Sealion: The Proposed German Invasion of England

About this board game

Sealion: The German Invasion of England, September 1940 is a detailed wargame for 2–6 players that simulates a hypothetical German invasion of England in late 1940. Designed for an approximately 240-minute play time, it examines the campaign across the air, sea, and land.

The scenario assumes that Germany has achieved air superiority over the Royal Air Force and that Britain has already lost the Battle of Britain. The RAF is not entirely out of the fight, however, while the Royal Navy remains a credible threat to German amphibious landings and the supply conduits crossing the English Channel.

Sealion presents an unabstracted level of detail, covering naval and air operations alongside the operational and strategic aspects of the ground campaign. The Germans possess operational superiority on land, but British forces benefit from interior lines of communication and defensible terrain.

England’s defenses also include a crude network of hastily constructed fortifications built before the invasion. These conditions create a campaign in which German landing and supply operations must contend with British naval and air resistance, while the British Army uses its geographic advantages to oppose the advance.

• Players: 2–6
• Play time: approximately 240 minutes
• Components: 22 × 34-inch map and 280 die-cut counters
• Publication: World at War #52, February–March 2017

Released in 2017, this game offers a focused simulation of Operation Sea Lion as a proposed German invasion rather than a historical event. Its broad operational scope and detailed treatment of air, naval, amphibious, and land operations make Sealion a substantial study of how the campaign might have unfolded.