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Timed order
Advanced activation order
Reaction order
Types of orders Basic activation orders
Orders are one of the central concepts of Naval War. Orders The orders in the box on the left side of the command station are
determine what your ships can and cannot do during a game turn. your basic activation orders. These are the orders used to give
There are four different types of orders in the game: your squadrons or single ships their basic instructions like moving
- Basic activation orders or shooting. Activation orders are played in alternating order, so if
- Advanced activation orders you have just activated a ship or squadron, your opponent can
- Timed orders now activate one of his.
- Reaction orders
It is allowed to perform orders multiple times in one turn, just The basic activation orders cannot be disrupted, more on that
keep in mind that no ship or squadron can perform the same below. The cost of any activation order is one order token.
order twice unless it is noted on the command station.
Officers
opponent’s actions. Again, these orders will cost you one order
token each. It is not possible to play a reaction order in response
to another reaction order. A roll of 2+ is required to perform the Every fleet in Naval War is led by an officer. Of course in a real-life
order. fleet there are multiple officers even on a single ship, but for the
sake of simplicity your Naval War officer represents the person
with the highest rank in your fleet. You can add a commanding
officer in your fleet list together with the rest of your ships. If you
don’t, your fleet will be led by a Commander by default and,
depending on your fleet
composition, that might
not always be the best
choice. An officer provides
your fleet with command
ratings for small, medium
and large vessels (more
info on that in the
Command section on page
Disruption 19). Some officers might
Generating disruption tokens be more specialized in
At the start of the turn, after both players generated all their commanding one type of
order tokens (including officer tokens), both players check how ship over the other.
many order tokens the opponent has. They now each take the Besides their command
same amount of disruption tokens. In addition to that, some ratings officers sometimes
officers may also generate extra disruption tokens. provide bonus order- or
disruption tokens and
Disrupting your opponent confer some special abilities to the fleets they command.
In a perfect world all orders would be issued without delay or
misinterpretation. Still, since this isn’t a perfect world and the Finally, the officer card lists the officers’ squadron rating. This
combat at sea was particularly notorious for its chaos and value tells you how many squadrons you may have in your fleet if
difficulty of keeping control of fleets in combat situations. it’s being led by this officer. Higher ranking officers are able to
Methods of communications were still lacking, and often order command more squadrons than lower ranked officers.
would be misinterpreted, ignored or not transmitted at all. To
Rally
Any ships that have broken off during this turn (including
ships breaking off during this phase) are allowed to try to
rejoin the battle. Check the command section on page 19 for
more details.
Air movement
All aircraft are allowed to move during this activation. Aircraft
will always move in a straight line towards their destination.
Check during movement if any interceptions take place. For
more details check the air section on page 20.
Damage control
A ship attempting damage control can try to repair damage
effects during their indirect activation.
Attack activations
An attack activation allows a squadron to select a target and There is no friendly ship within 10cm obstructing the
engage it with its guns, torpedoes or depth charges. Note that line of sight of the shooting ship
each type of attack requires a separate activation. Air attacks are The target is within range of the weapon
handled separately in their own section. The target is within the firing arc of the weapon
(front/side/rear)
An attack activation is made in the following sequence, resolve all
4 steps for each individual ship in the squadron (step one is If all the above conditions are met, the target is considered a legal
resolved for the entire squadron at once). You must combine target. Check these conditions separately for every ship that
equal weapon systems on the same ship if possible to reduce the wants to shoot. Note that targets are selected for each ship in the
amount of rolls necessary. squadron before any dice are rolled.
1. Determine target
Measuring distances
2. Hitting the target
Distances for movement and/or shooting are measured from any
3. Determine damage
part of the hull of the ship. Ignore protruding masts, guns,
4. Apply damage, system effects and command effects
antennae, cranes or other parts.
Determining line of sight
1. Determine the target Line of sight is determined the following way: Draw an imaginary
Any ship can shoot its weapons if the following conditions are
line from the bow or stern of your ship to the bow or stern of the
met:
enemy ship. Then draw another line from the center of your ship
The shooter can draw Line of sight to the target (see
to the center of the enemy ship. The basic rule is that the lines
below)
cannot cross. So for example if the ships are sailing in opposite
Landmasses
Islands and other landmasses block line of sight.
