Components

1 8-page full size rulebook
1 22 x 28" hex map, divided into four sections representing critical sea zones
400 die-cut counters in two sheets
1 plastic box or ziploc bag

Counter Manifest

163 Soviet (light brown) units
113 US (light green) units
18 British (light blue) units
13 French (tan) units
12 Chinese (khaki)
8 Japanese (yellow) units
6 Dutch (ivory) units
6 West German (grey) units
6 Italian (blue) units
5 Indian (dark brown) units
4 Spanish (dark green) units
4 Australian (slate blue) units
3 Canadian (grey-green) units
4 white neutral ships (2 merchants, 2 tankers)
6 randomizer chits
28 blanks (16 brown, 12 green)
1 turn marker (brown)

SimCan says:

“Battle Stations is a low complexity board game of naval conflict concentrating on the operational level. The game depicts the various areas of potential conflict on a series of maps scaled to about 24 miles to a hex. The interactions of surface, subsurface, and naval air forces are depicted by silhouette style counters. The data base of Seapower & the State, our strategic modern naval game, is used for the unit values, thus providing a degree of mateability between the games. The operational nature of the game is emphasized by five-hour turns and a simple but effective combat system that reflects the lethality of modern weapons systems. A number of scenarios are provided for likely conflict areas as well as a system to use Seapower & the State as a campaign game scenario generator.”

The Reviewers say:

Nothing. Not a thing could be located in Campaign, F&M, Moves, S&T or the Grenadier regarding this game. Nothing of use could be found on the Internet either. Steve was right ... it sank without an oil slick.

Collectors Notes

Clash of Arms Games still has a few left in their stock of SimCan games, so check them out before trying eBay.

Boone lists low, high and average prices of 3/16/8.20 at auction and 7/25/16.00 for sale.

Comments

In playing this game, I found it to have some of the same defects outlined for Seapower & the State: intelligence between players is too perfect and the combat system gives an advantage to whoever moves first. It’s quite a simple and fast game to learn but the action soon devolves into two or maybe three huge stacks of units maneuvering around until there is one long battle that sees one side completely sunk. There are a dozen scenarios provided and directions to make up your own, as well as directions for mating this game with Seapower & the State (the ships’ values are the same, just the combat system is different). Each scenario has some variation in it as well, since players pick units for the scenario they are playing at random from the different classes specified, which units do not have identical values.

SimCan Newsletter 8 said: “Coming in winter (January 1984) look for two more board games. ... At the same time we will have a new modern naval that many of you have been asking for. The game is on the operational level and will be our replacement for the long gone Raketny Kreyser. Like RK it is a mechanically easy game but unlike RK it is broadly reflective of all aspects of modern naval combat for its level and complexity. We do not have a name for the game as yet, and suggestions are welcome. If possible, include Seapower in your title suggestions.”

SimCan Newsletter 9 said: “Battle Stations! is an operational game of modern seapower. We have taken advantage of the detailed data base produced for Seapower & the State to produce a fairly easy to play replacement for our often requested, but long out of print, Raketny Kreyser. Battle Stations!, unlike that previous game, covers air, sea and submarine aspects of modern naval situations.”

Errata None in the Simcan Newsletter.

Steve Newberg says:

I rather liked this game, though it sank into the market of the mid-80’s without a trace. We sold a good number of copies and it made a profit, but the title got virtually no notice. From a scale and concept viewpoint it was in competition with the Victory Games Fleet series, but it is a much less complicated design, allowing the players to concentrate on operations and maneuver, rather than minutiae.