Avalon Hill, 1979
Designer unattributed

Components
1 standard accordion bookcase box
3 8 1/2" x 22" mounted game boards
1 4-page 8 1/2"x11" rulebook
11 metal components: 1 white committee boat; 6 yachts (red, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, brown); 4 red course markers
6 spinnaker cards in colors matching the yachts
1 wind indicator arrow
2 6-sided dice (one white, one colored)

What the rulebook says:

“The object of the game is to be the skipper of the yacht that crosses the finish line first.”

What the reviewers say:

Nothing. Regatta is a board wargame only in the broadest sense that a war could (and, in one instance of which I am personally aware, actually did) develop between two players who have vastly differing views of how the rules should be interpreted, whether or not either or both of them had any firsthand knowledge of sailing.

Another grognard, who also happens to be very adept at sailing, indicated that the rules of Regatta made no sense at all, and were unplayable.

Comments:

The 1979 Avalon Hill version of Regatta was the second edition, the first edition having been published by 3M Games in 1967. It is not clear whether the second edition was an improvement on the first or, more likely, simply a faithful copy. But it is clear that the colors used for the little metal sailboats in the second edition date from the 1960’s -- there’s none of what Redmond Simonsen referred to as Avalon Hill’s froo-froo pink, to be sure.

Of the four pages in the Regatta rulebook the last page is mostly blank, with a blurb for All-Star Replay. A further page in total is taken up with blank space, illustrations which do little to illuminate, an introduction to sailing, and a nautical glossary. The remaining two pages provide details of setting up the game, the basic rules, optional rules and other such details. It would be an improvement, I think, to use the rules for Wooden Ships and Iron Men instead.

Collector’s value:

Boone lists low, high and average prices of 7/18/11.00 at auction and 6/25/12.33 for sale for the Avalon Hill edition. The prices for the 3M edition are double and triple, probably reflecting the greater rarity of the 3M version.

Special Offer

The review copy is complete but some what tatty. It will be sent to the person who gives me the best reason why I should give it away.