"super-simple WW2 rules" Topic

There must be such a thing surely? GQ3 is great if you've got an awful lot of time on your hands to study the rules, but what we want is something that will let us play out a game with a modest fleet including a carrier or two in a couple of hours without losing the will to live.

Original GQ rules. Excellent game, less headache, more fun.

I second the original GQ rules.
Here is a review and some info.
link

I don't think that GQ3 is complicated if you only focus on the bare essentials. The rules cover a lot of things that you normally dont need to use such as submarines, mines, aircraft, etc. All that is in their because some people like to use all those things. But if you just focus on movement, gunnery, and damage, there's really not much to it. It's really very basic and it plays quickly. I will admit that torpedoes do add a bit of complexity though.

I'd recommend you look at Battleship Captain from Minden Games. Air Ops are not included but we found it easy to add our own.

Yea, GQ1 and 2.

How about victory at Sea?

I have and played all GQ versions, and GQ3 isn't much more difficult, it just seems that way.

But that being said, I'm sure there are very easy rules. Like Salvo for example.

Axis and Allies War at Sea?.

GQ3 are not difficult; then if you need something really quick and simple probably look towards some boardgames, side rules from operational naval games. europa had some; others too Ask on boargamegeek.

this guy has made a gigantic boardgame game on ww2; inside his rules that you can download here, you have 10-15p on naval combat you can easily use.
jamesburnett.com/gameroom.htm

Another vote for GQ. It's a classic design, and still fun after all these years. Good luck finding a copy though….

I found the original GQ1/2 system to be way too slow and confusing for such a simple and abstract game, so I came up with a bunch of streamlining methods which I outline here. The main time savers were the pre-marked "range finder" sticks, color-coding of the dice and SDSes and rangefinders, and markers to show things on table instead of "making notes" somewhere. I also reduced the GQ torpedo system to a simple die roll instead of the overwrought system of secret notes, blind guesses and angle measurements. All of my work was on GQ2 for WWI battles, but the principles would apply to GQ1/WW2 as well.

Also consider Battle Stations! Battle Stations!, which was deliberately designed as a streamlined antidote to GQ. It plays very fast, includes rules for carrier operations, and doesn't seem to suffer from gamey gimmickry. I haven't played it much because I do mostly WWI (BSBS is strictly WW2), but it will probably my first choice for playing double-blind hide-and-seek Pacific carrier operations as multi-battle mini-campaigns (if I ever get any of those launched…).

The posters above are correct that GQ3 isn't actually all that difficult. The rulebook looks intimidating because it's so long, but in fact the core mechanics are pretty simple, and the level of detail you get is amazing for the speed of play and level of abstraction. It's a good game if you can put up with the somewhat different approach. The only reason the rulebook is so big is because it has rules for every naval operation you can imagine, and most rulebooks don't. Unless you're doing shore bombardments, landings, mine ops, sub ops, air ops, etc. you just ignore those sections anyway.

- Ix

GQ3 is very comprehensive, hence its size, but its core mechanics are easy to grasp.

GQ3 comes with quick start rules "Flank Speed". All of one page, with references to a few pages of the rule book. Can't get much more basic than that. Lots of detail that can be added later if you want.

Here is a link for a set of original GQ that's currently available.
link

Take the Avalanche Press Second World War at Sea series games and convert those to miniatures. Quick play, good gaming!

Send me your address at sigurd@eclipse.net. I'll send you mine. Full color, only eight pages, all charts, tables, and illustrations and even campaign game in those pages.They're called "Jayne's Frightening Ships 1937."

oschmidt
the tittle is so good. LOL

I would suggest to anyone wanting a copy of GQ1 or GQ2 to grab 'em if you see 'em. The current publisher (Navwar) is not going to do another printing, so what is out there is all there is. (In fact, Navwar only lists GQ1 on their website; GQ2 is unavailable from them).