Victory at Sea Rulebook: A Preview

The book goes to great lengths to contextualize naval warfare of the Second World War and explores the various theatres and the differences therein, focusing on three primary areas, The Atlantic, The Mediterranean and the Pacific.

As you’d expect, you’ll find all the rules found in the Battle for the Pacific’s starter rules manual as well as a wealth of extras to bring the full scope of naval warfare to the tabletop, including rules for coastal defences, submersibles, motor torpedo boats as well as playing battles in bad weather and at night amongst others.

A wealth of scenarios are provided across all the theatres for you to try your hand at commanding some of the most famous ships in a historical context – giving you a chance to alter the fate of say, the Bismarck following the Battle of the Denmark Strait, or to fight off waves of Japanese fighters and bombers at Pearl Harbour, for example. There are 28 scenarios for you to try your hand at.

The fleet lists in this book are exhaustive! You’ll find complete lists for the Royal Navy, US Navy, Kriegsmarine, Imperial Japanese Navy and Regia Marina, as well as the French Marine Nationale and a section dedicated to Civilian Shipping. For convenience, these sections are separated into subcategories by class of vessel: Battleships, Aircraft Carriers, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submersibles, Aircraft, Motor Torpedo Boats and Other Ships.

There’s also the Admiral’s Edition. This gorgeous collector’s version of the Victory at Sea rules has an exclusive monotone design, silvered page edges, page edges and end papers with ship recognition designs. These are extremely limited, with only 200 total copies available. Each copy will also be signed by game author, Matthew Sprange – hurry, only a few remain – once they’re gone, they’re gone!