Atlantic Chase

Atlantic Chase utilizes a system of trajectories to model the fog of war that bedeviled the commands during this period. Just as the pins and strings adorning Churchill’s wall represented the course of the ships underway, players arrange trajectory lines across the shared game board, each line representing a task force’s path of travel. Without resorting to dummy blocks, hidden movement, or a double-blind system requiring a referee or computer, players experience the uncertainty endemic to this period of naval warfare. This system also has the benefit of allowing the game to be played solitaire, and to be played quickly.

The German player’s task is clear: sever Britain’s lifeline to its overseas colonies and allies.  All hangs on the fate of convoys. Ultimately, success or failure in Atlantic Chase will hinge on the Kriegsmarine’s ability to breakout into the Atlantic and find convoys while frustrating British attempts to catch his raiders. The game chronicles the development of the Royal Navy’s strategy to contain the German fleet by pitting players against each other in five successive operations that comprise a Campaign Game. Seven additional scenarios treat specific historical actions, including a Sink the Bismarck scenario, a PQ17 scenario, and the Channel Dash. The game features battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, convoys, and pocket battleships, while U-boats, elusive armed merchant raiders, and air assets play an important role too. Operations during the Campaign Game and stand-alone historical scenarios each take 1-2 hours to play.

Will the German player do what the Kriegsmarine never managed, execute a large-scale coordinated operation knocking Churchill to his knees? Or will the Admiralty catch and destroy Germany’s great battleships before they become an unanswerable force?

COMPONENTS

•     22 x 34" mounted game board
•     Two 8.5"x11" Inset Maps
•     Three 11"x17" player aid cards
•     Two 8.5"x11" player aid cards
•     Two Task Force Displays
•     Sheet and a half of counters
•     240 wood segments and cylinders
•     Rule book
•     Advanced Battle Rules
•     Tutorial booklet
•     Solitaire Scenario booklet
•     Two-player Scenario booklet
•     Four six-sided dice