Produktbeschreibung
Please note that this product does not include any maps, counters, or other components.
The era of modern naval combat began on October 21, 1967 when Egyptian missile boats launched four Soviet made Styx surface-to-surface missiles and sank the Israeli destroyer Elath at a range of 13.5 nautical miles. The face of naval warfare changed forever!
Harpoon 4, by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson handles all aspects of maritime combat: surface, sub-surface, and air. Harpoon 4 is a system of detailed but comprehensible rules covering the many facets of modern naval actions. Consistent rating systems and evaluations of the capabilities of modern naval vessels, aircraft, submarines, and helicopters make it possible to achieve realistic results when simulating known situations, by extension Harpoon 4 also achieves realistic results with hypothetical scenarios. Harpoon 4 can answer questions like:
Are carriers powerhouses or sitting ducks?
Can transatlantic convoys survive in a modern wartime environment?
In the cat-and-mouse games between US and Russian submarines, which is better?
But Harpoon 4 is more than a highly detailed simulation of modern naval tactics: it is a game which provides hours of enjoyment and recreation. Its treatment of modern naval warfare is the best available short of being on the bridge yourself. Extensive examples in the rules book actually take you through mini engagements that span less than a page of text. For a few hours, lead ships going in harm's way.
"This new edition of Harpoon is long overdue. The first edition came out in 1981, the second in 1983, the third in 1987, and the fourth should have followed it in 1990 or 1991. By rights, this should be the fifth edition. It isn't, and we've got some catching up to do.
We've learned from doing Command at Sea, and you'll recognize some of the features that made it a good game. The rules have been restructured as a reference book, with a subject index and a rules summary for those already familiar with the game. The Quickstart will help those who haven't played before.
The biggest change is the addition of a co-author, Chris Carlson, who has been my friend and advisor since the game's creation. Now, he's been "fleeted up," deservedly so, to full partner. His particular strengths are his submarine background, his engineering and mathematical skills, and his ability to take a complex physical system and boil it down to its bare essentials.
The first three editions of the game reflected a world where the NATO and Soviet navies faced off against each other. Platforms came and went, strategies changed as technology improved, but the basic geopolitical equation was as solid as a rock.
Somebody started that stone rolling, and it hasn't stopped yet. The breakup of the Soviet Union hasn't stopped Russian naval and technological development, but their existence no longer defines the threat to Western navies. Instead, the US and other navies must respond to a wider range of threats and circumstances than ever before..." ...Designers' Notes by Larry Bond
1996 ... three-hole-punched loose pages ... |
