The Pursuit of von Spee (2008)

At the outbreak of the First World War the greatest concentration of German warships outside of the North Sea was the famed East Asiatic Squadron. Winner of the Kaiser's Cup for two consecutive years, a competition testing the gunnery of His Majesty's warships, the East Asiatic Squadron was commanded by Admiral Maximilian von Spee. The East Asiatic Squadron was made up of fast and modern ships. The flagship was the Scharnhorst, a fast armoured cruiser with 8.2" guns. Her sister-ship, the Gneisenau, boasted the same specifications. In addition to these two armoured cruisers, there were the light cruisers Leipzig, Nürnberg, and Emden, all very fast and armed with 4.1" guns. This fleet provided the greatest threat to Allied shipping outside of the north Atlantic.

Spee had several options when news of the war reached him. The greatest concentration of Allied merchant shipping in the region was at the approaches to the Red Sea, where convoys from India, China, and Australia passed through the Suez Canal. But there were no places for German ships to coal in the Indian Ocean, and operating there would bring Spee into contact with the Royal Navy China Station and the powerful but slow Triumph. Operating in the northern Pacific was ruled out because of the powerful Japanese fleet, easily the largest in the Pacific. Operating around the Dutch East Indies and Australia was also discarded because it would bring the East Asiatic Squadron within the sights of the Australia, a battlecruiser with 12" guns. With few options, Spee decided to head across the Pacific where he could indirectly disrupt Allied shipping and hopefully cause enough consternation within the Royal Navy that several important ships would be detached from the Home Fleet. The south Pacific had plenty of islands from which Spee and his ships could supply and the islands also provided an effective hiding place. With luck, Spee could reach South America and coal from neutral ports there, enter the Atlantic Ocean, feast on the rich merchant shipping around Montevideo, and maybe even reach Germany.

Not all commanders concurred and the captain of the Emden proposed that his vessel would head west into the Indian Ocean where a lone ship could more easily stay hidden and coal from captured merchants. Spee agreed and the Emden sailed west while the East Asiatic Squadron sailed east, where they were expected to meet the Dresden en route from the Atlantic.

What followed was one of the greatest war time adventures at sea.

Spee eluded capture for months and appeared off the coast of Chile where he destroyed a British fleet at the Battle of Coronel. Crossing into the Atlantic, Spee was finally sunk in December 1914 under the weight of the shells from the 12" guns of the Invincible and Inflexible, two battlecruisers dispatched from North Sea waters to deal with the German threat. The Emden had an incredible campaign of her own, sinking almost two dozen merchant ships and causing panic throughout the Indian Ocean. The Emden also met a tragic end at the hands of the Sydney in November 1914.

In The Pursuit of von Spee you are put at the helm of the German or Allied fleet. Your goal as the German commander is to disrupt Allied shipping, raid Allied possessions, sink Allied warships, and survive for as long as possible. As the Allies you are to capture the German colonies and seek out and destroy the German raiders all the while trying to keep your merchant shipping en route to their destinations and afloat.

The Pursuit of von Spee is a game of deception and subterfuge. One must keep in mind at all times that the winner of this game could very well be the best bluffer. Without knowing exactly where your opponent's ships are, a subtle look could give you the hint needed to find von Spee and send his fleet to the bottom.

The Pursuit of von Spee uses a fog-of-war system that hides the location and condition of the various ships in the game. Naval combat uses a system which takes into account the size of a ship's guns, its top speed, and the strength of its armour at various parts of the ship. The Allied player has a lot of responsibilities to take care of in addition to hunting the German player, while the German player has to choose his battles carefully and keep a close eye on the condition and coal-reserves of each of his ships. The German player also has the ability to bring two other ships into the campaign, the Karlsruhe and the Königsberg. The Allied player receives reinforcements as well during the course of the game.

In your game box you will receive four 12" x 18" map sheets which join together to make one 24" x 36" map spanning from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. The game includes 240 mounted counters (in easy-to-cut strips), one 10-sided die, two blinds, four ship charts, five player aid sheets, and a 17-page rulebook containing all of the rules and setup information required.

This game is of medium complexity but has only a few mechanics to master. Learning the game comes quickly as the phases are simple and straight-forward. In addition to regular playtesting, this game was also play tested with a first-time wargamer, who was nevertheless able to grasp the basics of the game in her first session. Learning the strategy and intricacies of play can take much longer, as the options in this game are endless. Depending on how long von Spee survives, the game can last anywhere from 2 to 12 hours.