Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare

About this board game

Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare is a solitaire board game for 1 player, with scenarios taking about 90 minutes and campaigns spanning multiple sessions. Set during the American Civil War, it casts you as an inventor and entrepreneur determined to design, build, and deploy an experimental submarine.

In campaign play, choose a city or port for your machine shop, recruit Investors, Mechanics, Journeymen, and Sailors, and manage the funds needed to turn blueprints into a seaworthy Fishboat. Decide how your submarine will be constructed and equipped: it might feature a snorkel, armored ram, dive planes, spar torpedo, or a propulsion system powered by cranking crew or a boiler engine.

Every month brings new pressures. Labor and material costs fluctuate, debts must be paid, and random events can alter your plans. A contract may provide welcome funds, a worker may leave, or enemy action may force you to relocate. Playing as the Union or Confederacy creates a different economic experience, from an industrial business environment to an economy in decline.

Once your vessel is ready, assign crew positions and prepare for action. Weather, visibility, drift, and current affect navigation, while crew members must crank, repair, rally one another, or operate mechanisms. Malfunctions, panic, sinking, and evacuation can turn even a simple training mission into a fight for survival. Successful contact with an enemy target leads to tense tactical encounters and the possibility of valuable prize money.

• Play historical scenarios, including the CSS Hunley’s 1864 attack, or pursue a full campaign.
• Operate across action boards representing Charleston, Mobile, New Orleans, and the James River.
• Build and manage your crew, submarine, finances, secrecy, and training.

With recruit, navigation, and discovery decks, counters, submarine tiles, boards, and random monthly events, Infernal Machine combines business management, engineering, crew assignment, navigation, and high-risk naval missions.