| Surface Combat in the Battleship Era, 1906-45 | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the flat-box version, 1975 | |
| Designers | John Michael Young Irad B. Hardy, III |
| Publishers | Simulations Publications, Inc. |
| Years active | 1975 |
| Players | 2 |
| Playing time | 120 minutes |
| Age range | 12 and up |
Dreadnought, subtitled "Surface Combat in the Battleship Era, 1906-45", is a naval board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975.
Dreadnought is a wargame that simulates battles between battleships.
The game includes: [1]
Counters are provided for every battleship that sailed from 1906 to 1945. [2] Several historical and hypothetical scenarios are provided. Each game turn represents 15 minutes in the battle. Elements of pre-radar ship-to-ship combat are present, including rangefinding, torpedoes, gunnery, and damage control. [1] If ships sail off the edge of the map, another map piece is placed so that the map is extended in that direction.
The game comes with 7 scenarios: [3]
Dreadnought was designed by Irad B. Hardy and John Young, with artwork by Redmond A. Simonsen. It was published by SPI in 1975 as a full-sized boxed set and as a flat-box with a clear plastic lid. It was a bestselling game for SPI, rising to the top of SPI's Top 10 list the month after it was released, and staying in the Top 10 for a year. [4]
In a 1976 poll of wargamers conducted by SPI to determine the most popular wargames published in North America, Dreadnought was very popular, placing 7th out of 202 games. [5]
In Issue 2 of Perfidious Albion , Charles Vasey didn't like the 'North Cape' scenario, noting it was "not a good scenario", and pointing out the set up issues that resulted in non-historical results. But Vasey found the Jutland scenario "works pretty well." Vasey concluded "I found Dreadnought a very interesting game, giving an apparently realistic simulation of surface naval combat ... it gives me pretty well all I wanted." [3]
In Issue 54 of Games & Puzzles (November 1976), Nick Palmer noted that this game was more of an operational game than a tactical game, but still felt the game had "sudden changes in fortune and tension over every salvo." He commented that the interest of the game was increased by "an unusually well-thought-out set of scenarios, with some particularly attractive campaign versions allowing the players to choose their own forces for various specified tasks." He concluded by giving the game an above-average Excitement rating of 4 out of 5. [6] In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , Palmer continued in this vein, calling Dreadnought "an excellent game" and noting "Rather unusually in a naval game, the accent is on playability rather than enormous detail, and the result is fast-moving and frequently tensely exciting." [5]
In Issue 24 of Moves , Steve List compared Dreadnought to Avalon Hill's Jutland , and found that complex maneuvering in Jutland is difficult, but "since [Dreadnought's] mechanics of movement are simple and straight-forward. intricate maneuvers are quite feasible and can be considered the main point of the game." While List found that "Dreadnought is far more convenient to play", he thought that "Anyone interested in naval warfare should have both games in his collection." [2]
In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion thought this game could be adapted to the classroom, saying, "The game does not provide for multiple players but there is a lot of room to introduce more than one on a side." [7]
Conquistador, originally subtitled "The Age of Exploration: 1495–1600", is a board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the exploration of the New World in the 16th century. Players take on the role of European countries sending expeditions to find gold and establish colonies. Although the design uses the trappings of board wargames such as a hex map, combat is not a major part of the game.
Tobruk, subtitled "Tank Battles in North Africa 1942", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1975 that simulates tank combat in North Africa during World War II.
Golan subtitled "Syrian-Israeli Combat in the '73 War", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates operational level ground combat between Egypt and Israel on the Golan Heights during the just completed Yom Kippur War of October 1973. Golan was originally published as part of the "quadrigame" Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts.
Sorcerer, subtitled "The Game of Magical Conflict", is a fantasy board wargame for 1–5 players published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates magical combat.
La Bataille de la Moscowa is a board wargame published originally by Martial Enterprises in 1975, later republished by Game Designers Workshop in 1977, and by Clash of Arms in 2011.
'CA': Tactical Naval Warfare in the Pacific, 1941–45 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates surface naval battles during the Pacific Campaign of the Second World War.
The Fast Carriers, subtitled "Air-Sea Operations, 1941–77" is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates naval combat involving aircraft carriers from 1941 to the mid-1970s.
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Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four modern-day battles set in the early 1970s.
Musket & Pike, subtitled "Tactical Combat, 1550-1680", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates combat in Europe during the transition from edged weapons to firearms in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Tsushima is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1975 that simulates naval battles during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Tsushima was part of a two-game collection titled The Russo-Japanese War. The second game in the box was Port Arthur, which covered the land combat during the war. The two games could either be played separately, or combined into one master game.
Blue & Gray II, subtitled "Four American Civil War Battles", is a collection of four board wargames originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that each simulate a battle from the American Civil War. It is the sequel to Blue & Gray published earlier in the year. Each of the four games was also published as individual "folio games."
Frigate: Sea War in the Age of Sail is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1974 that simulates naval combat in the 18th and 19th century Age of Sail.
Jena-Auerstadt: The Battle for Prussia is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates the twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt in October 1806. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Napoleon at War, but it was also released as an individual "folio game" packaged in a shrinkwrapped cardstock folio. Jena-Auerstadt was rated highly in a 1976 poll of favorite wargames, but critics questioned whether its simplicity was capable of simulating a complicated two-part battle.
The First World War, subtitled "August 1914–November 1918", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates World War I.
Torgau is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1974 that simulates the Battle of Torgau between Prussias and Austrians in 1760 during the Seven Years' War, a costly battle for both sides. Reviews were generally favorable, although gameplay was characterized as very long, complex, and more similar to traditional miniatures wargaming than board wargames.
Mukden: Sino-Soviet Combat in the '70s is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates a contemporary hypothetical battle between Soviet and Chinese forces near the city of Mukden. It was one of four games that were part of the "quadrigame" titled Modern Battles: Four Contemporary Conflicts, but it was also released as an individual game. In a 1976 poll, Mukden was the least popular of the four games in Modern Battles.
Oil War: American Intervention in the Persian Gulf is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates a hypothetical invasion of oil-producing countries in the Middle East in response to the oil crisis of 1973.
Sinai: The Arab-Israeli Wars – '56, '67 and '73 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates three conflicts in the Middle East: The 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1967 Six-Day War, and the just-completed 1973 Yom Kippur War. The staff of SPI had been developing a wargame simulating a hypothetical Middle East conflict when war broke out in October 1973. Using newspaper and television reports, SPI found that their envisioned simulation was not accurate, and quickly redeveloped the game, releasing it only weeks after a ceasefire had been signed. The game proved very popular, and remained a best-seller for SPI during the 1970s.
