War At Sea (1975)

War at Sea is a simple strategic wargame covering the Battle of the Atlantic and naval warfare of the Mediterranean in WW2.

The game divides the Atlantic into 6 sea areas. Each turn the players move their ships from port countries to one of the areas.

After all ships have been moved, a battle occurs. After a number of rounds, until one side or the other retreats or loses all of his ships, the player with ships left takes control of the area and a scores a number of "Points of Control". (Exception: German U-boats only have to survive one round anti-submarine combat and may stay in the area, even if the area has Allied ships. The Allies cannot score if a U-Boat occupies the area.)

Additional points are also earned for convoys successfully crossing the Atlantic to England or Russia (for a BIG three POC).

Variants:
There was an expansion available called War at Sea 2 which added more ships, a larger map, and modified rules.
The WAR AT SEA 2 game components included in the Expansion:
22" x 24" unmounted mapboard (replaces the original board)
1 Counter sheet (adds more ships to the original counters)
3 Player aid cards
-- Two Allied OBs
-- One Axis OB
1 Rulebook (replaces the original rulebook)

Avalon Hill Complexity rating - 1

Expanded by:

• War at Sea 2

Related Microbadges:
Naval Wargamer Microbadges:

War at Sea (1976) Revised 1977, Revised 1980
Avalon Hill revised existing published design
Designed by John Edwards
Development by Don Greenwood

John Edwards is the exclusive importer of AH games in Australia. His company ( Jedko Games) also prints several games of his own design. After considerable redevelopment, AH introduced these playability-emphasis games to an enthusiastic American audience. Later editions made minor changes to the rules as well as adding a play balance change in which the American ships enter with increasingly lower die rolls.

This game listing is for the Avalon Hill second edition published in 1976. The first edition as a separate listing under The War At Sea.

Magazine References:

The GENERAL Index Article List:

• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.4
  • Series Replay - War At Sea Richard Hamblen, Mick (Mike) Uhl, Don Greenwood
• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.6
  • War At Sea – “Tirpitz & The Die-Roller” (Discussion) Craig Ransom
• The GENERAL Vol.14,No.3
  • War At Sea – “War at Sea & The French Navy” (Variant) Dr. Joseph Connolly
• The GENERAL Vol.14,No.4
  • Victory in the Pacific, War At Sea – “Victory at Sea” (Variant) Richard Hamblen
  • Victory in the Pacific, War At Sea – “Additional Zones of Control, Ship Counters” (Insert)
• The GENERAL Vol.15,No.3
  • War At Sea – “War at Sea and The Russian Navy” (Variant) Sean Canfield
• The GENERAL Vol.15,No.5
  • War At Sea – “Tournament Level War At Sea” (Tournament Game Rules additions to WAS Rules) by Richard Bauer
• The GENERAL Vol.15,No.6
  • Victory in the Pacific, War At Sea – “Realistic Victory at Sea” (Variant) Kurt Kimball
• The GENERAL Vol.16,No.3
  • War At Sea – “The Ships of War at Sea - A Look Behind the Names On the Counters” (Design Commentary/Historical) Kevin Duke
• The GENERAL Vol.16,No.5
  • War At Sea – “Montgomery at Sea - Or How To Play The Allies In War At Sea” (Strategy) Joe Pellicia
• The GENERAL Vol.17,No.1
  • Series Replay - War At Sea Alan R. Moon, Richard Hamblen, Don Greenwood
• The GENERAL Vol.17,No.6
  • War At Sea – “War at Sea '81 - In Defense of Historical Verity” (Discussion/Strategy/Variant) Jim Davis
• The GENERAL Vol.18,No.4
  • War At Sea – “British Strategy in War At Sea - Or Six Ways to Domination of the European Theater” (Strategy) Ray Freeman
• The GENERAL Vol.22,No.6
  • “Commander's Notebook” (Commentary) By Robert D. Harmon
• The GENERAL Vol.28,No.4
  • War At Sea – “Rheinubung on the Chesapeake-The 1992 Avaloncon War At Sea tournament” (Discussion) Bruce Monnin

Panzerfaust and Campaign Article Index:

• Number 76 November-December 1976
  • Starship Troopers / War At Sea / Caesar at Alesia / Lankhmar / William the Conqueror - 1066 / Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes / Mind War / War of the Sky Galleons / Atlantis 12500 B.C. / Edgehill 1642 / Crete 1941 / Tunisia 1943 / Der Fuhrer / Avalanche: The Salerno Landings / Battle for Midway - Decision in the Pacific, 1942 / Burma - "Thumbnail Analysis" (Review), Don Lowry