Squalls
Squalls may be present on the board. If a ship is sailing completely
within a squall, it cannot see or be seen further away than short
range. The shooting modifier for short range (-1) does not apply
and the ship also counts as being in cover. If the ship itself is in a
squall and targets a target outside of the squall (at short range, as
it cannot see further), the target still counts as being in cover.
Smoke
Smoke is artificially made by ships to provide cover. It is not Splitting fire
possible to shoot through smoke except at short range. A ship Ships cannot split fire between targets with the same weapon
even partially covered by smoke (excluding the ship that makes it) system. Still, each weapon system can pick its own target (so 14”
counts as being in cover. A ship covered by smoke also considers main guns are allowed to shoot at a different target than the 5”
its target as being in cover. In the end phase, remove any secondary’s for instance)
smokescreens that have been made last turn.
Roll all dice of identical weapon systems at once, so if you have a Beware! Torpedoes can hit your own ships if they happen to
weapon system on the front and the back of the ship, and they are stumble into the path of one of your own torpedo spreads. So
both targeting the same target, roll all dice together. consider carefully when to launch your torpedoes.
You may choose to intercept one enemy flight with several of your
own. In this case the intercepting aircraft will be rolling separately
for each aircraft in the dogfight (adding that specific craft’s
Dogfighting score) and using the highest of their results. If the side
with only one aircraft wins without destroying one of its
opponents, they choose which of the opposing craft is broken off
and then initiates another dogfight with the remaining opposition.
Mind that any plane that is still carrying bombs or torpedoes is Check how many dice have hit. All flights that have been hit must
considered to have a dogfighting score of 0. A player can select to break off. The attacker may still see if the flights made it out of the
drop the ordinance to restore its dogfighting score (select before AA-fire alive by making a dodge roll for each successful hit. This is
any dice are rolled), but this means that a plane that has dropped much alike the gunnery armor roll: The aircraft needs to equal or
its ordinance must head back to the carrier/tender/base at the beat the damage score of the AA to survive. Usually this damage
next opportunity. score is 7, so flights with a dodge rating of 3 need to roll a 4 or
higher to survive the AA and make it to the rendezvous point in
Escorting one piece.
Any flights that are not carrying ordinance at the start of either a
normal move or an attack run are assumed to escort any flights Overwhelm the defenses
that are within 10cm at the start of the movement. If any escorted If a squadron of ships is attacked by air a second time within the
flight is intercepted by an enemy flight, the escorting plane is same turn, all AA values of Dual-purpose guns involved (except
allowed to engage the attackers first. Move the escorting flight those of the target ship itself) are halved (rounding up) as long as
into contact with the attacker. If the attacker wins the the second attack wave does not exceed the number of flights in
engagement it is now allowed to engage any other enemy flights the first attack wave. This rule works the same for every
within interception range. It is not allowed to engage the attacker subsequent attack on the same squadron within the same turn.
another time with an escorting flight during the same turn. If the
escort wins the dogfight it is allowed to function as an escort for Resolve torpedo-, bomb- and gun attacks
another attack, after which it must break off for lack of fuel and Any flights that made it through any interceptions and AA fire
ammo. without being shot down or breaking off may now make their
bomb, gun or torpedo attacks. These are resolved in the same way
Attack – Aircraft as surface gunnery with the exception that no modifiers are
A direct activation is needed for flights to start an attack run. applied and that the attacking player may decide to roll the
Select an enemy target ship within 20cm of a friendly flight. Any attacks of each flight separately or combine attacks of identical
other flights within 20cm of the same target can join in the same flights. Note that aerial torpedo attacks are directly resolved like
activation. These flights will form the attack group. Note that an surface gunnery. This in contrast to the surface torpedo attacks,
attack group cannot ever consist of more than 8 flights. which are resolved in the end phase. This is because aerial
torpedoes were dropped close to their targets so they didn’t have
Initiating an attack run the long running times of their surface counterparts. After the
Select a target ship; aircraft are allowed to initiate an attack run if attack, all aircraft return to their rendezvous point.
