Warlord Games Count Down To Launch Of Victory At Sea
March 9, 2020 by brennon
Warlord Games is counting down to the launch of Victory At Sea as pre-orders go live on Wednesday this week. If you're into 1/1800 scale engagements on the high seas then Warlord seems to have you covered with fleets for different theatres of war.
At the head of this will be the Battle For The Pacific Starter Set which will give you the chance to play as both the US and Japanese forces in World War II. The set comes with everything that you need to play the game, guiding you through the rules and into some scenarios which bring additional elements into the mix.
Warlord are going to be discussing the rules in more detail over the coming weeks but I would imagine it is going to be exploring many familiar concepts for those who like their naval games. The rules manual included in the set covers how to give orders, special rules, the use of aircraft and more. You'll be able to use carriers, kamikaze attacks, dogfights and more from the off as you plunge into the War At Sea scenario that has you battling it out with the two fleets.
Talking of the two fleets, here they are...
Each set gives you a rather nice mix of larger vessels followed by a selection of destroyers for good measure and escort duty. There is something rather evocative about seeing these ships, laden with guns and ready for anything on the high seas.
The war in the Pacific isn't something that we generally focus on here in Europe, even in our history lessons but of course, it was still a massive part of the war effort. It will be fascinating to dive into the background that is also presented in this book and learn more about the clashes between the US and the IJN around the islands of the Pacific.
Expanded Fleets
As well as the options from the Starter Set, you'll also be able to pick up a bunch of Starter Fleets too. So, if the battles in the Atlantic are more your thing then make sure to keep an eye out!
Whilst you'll have access to more ships which bolster the forces of the US and IJN Fleets you'll also find that you can grab boxes for the Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine.
So, if you'd prefer to fight out the battle in the Atlantic and those terrifying crossings for convoys as they got hunted by U-Boats then this could well be the option for you. Talking of that, there is a new film coming out soon called Greyhound with Tom Hanks in it which is well worth taking a peek at...
Maybe you could see yourself playing out this exact scenario across a selection of different games? I think this kind of game is ripe for campaign-based gameplay where you fight out a series of engagements across days or weeks, mirroring the struggles of these fleets as they sought to just survive on the high seas.
Pre-Order Bonuses
As with all new releases from Warlord Games, you'll also be able to snap up some pre-order bonuses. If you pre-order a Starter Set you'll get the Altmark Tanker for free.
And, if you look to get any of their big bundle offers then you'll get your hands on the USS Arizona. So, it's worth checking back on their site come Wednesday for more information.
A lot more is also planned including named and iconic ships plus full support for the range going forward. I wouldn't be surprised if we see plenty more from Victory At Sea at Salute this year all being well.
What do you make of these upcoming releases?
"Rhere is a new film coming out soon called Greyhound with Tom Hanks in it which is well worth taking a peek at..."
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Although the ship look ok, I don’t like the paper battle mat. Rather pay a but extra to have a neoprene one in the starter box.
Can’t help but think it’s odd that you have a Pacific starter set with no carriers in it. Carriers after all were the lynch pin of both the US and the Japanese fleets.
Definitely, but I imagine it’s just a question of cost as the carriers would ll be larger models and would need planes as well, so they’ll probably be more expensive than the battleship models.
I am very, very interested in this game, but it’s just a huge shame that the bases make the small vessels look like they’re mounted on dinghies.
Really curious as to why they went with those ugly dinghy bases. Using a clean, rectangular base sets off the lines of the ship so much better, and makes each piece look show-worthy. Those doughy ovals mean you lose the clean lines of the ship, and it makes all the ships look the same. I’m sure Warlord have their reasons, but I’m less likely to purchase as a result.
I wonder if it’s a reference to how you see naval ship models mounted on a plank of wood. Looks nice on a nightstand, but looks more like a cake topping in the game. :/
That’s probably because something like the aircraft carrier Enterprise will be 14cm long on the table
Even in 1/1800 scale ?
Yikes … that is big.
Looks like the aircraft carrier in the US Fleet box is the USS Essex – Essex class carrier flight deck was 262.7 metres long according to wikipedia, which makes it 14.6cm long at 1/1800.
That’s a pretty big model, and makes you question the scale choice slightly for a game supposedly centred around large fleet actions. But it’ll look impressive, if nothing else.
Unless distances aren’t to scale that would be tricky indeed.
I agree, they are rather large and if the distance between ships is the same as the other games its not going to be right at all. Even when sailing ships are far from another much less in battle. Be interesting to do some Guadalcanal battles but not sure how its going to look on the table.
As the song says..”its all about the base”….. stuff of nightmares…
I guess they need the dinghy to stay afloat ? 😉
Really not sure of the reasoning of having such big ships on such a small table for ww2 naval
I could be tempted by a Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine set but not particularly interested in the Pacific theatre tbh
The game model’s do look good I think the film will be great.
That’s really good news. I hope this will be as good as Black Seas. I think i will buy the only the rulebook and play this with my 1/3000 NavWar models, if possible.
The rounded bases don’t worry me a bit. It gives the whole tabletop a genuine old naval staff wargaming feel and this also overcomes any scale issue. The content of the box though makes me wonder. Not so much that there aren’t carriers or battleships, but it wouldn’t have been that difficult to at least try to theme it around a genuine action than combine a slightly random set of ships. Maybe its done for balance reasons, we’ll see with the rules.
Does anyone know if Warlord plan to release a Rulebook with full fleet lists in? 1/1800 scale, although beautiful, is not really practical when all your mates have Fleets of 1/3000 🙁