Description

Sink the Bismarck! is based upon the Battle of the Denmark Straits, May 1941."

"The game is designed to be played by a team or 'Flag Staff' determining the actions of each ship in their force. The Flag Staff can consist of any number of players; though recommend not more than 8 - 10 per staff. The staff must have one Admiral in charge of the staff and acting as commander of one ship, and a Flag Captain, commanding the second ship. The remainder of the staff is divided among three departments; the Navigation Department (NAV DEPT) responsible for ship movements, the Engineering Department (ENG DEPT) responsible for battle damage repairs and generating smoke screens, and the Operations Department (OPS DEPT) responsible for guns, torpedoes, and air operations. Each department executes its duties through the use of 'action cards' which they hold. These cards are described below.”

“During each turn, or hand, only up to two departments may contribute to the four action cards forming the hand for each ship. These four cards are placed next to the ships face down. Each round a ship commander turns over a card from the hand and the actions resolved. The commanders may, based on the course of events, change the order of the remaining cards to the played, or declare emergency maneuvers, however they cannot consult any other member of the staff unless using the Send Signals Card.”

“To simulate the pace of combat operations, admirals and their staffs have only three minutes to select and order all their cards. If any ship's commander is not ready at the end of the three minutes, play begins with the ready commanders.”

“The game can be played with either paper or model ships of various sizes on a large table top or floor. Scale can be set to whatever units are convenient for play; all movement and hit probability charts are based on generic 'unit distances.' One unit can equal 1 inch, 1 foot, 1 yard or any other unit of length which suits the dimensions of the playing area. For table top play, 6 inches per unit is recommended. For floor play, 1 foot per unit can be used.”