Horn of Africa:
Map Preview
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
September 2020

For the new Playbook edition of Second World War at Sea: Horn of Africa, I decided to expand the operational map to full size. It probably wasn’t the wisest business decision I’ve made, but it’s way cooler than the original.

The original map only covered the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. That’s actually a good bit of watery real estate: the Red Sea is very, very long. We printed that map on heavy cardstock, but when we moved to the Playbook format, I figured it would be easier to assemble the game with a paper map than with cardstock. And a paper map could be significantly larger, which meant we could add all sorts of new seas never touched by Second World War at Sea (or, as far as I know, any naval game).

The new map, also by the legendary Guy Riessen, stretches out to the east into the Arabian Sea. We add the Gulf of Oman in the north-east, and to the north the Persian Gulf. Which turns out to be smaller than I thought it would be.

All of the action in the Horn of Africa scenarios takes place in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, so you don’t really need this new map. But let’s face it. You need this new map. We’ll use it to tell some more stories about the Second Great War at Sea, and from the Great War at Sea, too.

It’s all about the fun. And this map is simply more fun:

Open in a new tab to embiggen it.

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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 needs no further extension.