they are within 20cm of the target. Any other enemy ship within
10cm of the primary target is also eligible as a target for this Landing flights
attack group. Move the aircraft in a straight line into contact with When a flight has spent its ammunition, it will automatically head
the target(s). Any patrolling aircraft that are allowed to intercept back to the carrier during the air movement indirect activation. If
can do so at the end of this move. it ends its movement within 20cm of the carrier it may land in the
end phase. Seaplanes based near a tender treat the 10cm area
Rendezvous point and breaking off around the tender as their airbase. Landed flights can be rearmed
The starting point of the attack is also the point to which any and refueled for future operations and may be re-launched next
flights surviving the attack will return after their attack run is turn. Note that if a flight cannot land because it would violate the
completed. Any flights intercepted during the attack run that did launch-land capacity of the carrier the flights will keep circling the
not get destroyed will also return to this rendezvous point. Any carrier until they can. Note that this is an abstraction because
flights that needed to break off during the attack must also return Naval War does not include the bookkeeping that is involved with
to the rendezvous point. keeping check of fuel stocks. The penalty for delaying the landing
of flights (and therefore their ability to take part in a new strike) is
Conduct AA fire considered enough to discourage players from keeping their
Ships that are within AA range of the target ship, including the aircraft in the air for too long.
target ship, can fire their weapons in AA support of it. If the target
ship is directly between the attacking aircraft and a ship Land based flights that have spent their ammo will head back to
conducting AA fire, resolve the AA after the attack but with a +1 to their entry point in the same way. However, since these planes
the dmg rating of the AA. If there is another ship between the need to fly all the way back to a land-airbase, these planes will
two, no AA can be fired by the outer ship. Repeat this for every have to spend an additional turn off-table before they can re-
new attack run. enter the battle.
Pincer attack
If a ship has been hit by a weapon or plane with pincer attack, any
other weapon or plane, attacking in the same phase from the
opposite firing arc compared to the last attack (so left-
broadside/right-broadside or front/rear) may reroll one of its
failed rolls to hit. Aircraft with this rule may move to the opposite
General Scenarios
Naval War facilitates many different modes of play. On the A carrier fleet may spend 50% extra points on its escorts but
website you will find historical scenarios, you will also find many cannot buy any escorts with the normal points allowance. Also,
‘Orders of Battle’ there. These Orders of Battle are meant for they need to spend at least 60% of their normal points allowance
players who want to create historically plausible fleets based on on aircraft (either carrier- or land-based).
points values. These fleet lists give your fleet a historical flavor
and allow for pickup and competitive games. The following To make things easy, we’ve put the most common game sizes and
chapter outlines this mode of play. their requirements and benefits in the table below:
1 - 3 Ships
Nagara-class Light Cruiser 21 points
Battle and support fleets
0 - 1 Ship 50% rule
Your Officer + Core fleet must contain at least 50% of the total
No fleet segment can be selected twice. A fleet segment can points available if possible. It is allowed to divert from this rule if
contain options for multiple ships of the same class, these are all core fleet options have been selected already. After settling on
cumulative and must honor the minimum stated number of ships, your officer and core fleet select your other assets from the
so the above example fleet segment needs at least one destroyer support options. This puts a natural limit on the size of the fleets.
to be able to field it. The maximum size of the above fleet Should players want to play fleets beyond the size of the available
segment is 3 destroyers and one light cruiser. Note that any points order of battle, you can try to build multiple fleets from different
values shown are costs per ship. fleet lists in an order of battle and combine them.
Submarines
Any scouting submarines can be deployed to investigate a contact.
Deploy the sub marker according to the scenario rules. As with
other scouts, the submarine may search any contact within 15cm.
However, if the contact turns out to be false or empty, the
submarine may move as normal using the submarine rules. If it
comes into range of another contact, it may scout these as well. A
submarine makes a search roll and needs to confirm a sighting as
normal (see below). A submarine may not surface until a group
has been sighted, and then needs to confirm to the usual rules for
surfacing.
Search roll
Roll a die for every contact token within 15cm of a friendly scout.
On the roll of 4+, an area has been searched and the opponent
has to reveal if the scout has found a contact (do not reveal if it is
real or false!) or not. If there was no contact, remove the token
from play. If the scout has found a contact, confirmation is
needed. If there are multiple contact tokens within 15cm of a
scout, multiple search rolls can be made. Note that a scout that
has made a search role cannot confirm a contact in the same turn.
Objectives
In this scenario, both fleets have the
same objective, to force the enemy
fleet out of the area while inflicting
as many losses as possible. The
strategic objective is to establish sea need to take a command check at the end of the turn, both fleets
control, and the enemy has to be dealt a decisive blow to achieve roll their command check. If both players fail the test before the
this. game ends, both fleets break off and the game is a draw.
