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Naval warfare is often overlooked in both literature and wargames, taking a back seat to land combat and the epic battles of history. With the possible exception of Trafalgar and the Spanish Armada, naval battles are not apart of our collective memory like Waterloo, Gettysburg, El Alamein, Marathon, and others are. When naval warfare is discussed, it is generally in reference to the age of sail or the World Wars. The transition period between them (the mid to late 1800's) is very rarely mentioned, and it is a shame because this was truly a remarkable era in military history. The developers at BoneGames have gone a long way to redressing this oversight with the creation of Queen Victoria's Navy, which focuses on naval combat in the 1880-1906 timeframe. The game has been designed to be economical, and at $9.95 the price is unbeatable. Despite the low price, production quality is high and throroughly professional. It comes in a small packet, which contains: *1 sheet of colour counters, representing everything from searchlights to specific vessels. *Handy reference sheet. All the vital rules needed during game play fit on this two- sided card---attack modifiers, damage allocation charts, etc. *Large (22 in.x 34 in), 2 sided 16mm hex map. *Rulebook. The extensive bibliography suggests that designers Bruce Biskup and Joshua Howard did their homework, and gameplay only supports this. They have created a game that manages to blend three often contradictory goals together seemlessly: affordability, game- play, and authenticity. It should be noted that the focus of the game is to recreate the conditions of a Mahan- style capital ship battle. Torpedo boats, gunboats and sundry other smaller vessels have been left out of the game as they were not critical components of the Battle Fleet concept, and their inclusion would have added complexity and cost to the game. However, thanks to the simplicity of the rules, it is an easy task to design these craft for your own games. Players take the role of squadron commanders, the principal tactical leaders in the battle fleet. As such, they are in charge of a manageable force of capital ships, generally 3- 12. Game scale is 500 meters per hex, turn length is 5 minutes, vessels are modeled individually. Designed for 2 players, Queen Victoria's Navy is also suitable for solitaire or multiple players, each scenario taking about 1 hour to complete. Technical jargon and specifications which often hinder naval wargames are non-existent here, as required information is condensed down and simplified to a degree that a novice could easily understand the capabilities of his squadron's ships. All vital ship statistics are summarised into 4 lines, and truly that's all that is needed. Line 1 lists ship name, line 2 weapon descriptions and speed value, line 3 armour ratings, line 4 specific notes. That's it! Game play is smooth, even when incorporating the optional rules, and die rolling is kept to a minimum. The one fault in the layout was the constant necessity to turn to the reference card when learning the rules---all rules should have been included in the booklet, and then condensed into appropriate charts and tables on the reference cards. This minor quibble aside, learning the rules was not difficult and play was smooth. All that's needed is a single 6 sided die and a straight edge ruler. Knowledge of wargaming is not required at all, though certainly someone with a background in wargaming or military history will have a greater appreciation what these gentlemen have accomplished. In 9 pages of core rules, they have covered all the necessities, from movement to ramming to critical hits (always exciting!). Using the 2 pages of optional rules (nightfighting, visibility, sea states, command and control, and searchlights) really adds to the authenticity of fighting a naval battle in the 19th century without adding undue complexity. The game is rounded out by four scenarios with a basis in reality, employing the navies of all the major naval powers of the era. 1) In 1886, France and Italy join to evict Britain from the Western Mediteranean by destroying Britain's Malta squadron. 2) A decade later, the French and Italians turn on each other for control of the Mediteranean, culminating in the Battle of the Ligurian Sea. 3) The Russo-Prussian War is fought in 1905 instead of the Russo-Japanese War. The climax is the Battle of the Baltic. 4) The British intervene in the Spanish-American War against the US. The Bermuda squadron engages the US Fleet in the 2nd Battle of Santiago. Queen Victoria's Navy is a fine wargame for novice and old-salt alike. The game manages to balance playability and reality quite nicely, and best of all it is affordable. It's also refreshing to see some of the more neglected aspects of military history get the attention, and the period 1880-1906 is without a doubt an overlooked era in naval history.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

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Queen Victoria's Navy
