Dreadnought: Surface Combat in the Battleship Era, 1906-45

About this board game

Dreadnought: Surface Combat in the Battleship Era, 1906-45 is a two-player simulation of surface naval warfare, with games listed at approximately 120 minutes. It focuses on the role of the all-big-gun battleship in fleet actions during the battleship era.

Players can recreate both historical and non-historical battles and naval campaigns. The system covers essential elements of surface combat, including gunnery, torpedoes, ranging, damage control, formation handling, and fleet coordination.

Each game turn represents 15 minutes, while every hex covers 1,968 yards, or 1,800 meters. Movement is measured in four-knot increments, and the playing pieces represent individual battleships alongside multiple cruisers and destroyers.

• Six 10 x 10.75-inch, single-color map sections
• One single-sided countersheet containing 400 half-inch counters
• A 16-page rulebook and two player aid cards
• One SiMov orders pad and two six-sided dice

Designed for medium-complexity play, Dreadnought combines operational fleet handling with the pressure of ship-to-ship combat. The scale supports engagements in which positioning, accurate ranging, coordinated formations, and effective damage control all matter.

With support for two or more players in the official description and a medium level of solitaire playability, the game offers a focused way to explore surface naval warfare from 1906 through 1944. Its scenarios and campaign possibilities provide a framework for examining how dreadnoughts, cruisers, and destroyers function together in major fleet actions.