Dreadnought (naval wargame)
| Surface Combat in the Battleship Era, 1906-45 | |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) |
John Michael Young Irad B. Hardy, III |
| Publisher(s) | Simulations Publications, Inc. |
| Years active | 1975 |
| Players | 2 |
| Age range | 12 and up |
| Playing time | 120 minutes |
Dreadnought is a naval wargame published in 1975 by Simulations Publications, Inc..
The game's name was inspired by the Dreadnought - a battleship used by the Royal Navy. The game had several features that were unique at the time of its publication. Every battleship and battlecruiser ever built for any country was available for use in gameplay. Unlike game boards commonly used at the time, the playing area had no fixed outer boundaries. Instead, the game was made up of four large blue sheets marked with hex grids. The sheets were placed side by side, and if a player sailed towards the edge, any unoccupied sheet could be picked up and moved to create a continuous playing surface, although a sheet of clear acetate placed on top of the hex sheets will help to keep them flat and assist in movement. That said the playsheets are not essential to the gameplay. With a little thought, you can substitute the hex moves with actual measured movement distances,allowing the use of games tables of your choosing. The game also included rules for making smoke screens and for maneuvering around torpedo attacks in order to minimize the number of torpedo hits. Several scenarios were provided with the game, including the Battle of the Falkland Islands and the Battle of Jutland. Any combination of ships could be used to fight any real or fictional surface ship engagement from 1914 to 1945. The game provides a way of fighting small/medium or large naval battles with a minimal amount of preparation, no expensive models to buy and paint (although model substitution is a possibility) and needs as little or as much gaming space as you want or can organize. In short, a real gem of a boardgame with the ability to adapt beyond its initial gameplay parametres.