Author: Bruce Biskup and Joshua Howard Category: Wargame Company/Publisher: Bone Games Line: Queen Victoria's Navy Cost: $9.95 Page count: 16 ISBN: n/a SKU: BG 1001 Playtest Review by Andrew Hind on 10/28/00. Genre tags: Historical	Naval warfare is often overlooked in both literature and wargames, taking a back seat to land combat and the epic battles of history. With the possible exception of Trafalgar and the Spanish Armada, naval battles are not apart of our collective memory like Waterloo, Gettysburg, El Alamein, Marathon, and others are. When naval warfare is discussed, it is generally in reference to the age of sail or the World Wars. The transition period between them (the mid to late 1800's) is very rarely mentioned, and it is a shame because this was truly a remarkable era in military history. The developers at BoneGames have gone a long way to redressing this oversight with the creation of Queen Victoria's Navy, which focuses on naval combat in the 1880-1906 timeframe. The game has been designed to be economical, and at $9.95 the price is unbeatable. Despite the low price, production quality is high and throroughly professional. It comes in a small packet, which contains: 1 sheet of colour counters, representing everything from searchlights to specific vessels. Handy reference sheet. All the vital rules needed during game play fit on this two- sided card---attack modifiers, damage allocation charts, etc. Large (22 in.x 34 in), 2 sided 16mm hex map. Rulebook. The extensive bibliography suggests that designers Bruce Biskup and Joshua Howard did their homework, and gameplay only supports this. They have created a game that manages to blend three often contradictory goals together seemlessly: affordability, game- play, and authenticity. It should be noted that the focus of the game is to recreate the conditions of a Mahan- style capital ship battle. Torpedo boats, gunboats and sundry other smaller vessels have been left out of the game as they were not critical components of the Battle Fleet concept, and their inclusion would have added complexity and cost to the game. However, thanks to the simplicity of the rules, it is an easy task to design these craft for your own games. Players take the role of squadron commanders, the principal tactical leaders in the battle fleet. As such, they are in charge of a manageable force of capital ships, generally 3- 12. Game scale is 500 meters per hex, turn length is 5 minutes, vessels are modeled individually. Designed for 2 players, Queen Victoria's Navy is also suitable for solitaire or multiple players, each scenario taking about 1 hour to complete. Technical jargon and specifications which often hinder naval wargames are non-existent here, as required information is condensed down and simplified to a degree that a novice could easily understand the capabilities of his squadron's ships. All vital ship statistics are summarised into 4 lines, and truly that's all that is needed. Line 1 lists ship name, line 2 weapon descriptions and speed value, line 3 armour ratings, line 4 specific notes. That's it! Game play is smooth, even when incorporating the optional rules, and die rolling is kept to a minimum. The one fault in the layout was the constant necessity to turn to the reference card when learning the rules---all rules should have been included in the booklet, and then condensed into appropriate charts and tables on the reference cards. This minor quibble aside, learning the rules was not difficult and play was smooth. All that's needed is a single 6 sided die and a straight edge ruler. Knowledge of wargaming is not required at all, though certainly someone with a background in wargaming or military history will have a greater appreciation what these gentlemen have accomplished. In 9 pages of core rules, they have covered all the necessities, from movement to ramming to critical hits (always exciting!). Using the 2 pages of optional rules (nightfighting, visibility, sea states, command and control, and searchlights) really adds to the authenticity of fighting a naval battle in the 19th century without adding undue complexity. The game is rounded out by four scenarios with a basis in reality, employing the navies of all the major naval powers of the era. 1) In 1886, France and Italy join to evict Britain from the Western Mediteranean by destroying Britain's Malta squadron. 2) A decade later, the French and Italians turn on each other for control of the Mediteranean, culminating in the Battle of the Ligurian Sea. 3) The Russo-Prussian War is fought in 1905 instead of the Russo-Japanese War. The climax is the Battle of the Baltic. 4) The British intervene in the Spanish-American War against the US. The Bermuda squadron engages the US Fleet in the 2nd Battle of Santiago. Queen Victoria's Navy is a fine wargame for novice and old-salt alike. The game manages to balance playability and reality quite nicely, and best of all it is affordable. It's also refreshing to see some of the more neglected aspects of military history get the attention, and the period 1880-1906 is without a doubt an overlooked era in naval history. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)