"Now you see them now you don't, Battle Cruisers in the mist!"Hipper's First Scouting Group of December 1914 comprising of: SMS Seydlitz, SMS Molke, SMS Von der Tann, SMS Derfflinger and SMS Blucher (see below):
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Beatty's depleted Battle Cruiser Fleet (BCF) of December 1914 comprising of: HMS Lion, HMS Queen Mary, HMS Tiger and HMS New Zealand (see below):
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Note: Unbeknownst to the Germans, in terms of Capitol Ships, they actually possessed a numerical superiority of ONE. Despite this they were always thinking in effect they were numerically inferior. This was due to RN Battle Cruiser commitment to other theatres, namely fighting the Goeban and Von Spee. However this superiority is somewhat artificial as the SMS Blucher is technically an Armoured Cruiser rather than a true blood modern Battle Cruiser.
The goal is to develop a solitaire card and dice driven naval combat system (because it is so hard to find an opponent and it is good to replay scenarios over and over again).
The assumption is that the active player is the RN Commander (aka Beatty), for WWI 'contact' naval actions in the North Sea. The RN's goal, with the aid of secret intelligence (courtesy of Admiralty Room 40), is to ambush a German raiding force (aka Hipper) with superior forces and bring about it's destruction. The logic being that Command and Control problems for RN player is far greater, whereas the High Seas Fleet (HSF) is more concentrated, easier to control and is intent more on escape.
This type of scenario was played out several times during the course of the war (particularly 1914 to 1916) and seems an ideal test-vehicle for solo play.
Raw Game Ingredients:
- Formations
- Orders
- Command Dice
"This is a new idea since last posting. As I have been playing a lot of Chain of Command, it's Command Dice mechanic seems much more sophisticated and appropriate that my initial musings using PiP points (aka DBA)"
- Simultaneous Movement and Combat
- Morale Status
Next: A historical scenario "The Scarborough Raid December 1914"
Not exactly relevant, but your post got me excited as extra ideas for an extension to the Sails of Glory models/rules I currently use for Napoleonic naval. I've been thinking of some pregame voyage set-up and what you have suggested might fit in, particularly "the chase".
ReplyDeleteMy initial idea was coming from having played The Hunters, a solitaire Uboat game. In case you are not familiar with that game see my post about it here:
http://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/the-hunters.html
Thanks Son of York, glad you found a lateral connection
ReplyDeleteI will read with interest your blog :)
Thanks for the link
Note: The formatting went all to hell on the latter part of the post so I have split it into two posts
ReplyDelete