After a couple of refresher games of General Quarters we found the main problem was when we started firing torpedoes at each other (especially the Japanese Long Lance). It was initially assumed that you simply had to a) choose a target and b) guess which one of 4 directions the target ship chose next turn (maintain, port, starboard or reverse course).
However the rules are more nuanced than that and requires considerably more input by the referee.
So lets look at the basics....
Before firing torpedoes, the attacking ship must obviously have some torpedoes left, have the right arc of fire (at least 30 degrees from bow or stern), have the capability of firing from the side facing the enemy and the target ship is in range OR will be when both ships have completed their move.
And of course they must have line of sight to the target. Smoke or other ships between the attacker and target mean that torpedoes cannot be launched.
The number in parenthesis in the shows the number of torpedoes that ship can fire each Game Turn. So if a ship has two numbers in parenthesis (e.g. (3) (3) it has tubes on either side and the number denotes the total amount it can fire off each Game Turn. It denotes the number of torpedoes ready for use in each Game Turn.
The player can specify how many torpedoes they want to fire each Turn but it cannot exceed the number left.
Note that on some ships they start with a single number in parenthesis e.g (10) but in subsequent armament boxes this drops to two numbers e.g. (4) (4). So initially the ship could fire 10 torpedoes at one target but once damage has been inflicted this capacity is reduced to 4 from each side (or less as torpedoes are used up or lost to enemy damage).
Players can (if they wish) make Dummy attacks with torpedoes (potentially forcing an enemy ship to manouvre). They simply write 'Dummy' on the slip of paper passed to the umpire.
To attack the attacking player writes down the target ship, expected heading and how many torpedoes are being fired (within the limitations mentioned above). For example 'Bismark - P - 4' means the attacker is aiming to torpedo the Bismark, expecting it to turn to Port next turn and is committing 4 torpedoes to the attack.
The attacker has 4 options to choose in terms of direction. Port, Starboard, Maintain or Reverse.
Note that in order to Reverse the ship must be stationary for at least 1 Game Turn. If the ship has sufficient speed and manouverability it may change course to be facing the other way. However it will depend on the quadrant it ends up in once it has completed the move....
Working out hits is then a case of dice rolls and measurement. Starting from the marker measure to the middle of the target ship. For WW1 range is 24" or 16" for light torpedoes. For WW2 its 36" or 72" for Long Lance.
Players can optionally choose to run Normal or Deep. Normal will run along the surface and impact any ship in its path buy will hit torpedo belts on battleships (minimizing its effect).. Deep will miss smaller ships but will have increased effect on larger ships.
Modifiers can be applied to the chances to hit or miss (such as if the ship can manouvre).
At the end of the firing phase the German player announces two torpedo attacks. Markers are placed in the middle of each attacking ship on the attacking side. Two notes are passed to the referee (Trento - M - 4 for the closest ship and Trento - S - 8 for the bottom-most ship).
The Italian player doesn't know what's planned for him but knowing he's reduced the attacking potential of the closer ship he tries to bluff the Germans by heading closer to the better armed destroyer (thinking the Germans will think he'll aim to increase the gap between the two and go to Port. He decides to move to Starboard.
Having received the German attack target (and before the Italian movement) the referee places a marker (such as a matchstick) alongside the base of the target ship BEFORE it moves. For Long Lance attacks which can run over 2 Turns the referee may want to have markers for ALL potential targets to ensure headings of each are marked down to keep the other player(s) guessing.
Moves are then made for all ships. Before gunnery starts the referee announces the two attacks. The 4 torpedoes from the topmost ship go wide (as they assumed the Italians would go straight ahead) and the marker is removed.
The second attack is different though.
Using the matchstick as a reference point its easy to see the direction the target ship has ended up in.
Now comes resolution. The Germans have got 8 torpdeoes off. Measuring from the marker to the end position of the Trento shows 23cm (we use cm rather than inches to to keep ranges sensible for space available). The range means no changes to the numbers on target. The Trento was bombing along at 13kts so 3 torpedoes are removed leaving 5 potential hits.
A poor roll and check on the hit table means just one torpedo hits - but a good roll on the damage table (Trento has 5 DEF) means the one torpedo takes off 2 Hull and 1 Armament.
Trento's guns can still bring retribution against her attackers but with speed reduced by half she is lucky that the Germans have fired all their torpedoes meaning she may yet live to fight again....
Alternative options
Speedy
To speed up play, players may opt to simplify the attack. Instead of choosing a heading the attacker simply rolls a D6. On a roll of 5-6 he hits (i.e. guesses correctly) then the other modifiers are applied. This is essentially the same odds are choosing one of three headings (ignoring Reverse as an option).
Fun!
The attacking player chooses an angle from which he wishes to attack (30-60-90-120-140) degrees. A matchstick is placed at the side of the attacking ship. At the end of the movement phase the referee measures the angle chosen for the attack and measures along the line. Any ship along that line (enemy and friendly) is subjected to attacks (closest first). The amount of torpedoes hitting each target is taken off the remaining torpedoes available. So if two ships are in line and 6 torpedoes are fired with one hitting the first ship then 5 go on to the next. This method may make players think twice about loosing all their torpedoes off in an area where their own ships are also located.
However the rules are more nuanced than that and requires considerably more input by the referee.
So lets look at the basics....
Before firing torpedoes, the attacking ship must obviously have some torpedoes left, have the right arc of fire (at least 30 degrees from bow or stern), have the capability of firing from the side facing the enemy and the target ship is in range OR will be when both ships have completed their move.
