Sometimes, when I tell other wargamers that I play naval wargames I get odd looks and their attitudes change. I've never really worked out why, but they seem to regard naval wargaming as a sort of simplified Chess - the table devoid of terrain, the only tactic possible being to line 'em up and let the gunnery dice determine the result.
Perhaps some of them, having spent all winter painting the epaulettes on their Old Guard or different shield designs on each Hoplite's shield, resent the simple paint jobs (grey hulls, brown decks, white radar domes), which allow me to get playing quickly.
Of course, as those of you who have tried it know, naval wargaming can be as simple or as complicated as you want - a lot depends upon the period you choose. If you want a quick game a couple of WWII destroyers or WWI light cruisers can fill a happy half-hour or so, while those who prefer more complexity can fill as much time as they have with the activities of a modern carrier battle group or similar.
When I try to explain naval wargaming, I generally subdivide it by the level of complexity involved (note that these are my fairly general subdivisions - you may have different ideas):
- 1. The lowest level is WWI and the Dreadnought era. You have large coal or oil-fired ships that can go pretty much wherever they like. Air power was in its infancy and, apart from spotting for gunnery, played little part in naval battles (well, you can play out zeppelins bombing warships if you want, but it's pretty one-sided). Similarly, submarines were not generally used. In short, it's the heyday of the big ships.
2. One up is the ancient era - the age of sail and oars. While you have to take account of the wind direction because cannot sail into the wind, you have the oars to get you into position.
3. The age of sail. Hornblower, Nelson and the rest. The ships are pretty (and complicated to put together) and, done well; the whole thing makes quite a spectacle. Of course, you are limited by the wind direction but the tactics are fairly simple. Some rules even handle the selection of which kind of shot to use, freeing you from remembering which kind is better at long range and so on.
4. WWII and the years around it. Aircraft and submarines add a level of complexity not seen in the previous levels. The presence of one aircraft carrier can not only spoil your opponent's day, but also greatly increase the book-keeping (but not nearly as much as having a submarine or two stooging about). You can still have good quick games in this era - MTBs against e-Boats, for example.
5. Finally, we get to the modern era. This is the age of fire & forget missiles, specialised radars and sonar’s, radar jamming, home on jamming missiles, different kinds of submarines and anti-submarine measures, helicopters - the list goes on for ages. Suffice to say, this is where you can get as complicated as you can cope with and more.
The list also doesn't include American Civil War Monitors - mainly because I know next to nothing about how they were sailed and fought.
The subject of rules is as delicate as it is with land-based games. Put two gamers together and they are likely to disagree about rules. For what it's worth (and to maybe generate some letters) I play WWI and WWII using the General Quarters rules from Navwar, and I play modern using the Harpoon rules from GDW (these are out of print, but have been revised and re-issued by Clash of Arms). It's been years since I played anything pre-Dreadnought and I don't remember which rules I used, but I think they were by Tabletop Games.
Tabletop Games also used to do a WWI naval set in their paper army’s series - you got rules and counters for both sides for about £3. I don't know if they still do, but it's worth a look if you are interested in trying it out before you commit to spending serious money.
As to the flat table and the line 'em up and let the gunnery dice fall argument, while it is true that naval wargaming generally requires less terrain than our land-based brethren, not all naval battles occurred on the open sea. There are countless accounts of battles, which took place amongst islands and in inlets and rivers. I once saw a wonderful WWI demonstration game of British warships hunting the Koenigsberg up the Rufiji river delta, which involved lots of African jungle between which the ships crept while trying to spot their fall of fire.
In addition, many naval battles were fought at night or in poor visibility caused by fog or rain. Some battles have even hinged on whether the ships got in each other’s way.
Naval wargaming is no more or less difficult to play solo than land-based games - indeed; the need to play part of the game on maps for modern naval games sometimes makes it slightly easier. Some naval battles are easier than others to solo because one side has no option (for example, Koenigsberg in the Rufiji delta, or the Graf Spee steering for Montevideo). One such battle was the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914.
More Naval Wargaming Best Eras
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