Raiders of the Deep: U-boats of the Great War, 1914-18

About this board game

Raiders of the Deep: U-boats of the Great War, 1914-18 is a solo game for one player, with approximately 120 minutes of play time, placing you in command of a German U-boat during World War I.

Take your boat on patrol and attempt to destroy Entente shipping and capital ships while guiding your crew through the First U-boat War. Your achievements can advance crew quality, earn awards, and increase your commander rank—but every mission also brings the challenge of making it home as the odds of survival diminish throughout the war.

Patrols are at the heart of the system. Each game turn presents encounters with individual ships, convoys, Q-ships, and enemy aircraft. The situations you face call for difficult decisions that can shape the outcome of your entire command.

• Choose how to engage a convoy.
• Decide whether to close range for a potentially more lethal attack.
• Consider a surface attack when an engagement takes place at night.
• With ammunition running low, follow a convoy or search for easier targets.

Every decision carries consequences. You may return as a hero, come home as a failure, or never return at all. As the war progresses, dwindling odds of survival make each patrol and engagement increasingly important.

Inspired by Gregory Smith’s The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-43, Raiders of the Deep features completely rewritten rules, reworked charts, and all-new artwork designed to evoke the atmosphere of the period. The game was designed by a ten-year BoardGameGeek veteran and developed and playtested with help from U-boat game enthusiasts in the BoardGameGeek community.