Dog Boats - Battle of the Narrow Seas

Dog Boats: Battle of the Narrow Seas is a solitaire, tactical-level, narrative-driven wargame. You, as Commander, will lead a squadron of 4 Royal Navy gunboats or torpedo boats on night missions against German Kriegsmarine forces in the English Channel during 1943-1944.

Dog Boats covers the months from June 1943 to June 1944. Based in either Plymouth or Lowestoft (England), your primary goal is to intercept and sink as many Kriegsmarine merchant ships and tankers as possible. But that’s easier said than done, as Luftwaffe air patrols and Kriegsmarine warship patrols will do their best to stop you, along with determined Kriegsmarine convoy escorts.

Occasionally, you may be assigned a special mission, such as minelaying or commando team insertions along the French coast. Other hazards you and your squadron will likely face are bad weather with heavy seas, plus a variety of random events.

Dog Boats models two playable Royal Navy boat types- the heavily armed Fairmile D gun boat, and the sleek Vosper 72' torpedo boat. Up to 15 individual boat crewmen or crews may be injured or killed during missions, but if they do survive long enough, their skills will improve. The game also models individual boat equipment and components, such as wireless, engines, cannons, bilge pumps, etc. These components may be damaged or destroyed, perhaps forcing your boat squadron to break off the patrol early or maybe even disabling one of your boats in the heat of battle. Also modeled is boat squadron management, allowing you to manage boat assignments and repairs.

As a Royal Navy gunboat or torpedo boat squadron commander, your ultimate goal is to survive for up to 12 months of the war while at the same time sinking as many Kriegsmarine ships as possible without suffering too many squadron losses yourself. But be careful- play recklessly and lose too many boats, and you may find yourself relieved of command or even court-martialed! But perform well, and you will earn well-deserved medals, having the satisfaction of knowing you successfully served your country well.

Dog Boats is designed to be detailed yet remain accessible to even new players with no prior wargaming experience. Gameplay has been greatly streamlined by avoiding the need to memorize many complicated rules, yet it still retains a certain level of content, detail, and unpredictability which add to replayability. Most patrols can be completed within 20-30 minutes, with the occasional 1-hour patrol. The option to play quicker Short and Medium campaign games of 4 or 8 months is also included. Are you ready to serve for Queen and country?

Product Information:

Complexity: 5 out of 10

Solitaire Suitability: 10 out of 10 (designed for solitaire play)

Time Scale: 1 day per mission, 10 missions per month

Map Scale: Abstract

Unit Scale: Individual boats, ships, aircraft, guns, crew members, equipment, and torpedoes/mines/depth charges/rockets

Players: One (with option for two or more)

Playing Time: 20-60 minutes per mission, 5-15+ hours for full campaign game

Components:

Two Counter Sheets of 5/8" unit-counters (double-sided)

One Strategic Movement Map Board (mounted, double-sided)

One Fairmile D Gun Boat Crewmen Placement Board (Card Stock)

One Vosper 72' Crewmen Placement Board (Card Stock)

Two Combat Boards (double-sided) (Card Stock) 8.5" x 11"

One Boat Damage Log Sheet (double-sided) (Laminated Card Stock)

One Boat Squadron Status Sheet (Laminated Card Stock)

One Enemy Warship Status Sheet (Laminated Card Stock)

One Enemy Merchant Ship Status Sheet (Laminated Card Stock)

One Campaign Log Sheet (Paper Pad)

One Boat #1 Crew Status Sheet (Paper Pad)

One Boats #2-#4 Crew Status Sheet (Paper Pad)

Two Tables Books

One Rule Book

Four 10-sided dice, one 6-sided die, one 20-sided die, and one 4-sided die

Two erasable markers

Box and Lid