AGAINST THE ODDS # 47 Arctic Disaster

1-ATO047

In the hardest fought Arctic convoy battle of the war, Convoy PQ-17 was largely destroyed by German air and naval forces in July 1942. Arctic Disaster, by designer Mark Stille, examines this pivotal battle and what went wrong (for both sides).

Re-create the voyage of PQ-17 as it transits Arctic waters en route to northern Russia. The game system is built around the uncertainty of task force activation, replicating the weak command and control evident on both sides. The Allied player is challenged to use his assets wisely to run the convoy through and exact painful losses on the Germans. The German player has to carefully weigh the possible gains in, or losses from, using his most effective (but precious) capital ships versus unreliable air and undersea weapons.

Arctic Disaster features individual counters for every ship and submarine, while the Luftwaffe is represented by 9-12 aircraft groups. Surface to air combat, surface combat, and anti-submarine combat is modeled with a clean system steering the players clear of an elaborate combat resolution process - permitting quick play and multiple game iterations. Detection is also handled in a manner so as not to overwhelm other game functions.

Components: One full color 22x34-inch mapsheet; 280 full color die-cut counters; Rules 16 pages; Charts and tables: 2 pages; Complexity: Medium; Solitaire: Poor; Playing Time 12 to 15 hours.