"Surface Battle Group ... any AAR? Battle reports?" Topic

Howdie.

We've been gaming with Shipwreck for nearly a year now, and have been doing well. Still, I'd like to know more about SBG. I have previously played Harpoon, and am consciously not playing it, as I like a faster more fluid game, over a slower, more detailed, game.

Anyway, I have seen some discussion here on SBG, but have missed seeing any battle reports. Are there any to look at?

Or, more direct questions:

Does the game play with your miniatures placed on the table and moved about? (the way I'd prefer the game)

Does the basic game include stats for Cold War era vessels?

Is this game playable with a large number of vessels on each side (say 12-15… maybe broken up into groups for 2-3 players)?

I know that the game may require several add-on supplements, but we do that too with our DH/C7B system, so I understand the need for it.

Thanks!

Chalfant

Have played the game and LOVE it. I too am a bit phobic of Harpoon (who knows maybe I'm part Whale) however this game is very much along the lines of GQ 1st ed. in the Modern arena in terms of complexity and ease of play. The SSDs are laid out along similar, if simpler lines than GQ1. Most of the combat is quick and deadly, the rules are intuitive and my favorite is that its in a three ring binder format, not some overly glossy, overly hyped manual with lovely porno pics of painted lead that are "SBG Exclusively and MUST be used in tournament events etc…"

So the answer is yes to all three questions with the following caveat that in dealing with moderns you may not see a lot of ship movement on the board the way you would with a WWI or WWII game. Other than that its well worth looking into. I've played it at conventions with the designer running the game, one game a Persian Gulf scenario going hot against the Iranians and the other a Falklands War game. Its great fun and is calling me to start buying 1/6000 and 1/2400 scale ships for Cold War naval actions.

@ Tom Thank you for the brief overview of the rules. I too am a GQ1 fan and I have played Harpoon on the PC….

1/6000th all the way – great ships by (ex)Hallmark alongside AeroCap aircraft you can't go wrong.

Any reviews of SBG? I, too am interested.

I use 1:3000 Navwar, with a small number of 1:3000 Shapeways.

Thanks for the opinion Tom.

I like Shipwreck, it plays quickly (and ship engagements are usually over soon in that game too)… this is just a fact finding mission. I'd like to see some AAR or battle reports, something to compare to our Shipwreck games.

Chalfant

I haven't tried Surface Battle Group, though I'll investigate. However, I can recommend Mal Wright's CiC, a home-brewed variant to GQ1/GQ2 that works quite well.

Tracy Johnson hosts most or all the game files (including extensive ship/aircraft/weapons lists and stats), and some of the files are available at the Yahoo! GenQuarters group as well.

Thanks Ken. Can you direct us to any BatReps using CiC?