Seas of Thunder

Seas of Thunder is every bit a full-force strategic-level representation of the conflict on the high seas during World War 2. Players have to manage a global disposition of their warships with frequently too much ocean to cover and not nearly enough ships to cover it.

Each nation has access to the historical ships that sailed in the conflict. Each country's fleets have advantages and disadvantages that are unique to them.

Germany: Small surface fleet but complemented with an ever-expanding force of Submarines. Reliance on Armed Merchant Raiders that can strike all over the globe. Additionally their use of Neutral ports allows them great flexibility in setting up their plans and forcing the Allies to respect the entire battlefield.

Great Britain: Superior warships in quantity but not as new as the German Fleet in general. All of the ships operationally tied to a global network of bases. Care and forethought is required at the start of each game regarding their deployment , as re-deployment will be challenging.

France: Quality Ships that will be bounced from side-to-side over the course of a game. Their disadvantage is moving first and opening themselves up to being savaged each time they leave port.

Italy: Has strong ships and local superiority in the Mediterranean. A lack of wartime building means that Italian losses are not replenished at the rate the Allies are, so each loss feels more permanent and damaging.

Soviet Union: Respectable ships and submarines are countered by the fact that they are forced into restrictive fights on three or four fronts (Baltic Sea, Arctic Ocean, Black Sea, and Pacific Ocean). Each of these fights are usually balanced agains the Russians, but they must at least threaten on all of them to alleviate pressure on the other Allies.

Japan: Begins the war with a huge fleet of varying and unique ships. They are easily a match at first for any opponents. As the war progresses, the USA and UK begin to rise up and challenge them for dominance. The Japanese player has to understand their limits and not over-reach with what feels like unstoppable power.

USA: Starts off the game with plenty of ships and plenty of holes to fill. The Pacific is brutal with Japan processing so much power. But the Mediterranean needs shored up, not to mention the Atlantic war against the U-boats. "Over-reach" will be the watchword for the day as the American commander. As the game progresses, the power shifts in your favor, as do the responsibilities.

What's in the Box

Seas of Thunder may not have every ship in the conflict, but it has the ones you know.
1 Mounted Map (Double-Sided with pre-Pearl Harbor scoring on one side and post-Pearl Harbor scoring on the other)
1200+ Combat Ship counters (Capital ships down to Destroyer Squadrons, Submarine Grops, and Mine-sweeping Flotillas)
132 Convoy & Utility counters
14 Port Cards (1 per side for each of 7 scenarios)
Combat Sequence Cards for tracking combat
Plus sundry dice, rules, scenario details...the usual.

Y3