He was the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon.”
– Winston Churchill in speaking of Commander of the Grand Fleet John Jellicoe
The Kaiser’s High Seas Fleet is a simple game inspired by John Edwards ‘War at Sea’ first published in 1975. Veteran players will recognize some of the original concepts. As this is a game of World War I, there are some important differences. One player takes the Central Powers, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. The other takes the Entente Powers consisting of Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and eventually the United States. Portugal and Greece are represented as neutral powers where docking and limited ship repairs are available for the Entente.
Players will move and fight the primary ships of the time, called Dreadnoughts, in order to seize and control ocean areas for Victory. The effect of the U-Boat campaign against Entente merchant shipping is represented by the placing of U-Boat counters in ocean areas to score victory points. The combat model is more refined than the original War at Sea system and reflects the fact that even in large engagements, like the battle of Jutland, very few Dreadnoughts were actually sunk.
The numerous Pre-Dreadnoughts that each navy has are represented but, since they were completely out of date by the commencement of the war, their effectiveness is greatly reduced. The game features a beautiful map by Artist Knut Grünitz and new colorful Dreadnought Counters for seven of the great powers.
Product Information:
- Complexity: Medium
- Suitability for Solitaire: High
- Time Scale: 1 Turn = 1 Season
- Map Scale: Variable (area movement)
- Number of Players: Two (suitable for solitaire play)
- Unit Scale: Individual ships and squadrons
- Average Time to Play: 4 hours or less
- Game design by Gilbert Collins
- Game artwork by Knut Grünitz
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