Amirauté

About this board game

Amirauté is a 1979 WWII naval combat ruleset for two players, built around ship cards rather than a mapboard or counters. Written in French, it supports tactical engagements as well as operational scenarios and campaign games.

The system is designed to begin with simple materials: the rules, a ruler, protractor, pencil, eraser, and two ten-sided dice. Miniatures are optional, while a referee is strongly recommended for a better gaming experience.

Each naval unit is represented by a card detailing its size, armor, weaponry, maximum speed, and defensive value. Defensive value is calculated from factors including tonnage, vertical and horizontal armor, and age. Air units are defined by maximum speed, range, weaponry, and defensive value.

• Ship combat uses probability-of-impact checks, hit calculations, and damage resolution through tables.
• Torpedo attacks account for length, speed, angle, and distance.
• Anti-aircraft fire is handled globally during air-to-naval and air-to-ground attacks.
• Damage can reduce a unit’s speed and attack capabilities.

Amirauté goes beyond a purely tactical naval game by including aircraft, naval bombing, operational movement, and campaign play. Its rules can be used for complete scenarios comparable to those in Flat Top, not only individual battles.

The scale distinguishes strategic and tactical action: strategic movement uses 1 cm for 10 km, while tactical movement uses 1 cm for 100 meters. Strategic turns represent 1 to 4 hours, tactical turns represent 5 minutes, and optional miniatures use a 1/3000 scale.