I was sent an advance copy of this roll and write game by David Manley of Long Face Games, so thought I'd give it a go. In the game you take command of a Royal Navy submarine in the Med and conduct a series of patrols, using a strategic map to chart your progress. I set up a fictional S-Class boat, HMS Stonefish, then set off on a three day patrol from Malta to the Adriatic.
This turned out to be quite a tough one for my inexperienced crew, which managed to sink a single small merchant but failed to penetrate the defences of two subsequent convoys, mainly due to some effective Italian escorts, one of which managed to damage my periscope in a depth charge attack. This made it difficult to engage further targets and, added to the crew's fatigue and dwindling batteries, meant the patrol was a bit of a wash out.
Having said that the commander did gain some useful experience (2VP's) and brought the boat back to Malta largely intact, with only some minor patching to the hull required before she can head out again. It was good fun and a lot like Corvette Command in style, which is a game I really enjoyed playing. There were a few glitches and head scratching moments but, on the whole, it was well worth a run through and I enjoyed the game a lot.
