The Ironclads: A Tactical Level Game of Naval Combat in the American Civil War 1861-1865

About this board game

The Ironclads is a tactical-level game of naval combat in the American Civil War for 1–8 players, with games lasting about 180 minutes. Players use simultaneous movement to command one or more ships, maneuvering across a large four-piece geomorphic mapboard while attempting to outmaneuver and out-shoot their opponents.

Ship-to-ship combat is highly detailed. Each of the 45 ship specification cards provides information for 90 classes of ships, including gun numbers, sizes, locations, and firing characteristics. Weapons fire separately, using specific range and penetration tables, while the cards also track possible hits to armor, siding, decking, smokestacks, hulls, pilot houses, waterlines, crews, and guns.

• Over 300 extra-thick, die-cut counters
• More than 130 ship counters, plus forts, floating batteries, mines, torpedoes, booms, piles, obstructions, fires, and damaged or sunk ships
• Rules covering currents, tides, riverbanks, sand bars, shoals, smoke, sighting, and morale
• Systems for armor penetration, different types of shot, cumulative area damage, critical hits, burning ships, and firefighting

Scenarios range from solitaire “running the forts” situations to famous engagements such as Monitor and Merrimac. Blockade-running scenarios and multiplayer campaign games, including Mobile Bay, add further variety.

With its large map, ship cards, charts, firing indicators, dice, log pad, and storage tray, The Ironclads presents a comprehensive simulation of Civil War naval action. Its scenarios and broad selection of units support both focused engagements and larger campaign-style battles.