Jedko's new War at Sea game is destined to become a classic. It is quite simple to learn, deceptively easy to play, but above all the game is fun. In short, War at Sea is a naval buff's Borodino. Aside from this, however, the game's situation is a highly dramatic one. What student of the Second World War has not wondered what might have happened if the Bismarck had waited for the Tirpitz before sallying forth into the North Atlantic and immortality? Or if the powerful Italian fleet had attempted to sail against the British, thereby forcing another Jutland?

I may be prejudiced, but there is nothing more spectacular to me than seeing a big capital ship (e.g. Hood) blowing up. There is plenty ol this in War at Sea, as ships in the game can be sunk by airpower, U-Boats, pounded to bits by the huge guns of other dreadnoughts, or instantly blown right out of the water, if one is lucky enough to roll four sixes on his initial strike. War at Sea is an action-packed, free-wheeling game; quite unlike some recent horror-shows where one tends to fall asleep while playing. In addition, the game's physical components leave nothing to be desired, and the game may be used by purists in conjunction with SPI's new Dreadnought simulation.

German strategy in War at Sea is a simple matter of accumulating points. A glance at the mapboard shows where a good number of these points may be obtained: Baltic.-I , Barents, and Mediterranean-2, North, North Atlantic, South Atlantic-3, for a possible total of 14 points per turn, enough to bury your opponent.

But there is a ceiling of eight points in the game, and only the most blundering and inept of British opponents will allow the German to walk all over him. In most cases then, you are going to have a helluva fight on your hands, so let's see just what you have to fight with.

German Fleet

A) Two Battleships, Bismarck and Tirpitz, the pride of the High Seas Fleet. It goes without saying that these are the most important ships in your small but powerful navy. Both of these are fast enough to reach the more distant areas with only 1/6 chance of failure. They also may, if undamaged, completely obliterate any ship the British put against them. What is most important about these is the tremendous amount of punishment both can receive before sinking. I have seen several cases where the British ganged up with three BBs against Bismarck, but the latter was still intact at the end of the turn. In fact, the only time these ships are really vulnerable to destruction is if they are attacked by air while undergoing heavy repair work in Germany.

B) Two Battlecruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. These are fast enough to get anywhere, and, if undamaged, are dangerous to mess with. They can take more punishment than most British BBs, but are often put out of action or sunk if British air is able to inflict damage before surface combat occurs. If either ship is hit by air, one British BBs salvo is usually enough to finish either ship off. Two British BBs can sink or cripple either ship if the latter is not damaged.

C) Three Pocket Battleships, Admiral Graf Spee, Lutzow, Admiral Scheer. These three, with luck, can engage an equal number of British BBs and sink them, if undamaged. The pocket battleships are, however, very vulnerable to either surface or air fire, and the German player can consider himself lucky if any of these ships are still afloat at the end of the game. They are faster than most British ships, but are still the slowest you have. They have a 1/3 chance of failure when attempting to reach a distant sea area, and if they fail watch out for British air strikes while stuck in port.

D) Three Heavy Cruisers, Blucher, Admiral Hipper, and Prinz Eugen. These are just as vulnerable to British air and surface fire as your pocket-battleships, and they have only 50% the firepower. Their only real asset is their speed, which enables them to accompany Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to almost anywhere on the map. They are your weakest ships in the game. All three do, however, have a 50% chance (if undamaged) of disabling, damaging or even sinking any thing on the board.

E) One Aircraft Carrier, Graf Zeppelin. As a surface combat ship, this vessel is the equal of your heavy cruisers. Its strong points are that it is the fastest ship in the game and that it possesses two all-important air factors. These factors may be used for one of two things: either attempting to sink the two Russian BBs in Leningrad (or on the Baltic), or else giving the Briton a taste of his own bitter medicine. Nothing is more disgusting for the German in the game than to sally out with a good number of ships, only to have Bismarck, Tirpitz, and/or a battlecruiser damaged by air, sunk (arrgghh!) by air, or forced to abort back to France or Germany, thus leaving a handful of heavy cruisers and pocket battleships to deal with 4-5 British battleships. With their own carrier, the Germans may attempt to do this to the British.

Italian Fleet

Before proceeding further, we will now turn to the Italian fleet:

F) New Battleships: Vittorio Veneto, Littorio (Italia), Impero, Roma. Only Bismarck and Tirpitz can take more punishment than these ships, and they, until their sister battleships in Mussolini's navy, do not sacrifice protection for speed. The Mediterranean is a killing ground for both sides, however, and since the British player almost always places his land-based airpower there, only Impero and Roma (because of their late entry) will probably survice until the last turn, when the Italian fleet is divided up.

G) Old Battleships (Refitted WWI): Andrea Doria, Conte di Cavour, Caio Guilio, Guilio Cesare. Frankly, these ships stink. They are powerful enough to contribute to the Mediterranean blood bath by sinking British BBs, but they themselves spend much of the game either in port repairing damage or at the bottom of the Mediterranean. They are extremely vulnerable to both air and surface attack. It is quite evident why Mussolini did not allow these ships to leave port (after Taranto) until the Italians got themselves an aircraft carrier.

These old battleships are, though, usually able to disengage from a defeat with their superior speed without having to re-fight the British, unless the latter player has stocked the Mediterranean with battlecruisers or King George V class battleships. In such a case the Italian can kiss his fleet good-bye.

H) Heavy Cruisers: Polo, Zara, Fiume, Gorlzia. These vessels have little attacking ability or protection, but they are quite fast. They will generally survive until late in the game because the British player will be turning all of his attention to the Eyetie battleships, while most of his rruisers will be engaged against the Germans. One major asset of the cruisers is that they are the only Italian ships capable of leaving the Mediterranean, which is of varying assistance to any German ships in the South Atlantic.

I) Submarines: The Germans have seven U-Boats. They are very vulnerable to carriers and convoys (the destroyers, destroyer escorts and escort carriers operating within). All Allied ships are equally vulnerable to the U-Boats, whose chief advantage is that they can operate in wolf packs anywhere on the board.

For those unfortunates who are unacquainted with War at Sea, the attack, defense and movement factors of these vessels are as follows:

Group A: 4-9-6
Group B: 3-5-7
Group C: 2-2-5
Group D: 1-2-7
Group E: 1-2-8 (2)
Group F: 4-6-6
Group G: 4-3-5
Group H: 1-1 -7
Group 1: 1-0-8

The Allied breakdown is:

5-5-3: Rodney, Nelson.
4-5-6: King George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Anson, Howe.
4-4-7: Hood.
4-4-4: Warspite, Valiant, Queen Elizabeth, Barham, Malaya.
4-4-3: Resolution, Royal Oak, Royal Sovereign, Ramilles, Revenge.
3-3-6: Renown, Repulse.
1-1-7: Norfolk, Suffolk, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, Kent, Cumberland, Exeter, Sussex.
0-2-7: Ark Royal (3), Illustrious (2), Formidable (2), Victorious (2).
0-1-6: Courageous (2), Glorious (2).
1-2-4: Eagle (1).
1-3-3: Convoys 1A, 2B, 3C.
3-3-3: Russian Marat and Oktiabrsk Revolutia.
5-5-4: U.S.S. Washington.
4-4-3: U.S.S. Texas and New York.
1-1-7: U.S.S. Wichita, Augusta and Tuscaloosa.

The number following each aircraft represents their air power factor (one factor = 30 planes?) The American ships' entry is variable. They may only serve in the North Atlantic.

War at Sea German Game Strategy

Overview and Strength Comparison
German Strategy