And of course they must have line of sight to the target. Smoke or other ships between the attacker and target mean that torpedoes cannot be launched.
The player can specify how many torpedoes they want to fire each Turn but it cannot exceed the number left.
Note that on some ships they start with a single number in parenthesis e.g (10) but in subsequent armament boxes this drops to two numbers e.g. (4) (4). So initially the ship could fire 10 torpedoes at one target but once damage has been inflicted this capacity is reduced to 4 from each side (or less as torpedoes are used up or lost to enemy damage).
Players can (if they wish) make Dummy attacks with torpedoes (potentially forcing an enemy ship to manouvre). They simply write 'Dummy' on the slip of paper passed to the umpire.
To attack the attacking player writes down the target ship, expected heading and how many torpedoes are being fired (within the limitations mentioned above). For example 'Bismark - P - 4' means the attacker is aiming to torpedo the Bismark, expecting it to turn to Port next turn and is committing 4 torpedoes to the attack.
The attacker has 4 options to choose in terms of direction. Port, Starboard, Maintain or Reverse.
Note that in order to Reverse the ship must be stationary for at least 1 Game Turn. If the ship has sufficient speed and manouverability it may change course to be facing the other way. However it will depend on the quadrant it ends up in once it has completed the move....
Working out hits is then a case of dice rolls and measurement. Starting from the marker measure to the middle of the target ship. For WW1 range is 24" or 16" for light torpedoes. For WW2 its 36" or 72" for Long Lance.
Players can optionally choose to run Normal or Deep. Normal will run along the surface and impact any ship in its path buy will hit torpedo belts on battleships (minimizing its effect).. Deep will miss smaller ships but will have increased effect on larger ships.
Modifiers can be applied to the chances to hit or miss (such as if the ship can manouvre).
Worked Example
The Italian cruiser Trento is attacked by two German Z class destroyers (one on either side of it). As the ships close Trento opens up all its guns at the nearest of the two and manages to knock out 2 armament boxes (reducing its torpedo complement from (8) to (4). |
| Trento finds herself in a terrible place. |
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| Good shooting reduces the attacking potential of the top Z destroyer by half! |
The Italian player doesn't know what's planned for him but knowing he's reduced the attacking potential of the closer ship he tries to bluff the Germans by heading closer to the better armed destroyer (thinking the Germans will think he'll aim to increase the gap between the two and go to Port. He decides to move to Starboard.
Having received the German attack target (and before the Italian movement) the referee places a marker (such as a matchstick) alongside the base of the target ship BEFORE it moves. For Long Lance attacks which can run over 2 Turns the referee may want to have markers for ALL potential targets to ensure headings of each are marked down to keep the other player(s) guessing.
 |
| Matchstick shows the position of the target ship before movement |
The second attack is different though.
 |
| The template shows the Trento has indeed gone to Starboard |
 |
| Working out the mechanics |
Now comes resolution. The Germans have got 8 torpdeoes off. Measuring from the marker to the end position of the Trento shows 23cm (we use cm rather than inches to to keep ranges sensible for space available). The range means no changes to the numbers on target. The Trento was bombing along at 13kts so 3 torpedoes are removed leaving 5 potential hits.
A poor roll and check on the hit table means just one torpedo hits - but a good roll on the damage table (Trento has 5 DEF) means the one torpedo takes off 2 Hull and 1 Armament.
Trento's guns can still bring retribution against her attackers but with speed reduced by half she is lucky that the Germans have fired all their torpedoes meaning she may yet live to fight again....
Alternative options
Speedy
To speed up play, players may opt to simplify the attack. Instead of choosing a heading the attacker simply rolls a D6. On a roll of 5-6 he hits (i.e. guesses correctly) then the other modifiers are applied. This is essentially the same odds are choosing one of three headings (ignoring Reverse as an option).
Fun!
The attacking player chooses an angle from which he wishes to attack (30-60-90-120-140) degrees. A matchstick is placed at the side of the attacking ship. At the end of the movement phase the referee measures the angle chosen for the attack and measures along the line. Any ship along that line (enemy and friendly) is subjected to attacks (closest first). The amount of torpedoes hitting each target is taken off the remaining torpedoes available. So if two ships are in line and 6 torpedoes are fired with one hitting the first ship then 5 go on to the next. This method may make players think twice about loosing all their torpedoes off in an area where their own ships are also located.
4 comments:
So I'm the attacker. I'm pretty sure that the defender is going to make a turn to starboard. If he does he will come Within range of my
Aircraft carrier and if he cripples it will win the campaign . I fire my torpedoes. Shakespeare is the defending player threatening to sink my carrier so I'm pretty sure he is going to turn to starboard. He's the death or glory type. He does, but because torpedoe rules require a little time to process we have decided to bin them. I now have to roll a d6 which comes up a 1 and I've missed because the dice have decided I'd guessed port. Except I didn't. I guessed starboard and might have saved the day. Instead marks gonna sink my carrier. No thought involved, I handed my game and possibly the outcome of a campaign to a dice roll when there is a perfectly good set of rules that actually require me to outthink my opponent. We are thinking war gamers chaps. I know torpedoe rules slow games down, they always have but....
If we are going to surrender everything to chance , I'll just bring James's 40000k figures and a pair of jeans that show my arse crack
We could always allow a plus 2 when rolling against Mark?
I always add +2 when I roll
Jon - that's not what I said. I was clarifying the main rules and providing a couple of alternatives...
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