Great War at Sea:
Pre-Dreadnought Tactical Adjustments
By Robin Rathbun and James Stear
April 2016

A recent Daily Content piece offered hard-core players a scan of the detailed advanced tactical rules from the first edition of the Great War at Sea: Great White Fleet book supplement. Written by Karl Laskas, the advanced tactical system rules were intended to add pre-dreadnought combat detail to early-era Great War at Sea games in print at the time, 1904-1905 and 1898. Both of these passed out of print more than a decade ago, however over 2012-2013 enhanced replacement versions, Remember the Maine and Russo-Japanese War, were published by Avalanche Press.

The mix of pieces in both games was revised, and the operational maps expanded. The new versions have far more (and we think better balanced) scenarios than their predecessors, and include historical interludes/commentary in the scenario books to further the historical flavor. 

While Jim provided some special rules in the new version scenario books to better reflect combat in the pre-dreadnought era using the standard Great War at Sea tactical system, many fans have expressed a desire to try Karl’s more-detailed tactical rules with the new games. As such, we’ve developed instructions for adapting the scenarios in Remember the Maine and Russo-Japanese War to the advanced tactical rule, and have also provided an updated list of historical speed ratings for the ships in the new games. Enjoy!

You can download the rules and speed ratings here.

Fire when ready!  Let every man do his utmost duty!  Put these rules to use!

You can order Russo-Japanese War here

You can order Remember the Maine here