Naval Wargames Rules for the Dreadnought Era - 1906 to 1918
by Graham Short
with revisions and additional material
by Alan Butler and Andrew Finch
Description
These rules are quick and simple to play, providing a fast game of naval action in the era of the Dreadnought between 1906 and 1918. In the scale we use, 10cm represents 1 nautical mile to 10cm. The rules incorporate weather, spotting, submarines, aircraft, shore batteries and minefields. They take account of Crew Quality and allow for the use of Contact Markers to represent the initial uncertainty of exactly where the enemy forces might be.
The gunnery system is simple and you roll 1d10 to hit with each gun. When you score a hit, an innovative damage system takes account of the gun calibre and range to determine which type of dice is used to test for penetration and the amount of damage inflicted. Torpedo and Mine attacks use a similar mechanism, so there is a consistent feel throughout the combat system. Not all guns can engage all vessels, and the largest guns have a minimum range. Simple aircraft rules allow for air attacks against ships and for air to air combat.
In line with the intention of the rules to provide a simple system, armour is standardised for each type of vessel, and guns are grouped by calibre into 10 classes. Detailed differentiation between the performance of specific guns and ships is not present.
A collection of ship data is provided covering significant vessels from 10 nations in this period, with over 300 vessels. A simple conversion system allows you to create game data for ships not in the lists provided.
The rules also include the Order of Battle and pre-prepared data sheets for all the ships that took part in the Battle of Jutland.
Product Support
When accessing the files laid out below, the following rules apply:
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Quick Reference Sheets
Quick Reference Sheets for Jutland (Edition 2.1)
Rules Support
Gunnery and Torpedo Firing Arc Templates, a Turning Template and blank Ship and Aircraft Record Sheets for use with the 2nd Edition of the rules are available in the following PDF:
Jutland 2nd Edition Rules Support Package
Clarifications
Please see the Rules Updates below for clarifications appplicable to earlier editions.
Errata
There are no Errata at the moment.
Rules Updates
Jutland Rules Updates (July 2018)
New Data
There is no new data at the moment.