General Quarters - The Third Edition is a fully detailed simulation of WWII naval warfare, using an easy-to-learn, fast-moving, playable system. It authentically simulates all the important aspects of naval warfare, without becoming bogged down in tedious game mechanics and involved calculations. The detail has been built into the game tables and Logs, to avoid your being swamped in a sea of minutia. Each player is a task force or division commander controlling multiple ships. Fire control and damage control are the responsibility of subordinates, and hence simulated by die rolls so the players can remain focused on tactics, maneuver and damage-control priorities. Combat results are quickly resolved and damage assessed so that the action keeps moving. Battles need only a couple of players, and can be completed in a few hours, allowing time for multiple engagements or participation in campaigns featuring the fog of war to outwit opponents.
General Quarters has been a standard for more than 30 years. Now, the third edition is completely upgraded to provide a more detailed and realistic simulation with a "saltier" feel, while still retaining its signature playability. It features a "no odds" gunnery system with locational damage, enhanced damage control, and a more intuitive and realistic torpedo system.
Aerial combat and submarine warfare are key aspects of WWII naval warfare, fully integrated in General Quarters. Choose between three different levels of aerial operations, from streamlined campaign-level rules resolving airstrikes with a few die rolls, to detailed tactical air rules integrated with ship movement, to optional rules for the air enthusiast. Similarly, submarine attacks can be resolved with a couple of quick die rolls, or full tactical convoy battles simulated with detailed interaction between ASW escorts and submarines, along with optional rules for anechoic coatings, HF/DF, etc. Campaign operations are also provided, with expanded sections for setting up and running campaigns, including search, contact, amphibious warfare, logistics, and merchant raiders. New optional rules cover everything from acoustic homing torpedoes to guided bombs to midget assault craft and more – it's all here for you.
Spend your time gaming, not filling out data sheets. General Quarters - The Third Edition contains individual combat charts for the six major WWII navies, more than 590 ready-to-use Ship Logs and Sub Logs, along with Formation Cards for more than 90 types of aircraft. In addition, free download amendment and bonus files are also available on the ODGW website. These include supplements for the navies of China, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Siam, the U.S.S.R., Spain and Sweden, along with the Cherry Trees (capital ships scrapped as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty). Each supplement includes informative articles, special rules, combat charts, aircraft Formation Cards, ready-to-use Ship Logs, and small craft data, along with multiple scenarios. Together, they provide unprecedented coverage of the navies of the first half of the 20th Century.
In addition, the Merchant Ship System (MSS) supplement contains ready-to-use Convoy Ship Logs and data on more than 400 merchant ships for download, along with a series of generic merchant, escort and submarine counters, in four popular scales, to color-print on cardstock for those who haven't already launched their own merchant fleets. The MSS provides everything needed to add merchant ships and convoys to your campaigns and tactical scenarios.
The GQ III Decisions at Sea series complements tactical action with an innovative campaign series built around a fast-paced, decision-based system that eliminates the dreary traditional campaign map-plotting and bookkeeping. The Solomons Campaign covers the decisive back-and-forth struggle in the South Pacific between the I.J.N. and the U.S.N, complete with nerve-racking carrier battles and deadly night actions. The system is taken to a new level in the Sudden Storm Campaign, based on war breaking out between America and Japan in 1937. This provides many new challenges amid political geography very different from the WWII in the Pacific you know. Sudden Storm is your time machine to the Golden Age of 20th Century Naval Warfare.
General Quarters - The Third Edition – together with Fleet Action Imminent (the companion WWI ruleset), downloads and the campaigns – enable you to simulate the full spectrum of naval warfare in the first half of the 20th Century. Recreate historical engagements or simulate a myriad of "what ifs" with ease using General Quarters.