Dreadnoughts & Battlecruisers
D&B High Seas Deluxe Ed.
D&B Captain's Ed.
Dreadnoughts & Battlecruisers:
High Seas Deluxe Ed.
8.5" x 11", 94-page color book
Standard game rules
Optional rules
320 1/3000 scale ship counters
(BB, BC, B, AC, CL, AMC, M
types, from Britain, Germany,
France, Italy, Austria,Russia)
Game markers
Solitaire module rules
Baltic module ships
22 scenarios (including Jutland)
Game logs and forms
Narrative Damage Tables
Design Notes & Commentary
Dreadnoughts & Battlecruisers:
Captain's Ed.
8.5" x 11", 64-page B&W book
Standard game rules
Optional rules
140 1/3000 scale ship counters
(BB,BC,B,AC,AMC,M types from
Britain, Germany, France, Italy,
Austria, Russia)
Game markers
Solitaire module rules
14 scenarios
Game logs and forms
Design Notes & Commentary
Dreadnoughts & Battlecruisers is a rule book providing a game system for two (or more) players covering miniature naval combat during the Great War (1914-1918). Players maneuver their fleets on the tabletop (or floor) to recreate actual and hypothetical encounters. The game is played with scale ship counters positioned and moved on the table top; there is no game board. (Players may use their own warship miniatures instead of the counters, if they wish.) Ships are maneuvered into firing range, when fire combat may occur. The winner of the game is the side that can inflict the most damage on the other.
Two editions of the game are available. D&B High Seas Deluxe Edition is described on the left, and contains the full system rules, ships, scenarios, and background commentary in a color book of 94 pages. D&B Captain's Edition is the same game (described on the right) but with fewer ships and scenarios and advanced optional rules and in printed in inexpensive black & white format and is meant for those who like the subject but would appreciate a cheaper option. (There is nothing in the Captain's Ed. that is not in the High Seas Deluxe Ed.)
D&B employs the same system used in previous D&B editions, with some minor improvements and updated rules. Since its inception, D&B has sought to provide a highly playable game what is rich in historicity, without getting bogged down by complicated sub-routines. All ships and rules are interchangeable between editions. With this game, you will be able to recreate naval battles between the national navies from around the world, with hundreds of warship counters provided in the pages of the book (including dreadnoughts, battlecruisers, pre-dreadnoughts, armored cruisers, light cruisers, merchants, and armed merchant cruisers represented), primarily from historical British and German navies, but with national navies of other nations as well. German and Austrian ships are Central Powers; British, French, Russian, and Italian are Allied.
Ship counters are rendered at approximately 1/3000 scale, with distance calculated at 1/36,000. This allows reasonably sized ships and a reasonably sized playing area that preserves the appearance of distance. Besides the game components, you will need three six-sided dice, and a yardstick or tape measure marked in inches.
This book is divided into various sections. Various historical and hypothetical scenarios, designer’s notes, and a Reference section are included. Additionally, dozens of warship facsimiles to play the game are provided in a series of Ship Counter Sheets.
Both editions contain a Solitaire module, allowing you to play the game solo. The Deluxe version also contains the Baltic module, with additional ships from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The Deluxe version is also available in PDF format, which is an excellent format from which to print and create ship counters. The best value for money is the Deluxe Ed. with PDF Combo, below. Designer: Gary Graber. Solitaire Module Rules: Bob Flood.
Sample pages from D&B High Seas Deluxe