Victory at Sea (game)
Encyclopedia
Victory at Sea is a set of World War II
naval wargaming
rules published by Mongoose Publishing
. They were a development of Mongoose's Babylon 5: A Call to Arms
SF starship combat rules written by Matthew Sprange, with assistance from David Manley
, Richard Bax, Erik Nicely and Agis Neugebauer, having been initially released through a series of articles in the Mongoose house journal Signs and Portents. A supplement to the rules entitled Victory At Sea - Order of Battle, including expanded ship lists and new rules, was written during 2007. It was rushed into print, unreviewed and with a large number of errors left uncorrected - an unofficial 28 page errata was available several days after its release was announced. The rules have spawned a number of unofficial period and scale variants including ironclad actions and WW2 destroyer actions. An official World War I
variant entitled Victory at Sea - Age of Dreadnoughts, written by David Manley
was published in 2008.
VAS caused something of a storm when it was released in 2006. It was reviled by some elements of the naval wargaming hobby as being over simplistic and unrealistic, resulting in some poor press on various wargaming fora (e.g. NavWarGames, and in the Naval Wargames Society
journal Battlefleet). However, despite this a number of discussions on various internet wargaming fora have suggested that it has proven to be popular and serves as a useful "entry level" set of rules and also as a gateway into historical naval wargaming for science fiction and fantasy wargamers who are already familiar with rules published by Mongoose.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
naval wargaming
Naval wargaming
Naval wargaming is a branch of the wider hobby of miniature wargaming. Generally less popular than wargames set on land, naval wargaming nevertheless enjoys a degree of support around the world...
rules published by Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
. They were a development of Mongoose's Babylon 5: A Call to Arms
Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (game)
Babylon 5: A Call to Arms is a tabletop miniatures boardgame released in September 2004 by Mongoose Publishing, designed initially as an expansion to their Babylon 5: The Roleplaying Game, it is a complete game in its own right...
SF starship combat rules written by Matthew Sprange, with assistance from David Manley
David Manley
David Manley is a United Kingdom-based wargamer and one of the leading members of the naval wargaming hobby, having authored over 50 articles on naval wargaming and general wargaming issues and a wide range of naval rules covering most major periods, including:* Schnellboot - * Action Stations - ...
, Richard Bax, Erik Nicely and Agis Neugebauer, having been initially released through a series of articles in the Mongoose house journal Signs and Portents. A supplement to the rules entitled Victory At Sea - Order of Battle, including expanded ship lists and new rules, was written during 2007. It was rushed into print, unreviewed and with a large number of errors left uncorrected - an unofficial 28 page errata was available several days after its release was announced. The rules have spawned a number of unofficial period and scale variants including ironclad actions and WW2 destroyer actions. An official World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
variant entitled Victory at Sea - Age of Dreadnoughts, written by David Manley
David Manley
David Manley is a United Kingdom-based wargamer and one of the leading members of the naval wargaming hobby, having authored over 50 articles on naval wargaming and general wargaming issues and a wide range of naval rules covering most major periods, including:* Schnellboot - * Action Stations - ...
was published in 2008.
VAS caused something of a storm when it was released in 2006. It was reviled by some elements of the naval wargaming hobby as being over simplistic and unrealistic, resulting in some poor press on various wargaming fora (e.g. NavWarGames, and in the Naval Wargames Society
Naval Wargames Society
The Naval Wargames Society is interested in all forms and scales of maritime wargaming, and has been so for more 30 years. The society was originally started by Phil Dunn, and the proprietors of Navwar and Skytrex. Originally, society games were held in Chessington, and in later years moving to...
journal Battlefleet). However, despite this a number of discussions on various internet wargaming fora have suggested that it has proven to be popular and serves as a useful "entry level" set of rules and also as a gateway into historical naval wargaming for science fiction and fantasy wargamers who are already familiar with rules published by Mongoose.
External links
- Victory at Sea at Mongoose Publishing
- Historical variants site