Cruel Seas Scenario Development

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

I volunteered to do a demo game of Cruel Seas for an upcoming historical gaming day.  The parameters are I needed to have a scenario playable by up to four players and it needed to show off the main features of the game without overwhelming a new player. I also need the scenario to use my models and I needed them to be fully painted before the demo game

I decided on taking the Invasion scenario and modifying it. As written, the scenario calls for the Kriegsmarine to defend an amphibious operation while the British attack. As I don’t collect the British (currently!) and some of the German vessels aren’t likely to be available in time, I decided to make the Germans the attackers and the US Navy the defenders.

The first playtest resulted in a slaughter of the USN fleet. We had positioned the landing craft to far away to hit the beach in time so they got wiped out before making landfall.

The second playtest resulted in the Germans being wiped out before they got within range of the landing vessels.

So the final modifications are that the 8 foot length of the board is cut down to 6 feet and that the defending vessels start one foot away from the Western board edge. Additionally, we’re adding a small island to 1) add visual interest to the board 2) provide some line of sight blocking terrain and 3) force the players to do some maneuvering instead of just charging hell bent for leather at each other.

After playing the game today we’ll also be modifying the force list slightly but I’ll cover that some more later.

[blipvertus 12359xp 2]

This table is 8 x 4 so the Germans start closer at the 6 foot mark. We used a small island in the center but we’ll use a slightly larger one so both sides can be out of LOS of each other but also slightly more spread out.

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

Forces.

Top photo are the US forces.  Three Higgins PT boats and one Coast Guard Sub Chaser  The four LCM-3D and the one LCI of the landing force are essentially on autopilot and will be controlled by the GM.  The start stationary and only go straight.  These landing forces will use their own dice and they’ll only get two dice, one for the LCI and one for all four LCMs.  The LCMs will use the convoy rule which basically means they all perform the same order at the same time.

Game length is 8 turns and the extremely slow LCMs will barely have time to cross and land.

Bottom photo is of the German forces, two S-38 boats, a minesweeper and a Vorpostenboot.  That’ll probably change before the demo day.

 

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

The German forces do s pincer movement while the USN rushes out to meet them.

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Top photo: German S-boats maneuver close to the island while the heavier vessels swing wide.

Second photo: The three PT boats concentrate on the S-boats but those torpedoes remain a threat to the heavier German vessels

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

Yep, torpedoes

Two passed harmlessly past the minesweeper and one missed the Vorpostenboot astern but one nailed her on the starboard bow taking 2/3rds of her hull points at one go

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

Top photo: A lucky hit on a PT boat causes one of it’s torpedoes to detonate taking out the boat

Second photo: An S-boat finally succumbs to concentrated gunfire and goes down but not before it’s torpedoes launch  at the LCI.

Third photo: Landing craft plod along

Fourth photo: Torpedoes starboard beam!

Fifth & Sixth photos: Missed!

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

First Photo: Turn into them!

Second Photo: Threading the needle!

Third Photo: Surrounded on all sides, the minesweeper is raked by gunfire

Fourth photo: Collision! The sub chaser almost cleaves the PT boat in two.  We decided we didn’t care for the collision rules as written so we give the boats a chance to avoid the collision similar to the way they avoid ram attacks

Fifth Photo: The second S-boat also dies but managed to launch another torpedo. Note that it only launched one because if it fired the starboard torpedo that one would have hit land.

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

Top photo: Forgot to mention that the minesweeper got a lucky shot from the forward 3 inch gun and nailed the LCI leaving it with only one hull point

Second photo: a badly damaged LCI beaches

Third Photo: an orphaned torpedo finishes off the LCI

Fourth photo: after multiple hits and a collision, the minesweeper is gone!

Fifth photo: the colored dots are the sum points for the torpedoes.  If the torpedoes get jostled on the table, this helps to realign everything.

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

Fairly happy with the balance but we’ll probably change  German forces to three S-100 boats and the minesweeper.

The 100 boats have armored bridges and more firepower than the 38s and we think one additional fast boat will provide more of a threat to the landing force than the slower Vorpostenboot.

The minesweeper will be kept as it’s pretty  tough, nice long range firepower and gives the defenders a torpedo target. Remember, this is a demo game and we want both sides to see as many of the game mechanics as possible.

I’ll post more photos as we finish up the terrain and from the actual demo day games.

[templar007 52376xp 0]

Well done!  @blipvertus

 

I’ve not bought into these game……….yet.

 

I’ll have to have a look around for a video demo to watch.

 

Thanks for posting!

[limburger 21706xp 0]

@blipvertus : it looks great and it sounds like it is a fun game.

Are these torpedo models part of the starter set ?

How is a beginner going to know which ships are his ?
It’s a bit gray vs gray so I would expect myself to kind of lose track mid-game.
Or is this why the bolt-action order dice are there ?

[blipvertus 12359xp 1]

@templar007 thanks! It’s a fun game with lots of “water cooler “ moments. Hmm, might film the demo. Might take awhile as I don’t edit video very often.

@limburger the torpedoes are part of the base game, fleet boxes (a mixture of torpedo boats and other vessels) as well as flotilla boxes (all torpedo boats).

As for telling the boats apart, it hasn’t been an issue. But each torpedo boat and LCM is numbered and the larger vessels are one of a kind.  Might name the larger ships at some point.

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