damaged cannot sail again on subsequent sorties until damage has been repaired. This requires 2 days for each gunnery hit and 3 days for each torpedo hit. Thus if Kaiser has received 4 gunnery hits and 2 torpedo hits it cannot sail again for 14 days. Black may delay further than 10 days, therefore, if he wishes to wait until certain ships are repaired before sailing on subsequent sorties. Once he has elected to make his first die roll, however, he must sail by the 11th day. The process is repeated until the game is decided.
Because he was able to pick his
time, Scheer was able to sail with his fleet practically intact, only one BB
and one B being absent for repairs, at
This should also be done for the ships which were added to the fleets later in the year. For the British, this would be the Queen Elizabeth, the Emperor of India, The Australia, and the Royal Sovereign. For the Germans, this would be the Konig Albert, the Preussen, and the Bayern. At the beginning of each month, 2 BB’s and 1 BC and B should be withdrawn from the British fleet, and 1 BB or BC and 1 B from the German fleet. If because of battle damage, Blue has less than 25 available BB’s and BC’s, he need only withdraw 2 BB’s or BC’s; if Blue has less than 20, he need only withdraw I BB or BC. Regardless of losses, 1 B must always be withdrawn by Blue. These ships should be chosen on a rotating basis, so that the same ships will not be withdrawn for refit twice in the year.
Certain of the ships at
Provision should also be made for replacing light ships and submarines lost in combat. Each month both Black and Blue may replace 1 CL, 2 DD’s and I sub which have been lost. These replacements may be accumulated.
Black may also replace any zeppelins which may have been lost because of overstaying flight time, at the rate of 1 every 3 months.