War at Sea Scenario: In Harm’s Way

July 28, 2008 - Games, Jonathan J. Reinhart - Tagged: , , , , , ,

On Saturday last we discussed the 1st official War at Sea Scenario by Wizards of the Coast.  Action Deferred: The Battle of Cape Teulada pitted the British versus the Italians in the Med Sea. Before that we shared the scenario Lions, Tigers, and Bears: The Battle at the North Cape. This time we have the 2nd official scenario to share with all you War at Sea fans. The scenario is titled In Harm’s Way: The Battle of Sunda Strait.

We found this, and the first, scenario in response to a comment made by Dane in the Lions, Tigers, and Bears article. For a long time we’ve said that reader participation makes this blog excel and Dane’s comment is yet another example. He prompted us to do the legwork resulting in our sharing two more great War at Sea scenarios.

Firstly, there are some required equipment that you will need to play this scenario. Take a gander at the list below to make sure you have everything.

  1. Maps. Use Battle Map 6 from page 6 of the Advanced Rules Book.
  2. Scenario Rules. Download them, read them (you need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader), and print them.
  3. Ships and Planes. Allies take 1 USS Baltimore, 1 HMAS Sydney, and 1 HMS Javelin (reinforcements). Axis take 3 Kinai Maru, 1 Jintsu, up to 5 Yukikaze, 2 Myoko (reinforcements), and 1 Yukikaze (reinforcements).
  4. Dice, tokens, and other standard accouterments.
The scenario depicts a Japanese invasion of Borneo and a combined American, Australian, and Dutch force trying to prevent the invasion. Whichever player has the highest VPs at the game’s end is the winner.  Points are scored differently for each side.  The Allies get 4VPs for each Kinau Maru crippled, 8VP for each one sunk.  They also get 2VPs for each crippled Japanese DD and 4 for each one sunk.  Lastly, they get 2VPs for each crippled Japanese cruiser (Jintsu and Myoko) and the full points cost for sinking cruisers.

The Axis get 1.5 times the point value of every sunk Allied ship.  They also get 12VPs for each Kinau Maru that is not crippled or sunk by the end of game.  The game ends when there are no longer vessels of one side remaining.

There are other special rules dealing with Unloading Transports (Kinai Marus cannot move), Battle Shock (severe movement restrictions for the IJN), Night Surprise (a remedy for Battle Shock) and of course reinforcements. Looking at the house rules we advise against using them because the official WAS Rules Clarifications and special abilities for models in Task Force adopt some of those house rules.

Be sure to check back for more War at Sea Scenarios.