Bismarck (1962)

Hunt down and sink the Bismarck. Three levels of play. In the advanced game, you use miniatures rules for the combat. Hidden movement by the use of separate search boards.

The original Bismarck game from AH was remarkable for one reason: the ONLY playing piece that the German player had was the Bismarck!

A straight forward move-and-search naval game. If the British player finds the Bismarck, a battle ensues.

The game is played for points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. The game ends when: 1) the Bismarck is sunk, 2) the Bismarck enters Bergen, St. Nazaire, or Ferrol after patrolling, 3) the German gains so many points it is impossible for the British player to win, or 4) time runs out.

Avalon Hill Complexity ratings
Basic Game - 4
Intermediate Game - 6
Advanced Game - 7

Re-implemented by:

• Bismarck (second edition)

from The Avalon Hill Company History, 1980

Bismarck (1962) Discontinued 1972, Revised 1980
Designed by Lindsley Schutz and Charles Roberts
Development by Tom Shaw
1980 Design by Jack Greene
1980 Development by Mick Uhl

Originally sold for $5.98 due to double box size which was intended to enhance salability. Similar experiments with the packaging for WATERLOO and STALINGRAD were tried but soon discarded as being ineffective and unwieldy. The title was resurrected in 1979 in a completely new design with state of the art techniques and a greatly enlarged scope.

Magazine References:

The GENERAL Index Article List:

• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.5
  • Bismarck – “Tactics and Strategy for Bismarck Game” (Strategy) Mathew Buynoski
• The GENERAL Vol.1,No.6
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck Modified” (Variant Discussion) Walter Green
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.1
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck by Mail” (Variant Discussion) Myron R. Brundage
  • Bismarck – “Tactics for Bismarck” (Strategy) Walter Guerry Green, III
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.2
  • Bismarck – “Operation Churchill” (Strategy) Richard L. Dalton
• The GENERAL Vol.2,No.5
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck Search Patterns” (Strategy) Jared Johnson
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.2
  • Bismarck – “How to Play Bismark Without Expending Energy” (Variant Discussion) Lincoln Clark & Mark Nickerson
• The GENERAL Vol.3,No.4
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck, British Battle Board Strategy” (Strategy) Jared Johnson
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.2
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck Naval Search Pattern” (Strategy) Richard Rubin
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.3
  • Bismarck – “Tournament Bismarck” (Strategy) James Misch
• The GENERAL Vol.4,No.5
  • The Question Box - Afrika Korps, Bismarck, Gettysburg, Waterloo, Blitzkrieg, The Battle of the Bulge, Guadalcanal
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.4
  • Bismarck – “CONTEST NO. 28” (Strategy)
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.5
  • Bismarck – “Chicken Bismarck” (Strategy) John Rancourt
• The GENERAL Vol.5,No.6
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck in the Side Pocket” (Strategy) John Rancourt
• The GENERAL Vol.6,No.3
  • Bismarck – “CONTEST NO. 33” (Strategy)
• The GENERAL Vol.8,No.4
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck by Mail” (Variant Discussion) Alan Augenbraun
• The GENERAL Vol.9,No.2
  • The Question Box - Blitzkrieg, Bismarck, Kriegspiel, D-Day, France, 1940, Midway, Anzio, 1914, Luftwaffe, Jutland
• The GENERAL Vol.10,No.1
  • Bismarck – “Advanced Bismarck” (Variant Discussion) Keith Gross
• The GENERAL Vol.15,No.6
  • The Question Box - Bismarck
• The GENERAL Vol.16,No.2
  • Bismarck – “A Child of the Sixties Grows Up” (Design Commentary) Alan R. Moon
  • Bismarck – “Search for the Graf Spee” (Variant) Mick (Mike) Uhl
  • Design Analysis - “Bismarck Designer's Notes” Mick (Mike) Uhl
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck Variant Searchboard” (Insert) Mick (Mike) Uhl
  • The Question Box - Bismarck, Bismarck ERRATA,
• The GENERAL Vol.18,No.1
  • Bismarck – “The Tactical Side of Bismarck - An In Depth Analysis of the Basic and Advanced Bismarck Combat Systems” (Strategy) Bob Proctor
• The GENERAL Vol.19,No.6
  • Bismarck – “Playing Bismarck with Duds, Variant Rules for Realistic Naval Fire” (Variant Discussion) Mark L. Shannon

BattlePlan Index Article List:

• Battleplan,No.2 November-December 1987
  • Bismarck – "Battle Board Bismarck - Variants for AH Bismarck", J.L. Burnett
• Battleplan,No.8 January-February 1989
  • Bismarck – “Bismarck House Rules”, Luther Harris Jr.

Online Play:

• VASSAL, http://www.vassalengine.org (real-time, PBEM)