Great War At Sea: Jutland - Strategic scenario demo playthrough (part 1)

[@NefariousKoel]

If you want to add a little more fog of war to the strategic map, you can plot 2 or 3 routes for each fleet. Use multiple fleet markers/routes for each fleet, the extras being dummy fleets. How to figure out which is real or dummy has two options. 1) When encountering a fleet marker with your own, you can just roll a 1-3 (or 1-2 if more than two counters per fleet) to see if it is the actual fleet. If you ran into a dummy, just remove it and continue on. Or 2) you could make chits in a pool for each fleet, with one marked as the true fleet, and just draw one from that pool each time to see if you ran into the real one. The combat will still be playing both sides. However, since the graphic on the back side of each differentiates between "capital" ships and others, you can mix them up per category and place them on the battle map by each type in appropriate groups. Wouldn't matter unless it's a large battle with multi-hex fleets, but it's a little extra method to at least mix up the initial setup before the action starts.

[@andrewchoong2895]

Those are really awesome ideas, and if anything they're a bit less labour intensive and more exciting than the system I'm using. I'll press on with what I've started for now, but will definitely be using your system next time I play. Thanks so much - really appreciate you sharing this 😊

[@NefariousKoel]

@@andrewchoong2895 - Also, for unplotted patrols searching for undetected enemy fleets, you can use a different type of roll. When they're ready to move roll a d6. Instead of using a specific designated direction, use a group of multiple squares for each die roll result. For instance, on a 1 use the pair of squares to the NE of current location. Then move it to the square closest to it's nearest fleet/target of the two. There's also the option of using groups of 3 squares if you want to ramp up the likelihood of possible encounters.

[@Nangwaya]

This is so good, and so many levels, thank you! Without a doubt, your series, and specifically this video, on this game system, wants me to get the rules proper (I only have the Zeppelins supplement) and will be on the lookout. Thanks again!

[@andrewchoong2895]

My pleasure, and thanks so much! Really glad you're enjoying the series. Hope you manage to get a copy. I love airships and have finally been able to track down a copy of the Zeppelins supplement myself. To be honest, most of the titles in this series are pretty entertaining, but I find the WWI ones are an appealing balance of relative simplicity and some very colourful navies :)

[@Nangwaya]

@@andrewchoong2895 It certainly has been a pleasure to watch your videos. You are really good at this and give off a great gaming vibe. All the best and keep the up coming 🙂

[@andrewchoong2895]

@@Nangwaya Thanks so much! That's really very kind of you, and I certainly will 😊

[@patrickols]

Very interesting video, this game does seem to offer quite a range of play. What I usually miss outside of the Cold War naval games is the submarine hunting aspect. I find that modern naval war offer a long boring waiting and search and then a quick intense ending 😊 These older times naval combat mostly big ships with big guns slugging it out. Must have been a bit scary to be on these ships having these giant bombs coming at you knowing the results would be a cold sea and the very high risk of hypothermia before rescue

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

Touch , have U tried hunt 4 red Oktoberfest , 🌏

[@patrickols]

@@BrianMarcus-nz7cs used to play Harpoon way back 35+ years ago. Unfortunately I no longer own the game, felt victim ironically to some water damage years ago in my parents home.

[@andrewchoong2895]

Thanks very much! It certainly was a different era, and it has been interesting reading first hand accounts like 'With The Battle Cruisers' by Filson Young and the wartime diaries of Richard Stumpf. Submarines are absent in this scenario, and if you were wondering about my very thin escort of six destroyers I was worried more about mines (1914 attitudes!). In the later scenarios submarines do play a more prominent role, but they are heavily abstracted and are 'slow'. In the context of gameplay, all you do is note down their patrol boxes on the log sheet, and they remain there for the entire game, waiting/hoping for a victim to come along. There are no detailed ASW rules for the WWI and earlier volumes of the Great War At Sea series.

[@patrickols]

@@andrewchoong2895 ASW was rather a primitive affair back in WWI they were just starting to figure out things. Most subs would rather kill merchants with their deck guns than use torpedoes

[@andrewchoong2895]

@@patrickols Yes, and I can see why they opted for keeping that side of things very simple in this game. It helps keep the balance of admin/fun just right.