War at Sea Rules + Official Clarifications

NeuralDream · **NeuralDream**

Download here the Quick Start guide

and here the initial official advanced rules.

These were updated in Jan. 30 2009 with the revised official clarifications document, which you can download here.

The following post is the content of the rules clarifications document:
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My new blog, specialised in the military equipment of Greece (1821-today).

NeuralDream · **NeuralDream**

War at Sea
Update and Clarifications
January 30, 2009

Setting Up
Step 4: The first player selects either side of the map on which to deploy his fleet. Ignore the Player 1 and Player 2 setup area designations on the battle zone diagrams on pages 5 and 6.
If Aircraft are placed in the same sector as a Carrier, place them either on the Carrier model or touching it to indicate that they are based on that Carrier. The basing capacity of the Carrier must be observed. Also place a card matching each Aircraft unit beneath that Carrier's card. These
cards remain stacked with the Carrier's card until the Air Return phase; see Air Return Phase, below.

How to Win
Points can be scored in a third way:
• If your enemy has no Ships remaining in play, you score bonus points equal to the value of an objective marker in the scenario you're playing. Ignore Torpedo Boats. They don't count as Ships remaining in play for this victory condition. Victory is determined only at the end of the turn, not at the instant when a player reaches 150 victory points.

Sequence of Play
C. Air Mission Phase
Replace the existing Air Mission phase sequence with the following sequence.
• First player places one Aircraft unit.
• Second player places one Aircraft unit.
• Continue alternating placement until both players have assigned all their air missions.
• Aircraft can be placed in any sector on the battle map or on the land airbase. Once an air mission is assigned to the land airbase, however, all of that player's remaining air missions are automatically sent to the land airbase. The land airbase stacking limit still applies. Aircraft cannot remain on or be assigned to Carriers (although they can be assigned to a
sector containing a Carrier).
• Aircraft that are placed on the land airbase as their air mission do not receive rearming counters and are available for missions on the next turn.
• Aircraft assigned to strafing missions must be indicated during this phase.

E. Air Attack Phase
Aircraft can make Gunnery attacks against Ships only if they were committed to a Strafing mission during the Air Mission phase.
• When you place an Aircraft in the Air Mission phase, you must announce whether it is Strafing. To indicate this, place the Aircraft so its base straddles the bow or stern of the ship being strafed, or place some other type of marker.
• A Strafing Aircraft suffers a -2 penalty to Armor and Vital Armor.
• A Strafing Aircraft cannot use its Escort special ability.
• An Aircraft that isn't Strafing can't use its Gunnery value in the Air Attack phase.

H. Air Return Phase
When Aircraft return to a Carrier, place them in the same sector as the Carrier and either on the Carrier model or touching it. Also place a card matching each Aircraft unit beneath that Carrier's card. Those cards remain stacked with the Carrier's card until the Air Return phase of the next turn, when they can be rearranged by returning Aircraft to different Carriers or to the landairbase. If a Carrier is destroyed, one Aircraft unit matching each card stacked with that Carrier may also be destroyed; see Destroyed Carriers, below. During the Air Return Phase, Aircraft based on Carriers can exceed the normal sector stacking limit of four Aircraft but must comply with the Carriers' basing limits.

Movement and Position
Stacking
During the Air Return Phase, Aircraft based on Carriers can exceed the normal sector stacking limit of four Aircraft but must comply with the Carriers' basing limits.

Battle Map Features
Squalls: Squall rules are included for historical or player-designed scenarios. They never appear in the Standard, Convoy, or Major Engagement scenarios.

Attack and Defense
Torpedo Attacks in the Surface Attack Phase
Ships resolve their Torpedo attacks in the Surface Attack phase. The Torpedo Attack phase is now the Submarine Attack phase. During the Surface Attack phase, each Ship can attack one of the following target types:
Submarine: Make an ASW attack against a Local enemy Submarine.
Ships: Make Gunnery and Torpedo attacks against enemy Ships in range. A Ship can make both Gunnery and Torpedo attacks in the same phase. You can attack different targets with each attack. If your ship has multiple batteries, each battery may fire one time. A Ship can't, however,
make an ASW attack in the same phase it makes Gunnery or Torpedo attacks, and vice versa.

Torpedo Attacks in the Submarine Attack Phase
During the Submarine Attack phase, each Submarine can make one Torpedo attack against an enemy Ship in range (or a local enemy Submarine, if the attacking Submarine has the Submerged Shot special ability).

ASW Threat
The presence of ASW Ships and Aircraft interferes with a Submarine's ability to attack. A Submarine takes a -1 die penalty to Torpedo attacks (to a minimum of 1 die) for each of the following:
• Each enemy Aircraft that makes an ASW attack against the Submarine during the Air Attack phase (place the Aircraft so its base straddles the targeted Submarine or use a marker to keep track of Aircraft attacks);
• Each enemy Ship with an ASW value of 1 or better that is local or adjacent to the Submarine during the Submarine Attack phase.
ASW threats stack; if you have several destroyers nearby, you can reduce a Submarine's attack to 0 dice or less. Special abilities apply normally, however, and abilities such as Wolfpack or Destroyer Killer may offset some of the ASW Threat attack penalty. Even if a Submarine's
Torpedo attack rating is reduced to 0 or less after all penalties and bonuses are assessed, its Torpedo attack is always a minimum of 1 die.

