Gin Palace:
Fancy Carrier Cards
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
July 2016

During the early design stages of the game system that became Second World War at Sea, I wanted each aircraft carrier to have a fairly detailed card including a picture of the carrier. On the card, the player would move aircraft pieces between the hangar and the flight deck and then on to their missions. I just thought it would be cool to “process” the aircraft on a deck view of the carrier.

And there are no carriers in the Second World War at Sea series any cooler (or stranger) than the converted hybrid versions of the battleship Agincourt found in the Gin Palace variant in the Golden Journal Birthday 2016 edition. So you pretty much have to have these fancy carrier cards for them. They’re in color, with the aircraft carrier basing boxes (use them just like the plain ones included in the game) plus the ship data from the hit records. You can mark off hits with counters or coins, or slip the card into a sleeve and mark on it with a grease pencil just like a real staff officer. The heavy-armored hull and primary boxes are in gray; otherwise the symbols are just like the standard ship data sheets.

Tasmania Carrier Card

Szent Laszlo Carrier Card

Agincourt Helicopter Carrier Card

Agincourt Aircraft Carrier Card

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Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and award-winning journalist, he has published over 100 books, games and articles on historical subjects. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children and his dog, Leopold. Leopold never growls.