View Single Post
Old 06-20-20, 05:00 AM   #1
HS
Bosun
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Germany
Posts: 67
Downloads: 20
Uploads: 0
Default Games and simulations concerning German WW1 Raiders

From my point of view it's a pity that the historical challenges of WW1Raiders (SMS Emden, Königsberg etc.) appear in some older board games only (very good example: the far seas, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4270/far-seas), but as far as I can see in no modern sim with dynamic campaign system. I can only remember "Strategic Naval Gunnery", which is unfortunately no longer usable.

The WW1 Raider topic is not only about the supposedly monotonous hunt for merchant ships, which historically even the boss of the East Asia Squadron did not like much. Questions of coal supply, machine damage, crew morale, misleading news, attacks on radio stations or ports with shelling or landing, searching for special convoys, surprise attacks on naval forces of the enemy with roughly the same strength would in my opinion provide many other interesting and historical elements for exciting asymmetric simulations and multi-hemispheric dynamic campaigns. Furthermore, game developers would have the choice between a more strategic game covering all oceans and raiders (corresponding to the far seas which contained 98 historic ship counters) or a more tactical game with responsibility for one ship (corresponding to silent hunter or uboat). And modern AoS shows that it is possible to integrate landing parties with dinghy into a simulation.

There is obviously a strange contrast between the high interest in this topic in the naval war literature and the low interest in the field of simulation development. I wonder if there will ever be such a WW1raider simulation? Personally, I would find it more interesting than many other new simulations on topics that have already been covered in dozens of ways and until then, I take comfort in solitaire mode (house rules)with the far seas...

BTW, here is a good review on tfs board game which at the same time illustrates the appeal of the subject: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/274...h-hide-cruiser

Cheers.

Last edited by HS; 06-26-20 at 08:46 AM.
HS is offline   Reply With Quote