Fleet Deployment
Both players deploy their core fleets in the core fleet deployment Special scenario rules
zone. Alternate deployment until there are no more deployment
options left. Squadrons that are eligible for deployment need to
Close- and distant support
be deployed first before any single ships are deployed. The
This scenario uses the rules for close-and distant support for both
defender starts by deploying his first squadron.
players.
Pre-game movement
After both players deployed their core fleets, any squadrons Calculating victory points
containing only small ships (count destroyer leaders as small ships After the game ends, each player counts his losses.
for this purpose) are allowed to make a free move of up to their - Add up the points of all sunk and broken off ships and destroyed
maximum movement distance as long as they don’t move nearer aircraft in your own fleet.
than 60cm to the closest enemy ship (100cm If the enemy is a ship - Count half the points (rounded up) of any ship that is crippled.
with the ‘scout’ special rule).
The player which has lost the least amount of VP is the winner,
Reinforcements consult the victory points table for the result.
- At the start of the second turn, both players roll a die, on a 4+,
close cover arrives, if a player fails the roll, his close support is
delayed for a turn but will arrive the next turn. Close support
enters the table anywhere from the players’ long table edge. If
there are no valid entry points available, ships may enter the
battle zone from the table corner in the core fleet deployment
zone, ignoring the minimum distance.
- At the start of the third turn, both players roll a die, on a 4+,
distant cover arrives, if a player fails the roll, his distant support is
delayed for a turn but will arrive the next turn. Distant support
enters the table anywhere from the players’ long table edge. If
there are no valid entry points available, ships may enter the table
from the corner of the core fleet deployment zone, ignoring the
minimum distance.
- Off-table air support may try to enter the battle zone in any turn
except the first. It arrives from the players long table edge.
Strategic objectives
In this scenario, both fleets have the
same objective, to establish air
superiority, either by sinking the
enemy carrier of forcing enough
losses on his air groups for him to
break off the action.
Fleet Deployment
Each player has one or multiple fleet segments containing a carrier Special scenario rules
according to the rules for carrier fleets. Each fleet segment
containing a carrier is treated as a separate squadron. This means Separate battle zones
that two fleet segments with a carrier cannot be joined, and a Since the opposing fleets are positioned hundreds of miles away
fleet segment containing multiple carriers cannot be separated. from each other, the battle zone is divided in two zones by a line
through the center. This line can only be crossed by aircraft.
Each carrier may be assigned an escort force from the escort Measure aircraft distances as in a normal game.
segments. These segments are not fixed and can be tailored for
each carrier squadron. For each carrier in the squadron, two Scouting rules
escort ships can be brought along, one of those may be of This scenario uses the scouting rules for both players.
medium or large size. The remaining escort ships are grouped into
a single, separate squadron. Calculating victory points
Each player calculates how many points they have lost during the
This leaves the player with one or more carrier squadrons and one
battle. They do this according to the following rules:
or no squadron with the remaining escorts.
- Count the full points for each carrier that was unable to launch
or retrieve aircraft at the moment the game ended
Reinforcements
- Count the full points for each ship that is sunk and broken off
Off-table air support may try to enter the battle zone in any turn.
and flight that is destroyed
It may arrive from any edge of the owning players’ deployment
- Count half the points (rounding up) for each ship that is crippled
zone.
The player which has lost the least amount of VP is the winner,
The end of the game
consult the victory points table for the result.
The game will last 8 turns but will end before that if one player
has no serviceable carriers left on the table at the end of a turn. A
carrier is considered unserviceable when:
- it is still broken off after two rally opportunities,
- when it has accumulated more than 6 fires and/or flooding
tokens
- when it is crippled or sunk
Objectives
In this scenario, the carrier fleet
needs to cripple the enemy fleet as
much as possible before the window
of opportunity is closed. Intercepting
this enemy fleet is crucial to the
larger strategic aims.
Fleet Deployment
The defender deploys his squadrons
in his deployment zone according to the scouting special scenario
rules. The attacker deploys any carriers in the designated attacker
deployment zone. This zone represents a location miles away from Calculating victory points
the battle zone. It is therefore not necessary for the attacker to Each player calculates how many points they have lost during the
deploy any other ships besides the carriers and their escorts (you battle. They do this according to the following rules:
might want to deploy them anyway) . - The attacker counts the points of each flight that is destroyed
- The attacker counts the full points of each carrier that has lost
Reinforcements more than half of its flights.
