Mines in Great War at
Sea Tactical Combat
February 2013

One of the characteristics that sets Jutland apart from the other games in the series is that it’s very mine-intensive. The Germans loved to lay minefields rather than go out and engage the British, and the Allies sowed their fair share of mines as well.

Given the fact that most naval operations in Jutland take place in a relatively limited area within a short distance of the European coastline, there’s high probability that battles will take place on the edges of minefields. This poses a unique threat to the combatants and deserves its own optional rule and free downloadable counters (which can be used in any Great War at Sea game, if desired).

Download the new Mines counter here. Have fun!

Optional Rule 13.25: Mines on the Tactical Map

If surface combat occurs in a sea zone that has minefields on its boundaries, or where either player has “Mine” written on his logsheet for any of the zone’s boundaries, then some hexes on the tactical map contain mines and pose a danger to enemy ships entering them. This rule is an alternative to rule 13.23: Mines in Combat, so a fleet that leaves a tactical map with mines on it does not have to roll again on the Minefield Table if it crossed a mined sea-zone boundary when leaving. However, this rule does not absolve fleets from rolling on the minefield table when entering a zone where surface combat takes place.

Procedure

After both sides set up their ships on the tactical map, each player who has one or more minefields on the zone’s boundaries, or who has “Mine” written on his logsheet for any of the zone’s boundaries, may place Mine and Dummy counters face-down on the tactical map. He secretly selects a number of counters equal to the number of turns he has “Mine” logged on the zone’s boundaries for as-yet-unplaced minefields, plus four times the number of actual minefields he has on the zone’s boundaries. So, if a player has two minefields on a zone’s boundaries and has “Mine” written in three turn boxes for another as-yet-unlaid minefield, he selects 4 + 4 + 3 = 11 counters. Only half the counters the player selects (round fractions up) can be mine counters; the rest must be dummies.

He then places the selected counters face-down in any tactical map hexes he wishes that don’t contain enemy ships (no limit to number of face-down counters per hex). He can place dummy counters anywhere, but mine counters can only go within two hexes of shaded hexsides that correspond to sea zone boundaries where friendly minefields are located, or where the player has written “Mine” on his logsheet.

At least two mine counters must be placed within two hexes of the shaded hexside corresponding to each minefield’s zone boundary location. At least one mine counter must be placed within two hexes of each shaded hexside where a minefield hasn’t yet been laid but where “Mine” has been written at least once.

For example, if a player has a minefield on the zone’s western boundary and has written “Mine” three times on the zone’s northeastern boundary, he must place at least two mine counters within two hexes of the western hexside of the shaded ring, and one mine counter within two hexes of the northeastern shaded-ring hexside.

Once all mine and dummy counters are placed, combat may begin. Ships can freely enter, stay in and exit hexes containing only friendly mine and/or dummy counters with no danger to themselves, and the counters can stay face-down.

If one or more ships enter a hex containing one or more enemy mine and/or dummy counters, flip all face-down counters in the hex face-up and remove all dummy counters there. If any of the counters there are mine counters, they stay face-up for the rest of the game, and the moving player must roll once on the Minefield Table for each of his ships that entered the hex. Add +1 to the roll for every extra mine counter in the hex after the first one, and +2 if the ship entered the hex on Impulse 2, 5, 6 or 9 of the Impulse Sequence. Apply results and damage normally per rule 13.2, except that all the ships in that entered the hex must roll to see if they hit mines (none can stop and back out as in rule 13.24).

After all rolls are done and damage applied, play proceeds normally. Ships exiting a hex with enemy mine counters (and not immediately entering another one) do not have to roll on the minefield table. But, each ship which chooses not to move out of a hex with enemy mines on its movement impulse must immediately roll again on the minefield table.

Mine counters are never exhausted; once they’re flipped face-up they stay in the hex for the rest of the battle, and enemy ships entering a hex with them must roll on the Minefield Table.

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