"Anyone here still play Seapower II?" Topic

I have been fiddling with the damage charts on Seapower, allowing for variable results for hits, and plan to try them out this weekend. I know there are better sets out there but after playing this regularly for 10 years or so in my youth I think I am hard wired for this set.

Does anyone else still use these and developed any interesting mods?

The engagement I plan is a mid 1942 "what if" between the USN and the Regina Marina. All ships are 1/1200s.

US:
USS Michigan (BB1937 XVI 12-14")
USS Minnesota (My 1934 US BB)
USS South Dakota (BB-57 Old Superior)
USS Tuscaloosa
USS Wichita
USS Portsmouth (Scout Cruiser)
USS Brooklyn
8 DD, including a few of my new "Never Were" DDs)

Italian
BB Tuscany (UP 41 class)
BB Roma
BB Littorio
PB Cristoforo Columbo ( My 770 class)
CA Trieste
CL Duca D'Aosta
CL Garibaldi
6 DD including 1-2 ex- French.

Maybe subs, too.

The Tuscany will be played by a Littorio as I don't have a mini for the UP
41….yet:)

It will be an Italian breakout from a captured base at Gibraltar. I have a raft of scenarios based on the timeline proposed in James' Thayer's book "S-day", where Operation Sealion takes place in May 1942. In my thoughts, Spain would
have come in on the Axis side and Gib would fall in late 1941. The USN would concentrate on keeping the Regina Marina bottled up while the RN concentrates on the Kriegsmarine further north.

Hopefully I won't be overcome by a nap or anything.

Dave

I played Seapower II with a bunch of other Sailors a few years ago, bought up a big group of Japanese ships. Then I moved and haven't played since (no-one interested in WW2 naval where I live now). We played with the GHQ 1/2400 ships and a 1"=1000 yards groundscale that everyone was familiar with (naval plotting table scale).

I can see if I have the expanded damage charts (on the computer, that is) that one of the old-timer Gunner's Mates came up with for the 20" guns and 24" armor belts.

I'd discourage the subs, to be honest. Just like airplanes, they just don't interface with the rest of the rules very well. Aircraft versus ships works tolerably, but adding surface ships really slows the game down. And subs generally didn't attack warships, they tended to go for the logistical trail (merchants).

Well, I chickened out and cut the engagement back to:

May 1942
West of Azores
USS Minnesota (My 1934 US BB)
2 DDs (my new US 1500 ton class with 6-5"/25s)

Versus

Italian Commerce raiding group
PB Cristoforo Columbo (My 770 class)
CA Gorizia

I uses expanded damage charts that allow a range of damage for each hit (nice to have Excel and access to 11X17" paper!). I always thought the hit results in SPII were less than realistic and way understated.

Basically it was a half hour battle resulting in the Cristoforo Columbo being sunk, the Goriza limping away with 60+ damage while the Minnesota suffered 15% damage. Both US destroyers were chewed up by the Cristoforo Columbo's 6" guns. Rather than chase down the Gorizia, the US decided to let the DDs torpedo the sinking Cristoforo Columbo and send her on her way. The US BB suffered 5-12.6" hits and 6-8" hits. These would have resulted in next to no damage on the original charts. Most of the damage to the USS BB happened from a lots of reds and high damage rolls in the last move the Cristoforo Columbo was combat worthy. Four more 14" hits and ten 5" hits the same turn put her in sinking condition With my charts, the 14" did from 6% to 26% damage to a DV18 ship.

I gave the Minnesota a DV of 3 like the North Carolina. I may revise that in future engagements to 4. The Cristoforo Columbo had a DV of 18 similar to German pocket battleships.

I also need to reduce the SRMs, like in half, or also put some variability in the ammount ships can put out in salvoes. The first turn in my house rules is always at .5 SRM for ranging.

Dave G
The PT Dockyard/Shangri-La Ironworks
ptdockyard.com