Small Ship Evasion
Destroyers and Torpedo Boats are naturally evasive and hard to hit.
• Extended Range: Destroyers and Torpedo Boats are immune to Gunnery attacks at range 4 or greater.
• Battleship Main Batteries: Battleship main battery attacks take a penalty of -2 per attack die against Destroyers and Torpedo Boats (they hit only on 6, but 6 still counts as 2 hits). This penalty overlaps (does not stack) with similar penalties such as Crippled. Use the worst penalty that applies.
• Torpedo Attack: Torpedo attacks can't hit Torpedo Boats.

Line of Sight
Units in the Island's Sector: Some units can enter island sectors. A unit in an island sector has its line of sight out of the sector blocked and therefore can't attack units outside of that sector. Likewise, units that are inside an island sector can't be attacked by units that are not in that island
sector. A unit in an island sector can attack other units in the same sector if it has the appropriate attack type.

Aircraft and Airbases
Carriers
Destroyed Carriers: If your carrier is destroyed, you may lose Aircraft units, too. Select one of your Aircraft units matching each of the cards stacked with that carrier. You can't choose an Aircraft unit more than once, and you can't choose an Aircraft unit that is on the land airbase. If
no Aircraft of the type matching a particular card remains in play, then no Aircraft is chosen to be lost for that card. You can choose aborted Aircraft. Roll a die for each unit you choose. On a 1, that unit goes down with the Ship and is destroyed at the end of the phase (giving your
opponent points for those Aircraft). Otherwise, Aircraft remain in play when the Carrier is lost and return to your land airbase or to another Carrier during the Air Return phase.

Effects of Damage
Aborted
Aborted is a special type of damage. As soon as the aborted counter is placed, that Aircraft is immune to any further combat results. In all other ways, however, it functions normally until the end of the Air Defense phase. It can attack (if it hasn't already) during the Air Defense phase but
not during any later phase. See also Draw the CAP under Special Abilities.

Crippled
Crippled flagships don't add their flagship bonus to the initiative roll.
A crippled Ship or Submarine rolls one less attack die when making Torpedo attacks, if they have one (to a minimum of one). If that Ship or Submarine has a special ability that grants a bonus Torpedo attack die in certain conditions, then they still get that bonus die (two dice) when
attacking under those conditions.

Convoy Scenario
Fleets: The player escorting the convoy has 100 points to build a fleet, as described in the Standard Scenario. In addition, he receives 5 convoy Ships at no point cost. The player intercepting the convoy has 80 points to build a fleet.

Major Engagement Scenario
Stacking Limits: In a 500-point game, you may have up to 5 friendly Aircraft in the same sector.

Winning the Major Engagement Scenario: You win the major engagement scenario when you score 300 points (for a 200-point scenario), 450 points (for a 300-point scenario), or 750 points (for a 500-point scenario). The value of each objective marker increases to 100 points, 150 points, or 250 points, respectively.

Historical Fleet Restrictions
Ships with Class Limitations: Only classes numbering four or fewer individual vessels are noted here. The number of ships in the class is noted in parenthesis. If you're following the historical limits, don't include more than that number of that class in your fleet. For example, the
Bismarck class limit is 2. That means your fleet can include any two Bismarck-class ships, so you can build a fleet with two Bismarck, two Tirpitz, or one Bismarck and one Tirpitz. You may include as many as you like of ships not on this list.

Germany
Admiral Hipper (3)
Bismarck, Tirpitz (2)
Graf Spee, Admiral Scheer (3)
Graf Zeppelin (1)
Köln, Karlsruhe (3)
Scharnhorst (2)

Japan
Akagi (1)
Jintsu (3)
Myoko, Nachi (4)
Kongo, Haruna (4)
Shoho (2)
Shokaku, Zuikaku (2)
Tone (2)
Yahagi (4)
Yamashiro (2)
Yamato, Musashi (2)

Italy
Bolzano (1)
Duca D'Aosta, Eugenio di Savoia (2)
Giulio Cesare (2)
Vittorio Veneto, Littorio (3)
Zara (4)

Australia
Sydney (3)

France
Dunkerque (2)
Richelieu, Jean Bart (2)

Netherlands
De Ruyter (1)

United Kingdom
Ark Royal (1)
Exeter (2)
Hood (1)
Illustrious (4)
Rodney (2)

United States
Enterprise, Yorktown (3)
Iowa, Missouri (4)
Massachusetts (4)
Salt Lake City (2)
Saratoga (2)
Tennessee, California (2)
Washington (2)

Darkness
Many surface engagements in all theaters took place at night. Fighting at night presented fleet commanders with a variety of difficult challenges. The following rules for fighting in conditions of darkness are presented for use in constructing your own scenarios. They aren't used in the Standard, Convoy, or Major Engagement scenarios.

