Steam and Iron is the best naval game I have ever played

[jhs]

And, I have played all the great ones from Avalon Hill's 1963 "Bismarck" onwards for 53 years. Compared to the more glitzy "Jutland" series of ten years ago there is no comparison. As soon as I had "Jutland" up and running, I knew it was all wrong. You knew everything! No operational paranoia. And, you were the captain of 100 ships. It was madness. You had to organize every individual torpedo attack by destroyers, the AI could not be relied upon to execute them correctly.

The depth of research in S&I is staggering. Admiral's mode is what I have wanted for years (I designed my own WWI tactical naval game 30 years ago because I was disgusted with all the others. S&I is everything I wanted and couldn't have because mine was a board game. If "Jutland" had plonked you on the compass platform of Iron Duke or Friedrich der Grosse and left you to rely on binoculars and reports, it would have been a great game. S&I puts you on the compass platform.

Ships are not blowing up constantly. Inflicting damage takes a great deal of time, you do not shoot off all your ammunition in one hour. Fleet handling is all. If you run your big cats at 27 knots for an extended period of time, you foul the grates. I was chasing a column of unidentified ships in the Dogger Bank scenario thinking I had Hipper's battlecruisers---they turned out to be light cruisers, and the battlecruisers appeared on my flank and surprised me. I thought Hipper had brought along some battleships because my light cruisers were reporting BBs constantly. I see the campaign game is the real core of this design. How bold will I be when I have no idea what I am up against? I tried Coronel and played it like Cradock should have, I ditched that albatross around the neck, Otranto. I had the wind gauge, I stayed against the setting sun to foil his gunners. I survived though Good Hope was nearly lost due to an engine hit. The reports told me the two German armored cruisers were heavily damaged---but when the scenario was over it turned out their damage was moderate. Great stuff! I have only one observation, the AI Spee was, I believe, too impetuous. He came at me without forming the two big cruisers into line, but, maybe this was due to a perceived advantage. I made a mess of my own deployment, Glasgow was shot up badly because I did not understand the mechanics of combining very well. The AI maybe thought it could tear me to pieces in my dispersed state?

I could sing this design's sterling attributes on and on but I want to get back to Dogger Bank!

At a time when "World of Warships" has reduced the naval game to an insipid shooter too dumb for a thinking teenager, S&I has given the naval game a massive leap forward.

I have only one request, do a WWI naval gunnery design which puts the player in the spotting top as the gunnery officer. This would be a wonderful companion to S&I. Have it be all about gunnery, not ship command.

All my best.

[williammiller]

Jhs,

Thank you for the kind words about SAI - we at NWS very much appreciate them and are glad you are enjoying the game!

[jhs]

I completed the Dogger Bank scenario. I was impressed by the AI which thwarted me from getting an easy kill on Blücher by detaching her before the shooting started. She was able to run away. A clever lifesaving move which I have never seen employed before. AI one-upped Hipper. The battle came down to the three big cats, Lion, Princess Royal, and Tiger, and the three German battlecruisers. And, what a battle it was. Princess Royal was retired hurt with several bad flotation hits, superstructure severely damaged, six 13.5s knocked out, 75% damage, down to 20 knots and falling. Lion was banged up, down 40%, down two 13.5s, and forced to 20 knots by damage. Tiger took a rudder hit which made her circle several times and took her out of the fight. Tried to continue the fight with New Zealand but she was severely hit, down 16%, within minutes. Indomitable fared little better. Neither were capable of slugging it out with the German battlecruisers. The Germans lost some turrets but otherwise were fat and happy, blasting along at 25 knots, foiled my best efforts to cut them off from the North Sea ports. Unless I missed something, not one of the British battlecruisers suffered an armor penetration. They were bashed, not skewered. Neither side had really effective AP. The British battlecruisers not having nearly as comprehensive protection, armor and subdivisioning, took the worst of it. The German fast battleship theory vindicated. 

Played out exactly as it should for 1915 for a protracted fight among the battlecruiser heavy hitters. For the British, bodes ill for 1916 when the battlecruisers had too much shell and propellant piled up in the ammunition train.