| Murloo | 04 Apr 2022 5:23 a.m. PST |
I know of the "big" complex ones like General quarters, but i'm looking for something very fast, very easy so that i can get multiple people with little to no experience on a table and play. Is axis and allies War at Sea a good system for that? I already sometimes play Victory at Sea (new edition) and it is relatively quick, but it bogs down a lot when using large fleets with multiple Battleships and Carriers |
 Extra Crispy  | 04 Apr 2022 5:52 a.m. PST |
Task Force by Ben King. Damage is a simple track and ships lose speed and guns proportionally. Hitting is just "roll your range or more" with guns rated by die (short range guns roll a d8, long a d 20, etc.). |
Ed Mohrmann  | 04 Apr 2022 6:19 a.m. PST |
I've used Panzerschiffes for many years. The range
of resin models available for use with the rules
is immense. Fairly simple gunnery and torp rules. |
| Thresher01 | 04 Apr 2022 6:48 a.m. PST |
General Quarters, especially the two older books, are NOT big nor are they complex. They are some of the simplest, and best rules available for naval game play. The newer version is slightly more complex, but not overly so. |
| Big Red | 04 Apr 2022 7:16 a.m. PST |
General Quarters 1 and General Quarters 2 are not big, complex games. They also inexpensive and are available from Navwar: link |
 Yellow Admiral | 04 Apr 2022 7:47 a.m. PST |
Victory At Sea is one of the simplest naval miniatures games around, so I'm guessing your problem isn't complexity, but rather somewhat clunky mechanics. You should take a look at Find, Fix and Strike by David Manley (and maybe the WWI version Si Vis Pacem). Simple, fast, designed with fleet actions and air power firmly in mind. If you can find it, there is an older set of rules called Battle Stations, Battle Stations which was easy to learn, fast to play, and handled large fleet actions really well. If you don't mind using hexes, you could also use the tactical rules from the Second World War At Sea boardgame series by Avalanche Press. It's basically a super-simple naval miniatures game on a board, and also designed to make large fleets and air power easy to integrate. Thresher01 and Big Red are correct: the original General Quarters (WWII) and General Quarters 2 (WWI) are not complex at all. The rules were only a half dozen pages of rules in 8.5"x5.5" books, and had no subtle or complex rules mechanisms. There really aren't any simpler naval rules around. Some of the mechanics were a bit clunky in operation, but I found ways to streamline them with color coding, props and markers. I used them to play very large fleet battles in just a few hours many times. These are still my go-to rules for Jutland. General Quarters 3 is a completely new game – it has nothing in common with GQ1/2 except title, ground scale and author. Literally everything else is different. It is a more complex system, but the basics are pretty easy to learn. I find it plays at a pretty good pace with a GM who is very familiar with the rules and a modest number of ships and players. I also converted it to IGO/UGO to speed up play (pre-plotting is always a time sink). All that said, I don't think this is what you're looking for. - Ix |
| BillyNM | 04 Apr 2022 10:44 a.m. PST |
I have them but never tried them – NAVWAR Naval Wargame Rules for WW2 Coastal Warfare by B Chalkley. |
 Saber6  | 04 Apr 2022 11:16 a.m. PST |
Battle Stations! Battle Stations! is another to look at. Players control Task Forces (multiple divisions of ships) and not too down in the details on each ship |
| Major Mike | 04 Apr 2022 12:23 p.m. PST |
Junior General has three scenarios than would probably fit the bill. Not only are the rules free, you can also download info to make paper ships, also free. There is The Battle of Guadalcanal link Midway link and, Sink the Bismark link |
| Striker | 04 Apr 2022 1:51 p.m. PST |
Naval Thunder is pretty quick and easy. |
| lapatrie88 | 05 Apr 2022 6:55 p.m. PST |
Consider David Manley's Find Fix and Strike at Wargames Vault. As mentioned by Yellow Admiral :) |
| skirmishcampaigns | 08 Apr 2022 7:35 p.m. PST |
We switched to Naval Thunder and really like it. |
| Bozkashi Jones | 19 Apr 2022 10:26 a.m. PST |
Another in agreement with Big Red and Thresher – the original General Quarters are very easy to pick up and are good to play. It will depend on how big a fleet you want to have – I would say GQ is good for half a dozen ships a side for inexperienced players, maybe a dozen or so for experienced (though as I game mostly RN v. KM I rarely have these numbers!). If you want big battles, like the Pacific Theatre or some of the Mediterranean fleet actions, then I would also always go for Battlestations! Battlestations! Nick |
