Wargame Mechanics Index

Submerged endurance clock

A depleting resource, such as battery or air, is spent for each turn a vessel stays submerged or concealed and is restored only by surfacing or exposing itself, with loss of the vessel if it runs out.

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How games do it 2 games

3naval

Each submerged turn uses a battery token, which only surfacing restores; running out sinks the boat.

How it works

The boat has six rechargeable Main Battery tokens and three non-rechargeable Auxiliary Power tokens. If it starts the phase submerged it removes one token, and if none remain it is sunk. If it starts surfaced, all Main Battery tokens are restored. This limits how long the boat can stay hidden.

If the U-boat starts this phase submerged (Periscope Depth, 100m, or 200m), remove one Main Battery Token or an Auxiliary Power Token. If you cannot remove one of these tokens, the U-boat is immediately Sunk
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1naval
Underwater enduranceThe Jane Naval War Game

A submerged submarine can stay down only twelve hours (24 from harbour) and must surface for air, or its crew is dead.

How it works

Submarines have an underwater endurance of twelve hours, or twenty-four when starting from harbour. To take air the boat must surface; coming up or sinking counts as a move, and taking air costs four moves for each hour of air wanted. It cannot sink again in under two moves while taking air, and taking air in weather above 3 swamps it. If a boat is without air for more than twelve hours its crew are considered dead, so the umpire tracks the clock for the hidden boat.

When taking air, it cannot sink in under two moves. If without air for more than twelve hours, its crew are considered dead.
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