Mystery Subsim #67

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by LobsterBoy

Looks like the board game Silent War from Compass Games

Spot on, mate. Silent War



From the review:

Before there were subsim computer games naval enthusiasts enacted their sea battles on board games. At the turn of the 20th century H.G. Wells and Jane's Fighting Ships developed rules for games with miniatures. Soon mainstream game companies such as Milton Bradley (Battleship), Avalon Hill (U-Boat, Submarine), S&T (Wolfpack), and others followed. When I was a kid, I even created my own submarine board game to recreate the experience of stalking the enemy convoys in the open oceans. Since the personal computer became as common as the toothbrush, board games have diminished in favor of computer simulations that handle all the calculations for rule and record keeping as well as display 3D graphics and sounds equal to any movie. Where a computer sim manages this behind the scenes and presents the player with the continuously updated tactical situation, a board game requires the player to track all these elements. The more in-depth the game, the more labor-intensive the game becomes. For players who are used to a few mouse clicks to sink a ship, a board game can be daunting. Yet despite the numerous tasks involved in playing a board game there remains a sizeable group of fans. For them, Compass Games offers Silent War, a highly detailed US Pacific WWII submarine game.

Chad, you were right, somehow the initial image in MS#66 was overwritten, so I fixed that, thanks.

Mystery Subsim #68 is on the way.

Neal