The attacker can call in any off-board air support from any table
edge. Treat the long distance boundary as a table edge for this Battle fleets and support fleets:
purpose. - The defender counts the full points for each ship that is sunk or
broken off and each flight that is destroyed
The end of the game - The defender counts half the points (rounding up) for each ship
The game will last 8 turns but will end before that if the defender that is crippled
breaks off its attempt to reach its destination. As soon as the
defending fleet has lost over 50% of its total points (counting Convoys:
broken-off ships as losses as long as they are broken off), the - The defender counts the amount of transports sunk. Each
defender’s fleet needs to take a command check at the end of the transport is worth 25 points. A convoy only counts half the points
turn, using the current command rating of the flagship. If failed, for each warship sunk, and no points for crippled ships.
the rest of the fleet breaks off and the game ends. If passed, the
game will last for one more turn. After that, the fleet breaks off. In Consult the victory points table for the result.
this case, the defender loses the game. If the defenders’ fleet
survived till the start of the 9th turn without breaking off, the
defender wins.
Scouting rules
The defender uses the scouting rules for deployment of his
squadrons.
Drawing attention
When an escort has an equal or higher AA value than a ship within
15cm that is under attack, it may draw the attention of a flight
that is attacking. Roll a die, on the roll of 3+ the flight has to attack
the escort instead.
Weather conditions
Roll a die, on a 1-3 the game is
played in Rough Weather conditions,
on a 4-6 the game is completely
played in Nighttime conditions.
Fleet Deployment
Both players deploy their core fleets
in their respective deployment
zones. Alternate the deployment of
squadrons until there are no more deployment options left. Special scenario rules
Squadrons that are eligible for deployment need to be deployed
first before any single ships are deployed. The player that choose Close- and distant support
the table side starts by deploying his first squadron. This scenario uses the rules for close-and distant support for both
players.
Carrier fleets:
Each carrier may be assigned an escort force from the escort Desperate escorts
segments. These segments are not fixed and can be tailored for Any carrier fleets or convoys are allowed one free ‘Make smoke’
each carrier squadron. For each carrier in the squadron, two activation before the first initiative roll. During the battle, the
escort ships can be brought along, one of those may be of opponent is only allowed to add one disruption marker to a ‘Make
medium or large size. The remaining escort ships do not take part smoke’ activation.
in the battle.
Objectives
In this scenario, the attacker needs
to take out the escorts to open the
way to the valuable assets they
were escorting
Fleet Deployment
The attacker starts with one
squadron on the table, deployed
randomly in one of the three attacker zones.
The defender can only deploy his core fleet in deployment zone B. Special scenario rules
He must deploy any carriers and/or transport ships in zone A with
the first ship in the designated location. All subsequent ships are Close- and distant support
deployed at a distance of 5cm of any other ships, forming a square This scenario uses the rules for close-and distant support for both
or rectangle. players.
Objectives
In this scenario, both fleets have the
same objective: to reach their target
area while suffering as few losses as
possible.
Fleet Deployment
Both players deploy their core- and their close cover fleets in Calculating victory points
their respective deployment zones. Alternate the deployment of At the end of turn 8, check how many points each player has
squadrons until there are no more deployment options left. moved into their respective destination zones. The player that has
Squadrons that are eligible for deployment need to be deployed secured the largest amount of points wins the game.
first before any single ships are deployed. The player that choose
the table side starts by deploying his first squadron. The following extra rules apply:
For battlefleet and support fleets – subtract the points of any
Reinforcements medium or large ship that has been crippled or sunk from the
- At the start of the third turn, each player rolls a die, on a 4+, point total of any ships within the destination zone.
distant cover arrives, if a player fails the roll, his distant support is For convoy fleets – Half the points of any ships in the destination
delayed for a turn but will arrive the next turn. Distant support zone, but each convoy ship is worth 25 points.
enters the table anywhere from the players’ long and short table For carrier fleets – Half the points total of any ships in the
edges. If there are no valid entry points available, ships may enter destination zone if not at least one carrier made it into there.
the table from the corner of the core fleet deployment zone,
ignoring the minimum distance. The player which has secured the most points is the winner,
- Off-table air support may try to enter the battle zone in any turn consult the victory points table for the result.
except the first. It arrives from the players long table edge.