Horn of Africa:
Fancy Carrier Cards
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
February 2020

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.

Down below is my kind of rough version of what these cards looked like in my brain, for the two aircraft carriers of Second World War at Sea: Horn of Africa. 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. Light armor is in blue because I liked that better than the standard hatch pattern, otherwise the symbols are just like the standard ship data sheets.

Formidable Carrier Card

Hermes 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.