3 replies to this topic

[jwsleser]

In the link is the AAR of our latest training game with GQ3. It was a fun time with some ships one doesn't normally see on the table. We have another game scheduled for this upcoming Thursday. 

 

https://themanchuria...n-27-june-2026/

 

v/r  Jeff

[W. Clark]

Nice AAR. I can see where destroyers would have helped. First, they could have smoked Dunkerque and the cruiser to protect them from the IJN fire while you were still closing the range. Strasbourg's BB belt armor allows her from 18,000 yards and beyond to be almost immune to the Kongo's 14 inch. A few lucky hits (you would be hitting on 1 & 10 inside 21,000 yards) might have given the advantage to the French at the start. And as you pointed out would have greatly helped a withdrawal if all did not go well otherwise. The French shoot on par with the IJN, so anything that gives them a chance to inflict damage early before a general engagement is a good idea.

 

WMC

[Peter M. Skaar]

Great AAR with blow by blow description.  It looks like it was a great game.

[jwsleser]

Thank you. It was a fun game, especially when playing with French ships. I had a new player commanding the French battleships. I hinted a few times to keep the range long, but I let him play the game. 

 

As I indicated in the AAR, we kept it simple playing without destroyers. Torpedoes are such a game changer because they hit far too often than recorded in history in all naval rules and a hit or two pretty much takes a ship out of action (the latter is historical). However they need to be a serious threat to have players react to them rather than ignore them. The limitation of using any sided die combined with the eagle eye view/understanding of the table makes realistic odds of torpedo hits difficult, if not impossible to simulate on the table. GQ3 torpedo rules are about as good as it can be and still keep the play mechanism fairly simple. 

 

Our game this coming Thursday will be a night battle between cruisers. We both have experience handling destroyers but want to explore the night battle rules focused on acquisition and gunnery. This doesn't prevent torpedoes from hitting the water however.

 

v/r  Jeff