J is for ... Jutland
Jutland
Avalon Hill (1974, $12.00)Designed by Randy Reed / Jim Dunnigan
Players 2 or more
Playing Time 4 hours
Period WWI
Scale Tactical / Operational
Turn Search: 4 hr.; Battle: 10 min.
Map Battle: 1"=1000 meters
Unit individual capital ships, squadrons and flotillas
Components
1 11”x14” flatbox120 die-cut counters
1 24 page rulebook
4 double-sided game cards (German & British task force boards, gunnery charts, time record)
2 Hit record pads (German and British)
6 battle area marker cards
2 battle maneuver gauges
2 range finders
1 six-sided die
Counter Manifest
58 British ships44 German ships
18 blanks
Avalon Hill says
[Our] faithful re-creation of that great historical naval engagement, puts YOU back in time. Now YOU are in command. Extensive documentary research places YOU into the situation exactly as it was. The stage is set. It is now May 30, 1916 — can YOU do as well as the original commanders, or better???The reviewers say
“This is a remake of an earlier edition, improving a number of small points. The game is at least half-way to miniatures, with a small search board and the actions taking place off-board ... The search procedure is well done, and numerous complex rules govern the tactical combat and engagement procedure. Six hours plus: plenty for naval buffs to get their teeth into, but a bit different from normal board wargames.” Nicholas Palmer in The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming (1977). “Jutland has two major drawbacks compared to Dreadnought. It takes much longer to play, employing a lot of paper work. It is also badly inaccurate insofar as scale is concerned. The length of a ship counter is 2500 yards; it should be about 750 yards to accommodate the ship and sufficient clearance for the next ship in line ... [B]oth games are equally valid representations of battleship combat on the tactical/operational level. Dreadnought is far more convenient to play, while Jutland has more to offer the naval enthusiast.” Steve List in Moves 24.Comments
This revised edition of Jutland appeared in 1974 as part of a “mail-order only” line of games that were initially not sold in stores. Described by AH as a “face-lifting” of the original game, Jutland ’74 was a complete rules rewrite by Randy Reed. Also new were three smaller scenarios. Unfortunately, the components themselves were not as “beefy” as those of the sixties edition. The mounted Task Force Boards were replaced with smaller cardstock versions, and the new Battle Area Markers and gauges were printed on flimsy cardstock instead of thick card.For more information on the first edition of Jutland, see the Avalon Hill Classics article in issue 12 of Simulacrum.
Collector’s Notes
A word of warning regarding AH titles from the seventies -- if the price seems insanely high, it probably is. With ultra-common games like PanzerBlitz and Stalingrad having occasionally jumped into the three-digit price range (caveat -this was on eBay), don’t let price spikes on Jutland or other seventies vintage AH games fool you. Copies of Jutland turn up fairly regularly -- if the bidding gets out of control, wait for the next one to come along. Boone lists low/high/average prices for Jutland ’74 of 7/17/12.18 at auction and 4/22/10.57 for sale. Corresponding values for the original edition are listed as 3/36/12.66 and 8/50/19.47.Other Randall Reed designs
1776; Chancellorsville (2nd); The Longest Day; Panzer Leader; Richthofen’s War; Starship Troopers (all Avalon Hill).
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