The Hunters

Richard lent me this game to play: The Hunters.


http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113873/the-hunters-german-u-boats-at-war-1939-43

I can't recall how the subject was raised, possibly mutual respect for the movie Das Boot.  I had always had an interest in U-Boat warfare and I remember being excited, but ultimately dissappointed over SPI's Up-Scope!


http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8024/up-scope

What a difference 35 years makes.  The Hunters was fun and uncomplicated and really told a story.

I started in a Type VIIA hunting in the British Isles in September 1939.  My first patrol was a success, but my second a dud and I was switched to laying mines for a living.  But I came good and was sent to the Atlantic in 1940.  After a mission to to land a spy in Britain I was promoted and assigned further patrols in the Atlantic.  My crew became veterans and in August 1941 we joined a wolf-pack.  After sinking a 12,000 ton freighter my sub was damaged by vengeful escorts.  After successfully eluding them we limped back home with engine damage. The going was slow and we were spotted by aircraft.  Our flak put up a good defense, but the attacks were relentless and we went to a watery grave.

In ten patrols we had sunk 15 ships totaling 94,000 tons.

The most interesting thing about this game is that it was designed for solitaire play.

It's tempting to dust off the old Visual Basic skills and computerize the game mechanics as it would play well as an app, just needing to add in some sound and visual affects.

The other interesting thing would be to use it's mechanics to structure Wings of Glory games.