Hunters, The - German U-Boats at War, 1939-43 (1st Printing)

The Hunters is a solitaire tactical level game placing you in command of a German U-boat during WWII. Your mission is to destroy as much Allied Shipping and as many Capital ships as possible while advancing your crew quality and increasing your commander rank culminating in special decoration, all while remembering you have to make it home.

The Hunters is purposely designed to deliver a brisk yet intensive gaming experience that forces many decisions upon you as you will take command among the major German U-boat models in service during WWII, and try to complete an entire tour. If you ultimately survive all patrols from 1939 to 1943, you will be transferred to the U-boat Training Command for the remainder of the war, having successfully carried out your service for the Fatherland.

Those familiar with the classic Avalon Hill game title, B-17: Queen of the Skies, will come to enjoy the same type of gaming experience of the German U-boat War. All major U-boat models are accounted for with every level of detail including period of service, armaments, crew make-up, damage capacity, and more.

As U-Boat commander, you will be confronting many decisions during your patrol. To begin with, eight German U-Boat models are profiled and available for you to choose from. Patrol zones reflect the time period during the war at sea and will shift as the war progresses. All stages of the U-Boat campaign are represented as missions become increasingly more difficult as your adversary makes advances in anti-submarine warfare.

Conducting patrols is the heart of the system as you will be resolving encounters against individual ships, convoys, or even enemy aircraft. Situations you face and decisions you make suddenly come in quick succession:

How will you engage a convoy once spotted?

Do you close the initial target range at increased risk of detection for a more lethal attack?

If your engagement is at night, will you conduct a surface attack?

Do you launch one or two fire salvos, and how many torpedoes do you fire?

Will you try to follow a convoy or ship to engage in additional rounds of combat?

How will you slip away from escorts to avoid or minimize damage?

What evasive maneuvers do you undertake?

The major German U-Boat models are represented and accurately profiled for the patrols you will undertake:

Type VII A

Type VII B

Type VII C

Type VII D

Type VII FlaK

Type IX A

Type IX B

Type IX C

Patrol Assignments include:

Atlantic

British Isles

Spanish Coast

Mediterranean

Norway

West African Coast

North America

Arctic

Caribbean

The game delivers an historical narrative as 350+ ship targets are uniquely identified (including tonnage) with their historical counterparts that were sunk during the war, including freighters, tankers, and American ships.

Game System Highlights:

8 German U-Boat types represented

9 Patrol Assignments

350+ named shipping targets

Special Missions for Abwehr Agent Delivery and Minelaying

Combat encounters with individual ships, ships with escort, convoys, and aircraft

Daytime and Night Engagement including wolfpack patrols

U-Boat Damage includes flooding, hull, torpedo doors, periscope, fuel tanks, crew injury (by crew type), engines, hydrophones, flak gun(s), deck gun, batteries, radio

Crew Advancement, Commander Promotion including special decoration up to The Knight's Cross

Multi-player and Tournament Rule options (including Wolfpack Tournament)

Evasive Maneuvers, Patrol Abort, Variable Escort Quality, Resupply at Sea, Gibraltar Passage, Reassignment to Newer U-Boat, Torpedo Duds, Random "Historical" Events, and much, much more!

You are the Hunter -- but also the Hunted. Will you successfully carry out your patrols, advance your crew status, and ultimately be promoted and retire following a successful tour of duty?

Contents:

One 1/2" full-color, 2-sided countersheet (140 counters)

Rules booklet w/ Designer notes

Four Player Aid Cards, 2-sided

U-Boat Patrol Log Sheet

Four U-Boat Display Mats, 2-sided

U-Boat Combat Mat

Three 6-sided and two 10-sided dice

Complexity: Low to Moderate
Average Playing Time: Two-Three Hours
Players: One (with options for more players)
Solitaire Suitability: Very High
Replayability: Very High