Game: Dover Patrol

Thread: Re: Dover Patrol

Ulesees — 2007-03-20T21:16:56+00:00

Indeed,I am a veteran of all these games. Currently into Gibson's Aviation which seems to be less well known than L'A, DP, and TT but extremely well thought out in its own right. We've got Stratego but actually prefer 'Sharpe's Attack' which has far better bits and interesting rule differences. It really comes to life if you know Cornwell's fine Sharpe books or the brilliant Sean Bean TV series. We usually play it on the Stratego Board though and have the Redoubts act like the Mines in DP and go off when non-attacked. We also let Flags move - but horizontlly only.

Thread: Re: Dover Patrol

Philip Thomas — 2007-03-20T14:32:24+00:00

My copy is at home, but I see you've found a file anyway. The principle mechanics are very simple, and its a variant on Stratego, but you have more pieces at the top end of the ladder which means you haven't lost your game if you get a really good piece killed.

Thread: Re: Dover Patrol

Ulesees — 2007-03-20T14:11:02+00:00

Stupendous. Many thanks to whoever uploaded it and to your good self for showing me the ropes. By the way this 'pdf' file doesn't open with acrobat but photoshop unravels it nicely.

Thread: Re: Dover Patrol

spacerx — 2007-03-20T01:04:28+00:00

it looks like someone has uploaded the rules as a pdf in the files section of the game page -
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2606

Thread: Dover Patrol

Ulesees — 2007-03-20T00:46:04+00:00

Hello everyone
We've just dug out this brilliant old game, bt the rules have gone AWOL.
Please could some kind soul scan/photo a copy to fill us in?

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Nekura — 2005-11-02T20:48:24+00:00

Picture by Alvin's Vintage Board Games [Vintage-Games.co.uk] - Used With Permission

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Nekura — 2005-11-02T20:48:24+00:00

Picture by Alvin's Vintage Board Games [Vintage-Games.co.uk] - Used With Permission

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Nekura — 2005-11-02T20:48:24+00:00

Picture by Alvin's Vintage Board Games [Vintage-Games.co.uk] - