Players 2
Average Depending on scenario size, Playing time about 60-120 minutes.
Period WW2 1939-1945
Turn 90 seconds
Map 100 yards/hex
Units Single Craft and Torpedoes

Components

1 22"x27˝" featureless ocean map on heavy paper (this is the standard issue SimCan ocean map included with most of the naval games from this company).
1 full size rulebook with scenarios and tables, 8 pages total.
200 die-cut backprinted counters

Counter Manifest

30 UK (British) red, 18 ships, 12 torps
30 JA (Japanese) olive) 20 ships, 10 torps
30 SO (Soviet) lt.green, 17 ships, 13 torps
10 FR (French) pale blue, 6 ships, 4 torps
20 IT (Italian) yellow, 12 ships, 8 torps
30 GE (German) grey, 22 ships, 8 torps
40 US lt blue, 20 ships, 20 torps 4 cargo vessels white, merchants/tankers
6 randomizer counters white, l to 6

SimCan says:

“Schnellboote (fast attack boat) covers the often neglected area of naval activity of vessels of under destroyer size. It is a game of PT boats, E boats and gun boats in high speed combat against their counterpart vessels and, occasionally, against major warships.”

The Reviewer says:

“For aficianados of tactical naval games, Schnellboote has a lot to offer. This seems to be the area where SimCan does its best work, and their standards of accuracy and playability in naval games are displayed here. ... Schnellboote avoids a lot of the complexity that is so common to tactical naval games, yet retains a high level of accuracy. ... The scenarios can be fast, wild, and fierce, successful attributes of any successful wargame.” --Douglas Niles in S&T 102.

Comments

Schnellboote is a tactical game played on a hex board that centers on small craft and torpedoes as their main weapon. The game uses a rather high scaling factor, with hexes a hundred yards across and a time scale of ninety seconds per turn. The 200 counters show single craft, mostly of destroyer size or less, and single torpedoes. For nighttime engagements -- which most of the scenarios are -- the game features limited intelligence rules with optional rules for refereed battles.

With about six pages of rules (including tables), Schnellboote is a comparatively simple game, quick to set up and play. The downside of this is that the tactical depth is rather limited: the only really effective weapon in the game is the torpedo, and only then when it is fired at a range where it will reach its target within the turn at which it is launched, giving the target no time to outmaneuver it. That way, both players must usually aim for point-blank shots. Overall, for the time at it was published, the game is quite good, but cannot really live up to today’s expectations. Still, I would make the point that the game is probably the best tactical naval game system that can be described in six pages of rules.

Collectors Notes

Probably still available from Clash of Arms Games for $10. Boone lists high, low and average prices of 3/13/8.00 at auction and 12/20/16.00 for sale.

Errata

PT, PG and SC type units sink immediately on accumulating 4 flooding points or more. This makes the damage incurred from a torpedo hit much worse for the PT than for a DD.

Scenarios

When working in the stacks on scenarios for Schnellboote I came up with 35 actions of interest that were well enough documented to be used. We only had space for 10 or so in the game.

A. As the war progressed the English Channel command started using offshore DDs to vector PT boats to close shore targets. On 9 Aug 44 a British DD sent PTs 503, 508 & 509 through the early dawn fog to attack 3 German minesweepers. In a confused action 1 PT was sunk and another damaged while damaging 1 of the MMs.

B. GE 2 MM, Type R, N,3,G
GE 1 MM, Type M, N,3,G
US 3 PT, Elco 80, NE,12,E

C. Day

D. Fog reduces all visual search values by 1 per unit. However, the radar value of each PT is increased by 1 to reflect information for the picket DD off shore.

Steve Newberg says:

This coverage of small craft combat in WWII was a long delayed last title in our strategic level tactical naval games. The topic fit the scale very well and I was glad to have finally gotten the game out. Scenarios tended to be fast and vicious, with either lots of casualties if the range got short, or a scattered confusion when closing did not happen. Pretty close to how these things actually went. This final title brought the series up to almost 1,000 counters and coverage of every country and combat class type of the war.