Air Mission Phase: You must make a search check each time you place an air unit. To make a
search check, roll a die:
• Patrol bomber: Search succeeds on 3+
• All other aircraft: Search succeeds on 5+
If the search check succeeds, place the unit normally. If the search fails, you must place the unit with an Aborted marker. Aircraft with Aborted markers don't even find their targets, and begin the Air Defense phase already aborted. They can't attack or be attacked this turn.

Air Defense Phase: All Ships and Aircraft take a -1 penalty per die on Antiair attacks. Aircraft that were aborted by failing their search checks in the Air Mission phase can't be fired at.

Air Attack Phase: All Aircraft take a -1 penalty per die on Gunnery, Bomb, and ASW attacks, and a -1 die penalty on Torpedo attacks.

Surface Attack Phase: Darkness affects Ship attacks as follows:
• Gunnery attacks of range 4 or greater are prohibited.
• Gunnery attacks against targets at range 1, 2, or 3 take a -1 penalty per die. However, this penalty does not apply if the target of the Gunnery attack was already damaged at the beginning of this phase or if the attacking ship has the Night Fighter, Improved Radar, or Radar Fire Control special abilities.
• Torpedo attacks are not penalized.

Air Return Phase: All fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers returning to a carrier or to your land airbase must make a recovery check. Roll a die: On a roll of 1, the unit is destroyed. Patrol bombers do not need to make recovery checks.

Using Darkness Rules in the Standard, Convoy, or Major Engagement Scenarios: We recommend specifying the darkness conditions for your game or tournament before you construct your fleet. Choose one of the following:
• Daylight: The battle takes place in normal conditions.
• Night: The battle takes place in Darkness conditions.
• Twilight: Flip a coin. On heads, the battle begins in normal conditions and changes to Darkness conditions at the beginning of Turn 4. On tails, the battle begins in Darkness conditions and changes to normal conditions at the beginning of Turn 4.

Random Determination (optional): If you and your opponent want a little more uncertainty in your game, you may determine the time of day randomly. This presents a real challenge for fleet construction, since fleets lacking in air cover or air defense may be dangerously exposed in day battles while fleets built around carriers and air units are almost useless at night. Roll a die after you select the battle zone:
D6 Result
1-3 Daylight
4-5 Night
6 Twilight

Weather
Rain, squalls, fog, and other such weather conditions played an important part in many engagements.

Determining Weather: If you and your opponent agree to include the possibility of weather conditions in your scenario, roll a die after you select the battle zone. On a roll of 1-3, the battle takes place under clear conditions. On a 4, place 1 squall marker; on a 5, place 2 squall markers;
on a 6, place 3 squall markers.

Squall Cards: You'll need a card or other marker to indicate the location of squalls. For convenience, mark your squall card 1 to 6 around its perimeter, so that each number clearly corresponds to an adjoining sector-side. This will make it easy to determine the squall's drift
each turn.

Placing Weather: The first squall marker you place goes in one of the two center sectors of the middle row of the battle map. The second squall goes in the other center sector. The third squall goes on one of the two end sectors in the middle row (flip a coin to determine which).

Effects of Weather: Squalls fill their sector and have the effect described under the Line of Sight rules.

Changing Weather: During each End of Turn phase, roll one die for each squall currently on the map. The squall moves 1 sector in the direction indicated (see Squall Cards, above). If the squall's movement would carry it off the map, it instead "rebounds" and moves 1 sector in the
exact opposite direction.

Special Abilities
Draw the CAP: As soon as a destroyed or aborted counter is placed on this Aircraft, enemy fighters are no longer required to attack it. Enemy fighters in the sector that have not yet made an antiair attack are free to select their targets normally.
Lay Smoke Screen: A smoke screen takes effect from the moment it is created until the end of the next turn. A smoke screen provides concealment to all units in the sector, including Submarines and Aircraft.
No Sea Control: Units with this special ability cannot claim objectives, but they do prevent an opponent from claiming an objective by being in or adjacent to that objective.
Slow: A crippled Ship with speed 2 and the Slow 1 or Slow 2 special ability has its speed reduced to 0 for the turn by rolling a 1 (or 2) at the beginning of your Sea Movement phase.

Card Errata
U-66: This unit's speed should be 1, not 2.
F6F Hellcat: This unit's Vital Armor should be 9, not 10.
USS Hoel: This unit's Lay Smoke Screen ability should read as follows:
Lay Smoke Screen—Instead of attacking during your Surface Attack step, this unit can make a local smoke screen. A sector containing a smoke screen blocks line of sight. A unit in a smoke screen has concealment. Remove the smoke screen at the end of the next turn.
USS John C. Butler: This unit's Lay Smoke Screen ability should read as follows:
Lay Smoke Screen—Instead of attacking during your Surface Attack step, this unit can make a local smoke screen. A sector containing a smoke screen blocks line of sight. A unit in a smoke screen has concealment. Remove the smoke screen at the end of the next turn.
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My new blog, specialised in the military equipment of Greece (1821-today).