"GHQ's MIcronauts: The Game WWII-First Impressions" Topic

I just received a copy of the new WW2 naval rules from GHQ called Micronauts: The Game WW2 and thought I would share some observations with anyone who was interested.

Price: Usually $24.99, but it's currently on sale at the GH site for $14.99 USD

Rules Layout: First off, the book is excellent quality, with glossy paper, color charts and tables, and there are very nice pictures of GHQ naval miniatures throughout the book. The rules take up only 48 pages, with the rest devoted to scenarios and data cards for the ships. The rules are well laid out and anyone who had played naval games will grasp much of what is said pretty quickly. The rules cover minefields, night actions, and ASW warfare, so not much gets overlooked.

Complexity: Not as detailed as Seekrieg and probably a little less complex than Command and Sea. Definitely more complex than General Quarters.

Scenarios: Ten are included, ranging from small actions in the Med to full blown airstrikes at Coral Sea. The tenth scenario is a very good looking Malta Convoy campaign that looks as if it would be fun to do. There is also an excellent scenario generator that looks as if it could provide numerous battles at the spur of the moment which is a great idea for naval gamers.

Scale: Each turn represents six minutes.

Most Notable Feature: The combat system has a unique approach where a firing ship must attempt to "straddle" the target with its salvos. Once this is accomplished you determine how many shells from the salvo actually hit the target.

Most Notable Problem: The counters and combat charts would have to be copied from the rule book , but because of the binding that would be difficult at best. However, GHQ is offering the charts and additional material for free at their web site.

Overall: This system looks interesting and I will definitely give it a few tries. Our group did a short playtest of this system a long time ago(its been in development for awhile), but there's been changes since then and this final version looks good. My guess is if you want something more detailed than General Quarters, but not in the realm of CAS or Seekrieg, ,then this could be the set for you.

Thanks for the review/observations. Are the ships well covered or do you have to fabricate your own stats? Some ships changed a lot over the course of the war if they were lucky enough to get that far.

Michael

When you say its more detailed than General Quarters, do you mean GQ1/2 or GQ3?

More so than GQ3 in the way the game plays. By that I mean it's just under the Command at Sea threshold for complexity. GQ3 covers a lot of stuff as well as this set of rules, but the combat system here is just a little more complex than GQ3. There are stat cards for the Italian, German, British, U.S., and Japanese navies, plus I'm told that there will be additional supplements coming out.

How does it compare to Victory at Sea? I am interesed in getting into WWII naval warfare, but don't want a game that requires an engineering degree to play.

I've never played VAS, but from looking at the forums, materials, and reviews, I would say it is on the low end of the complexity scale. This set of rules would be above VAS in terms of complexity, but you don't need an engineering degree as the gunnery tables, torpedo charts, etc.., do all of the work for you. For the sale price it's a pretty good deal, even if you just use it for the scenarios and the scenario generator which can be used for other games.

Thanks for the comments on MNtG. As a first-time rules (co) author, it's good to see how others perceive your effort.

Middle of the road complexity is exactly what Russ and I were aiming for. Somewhere between not tracking each shell fired, but knowing the numbers of guns remaining in your broadside, was the target.

Happy to answer questions on mechanics, philosophy, or discussions of "the best battleship ever built".

John Drye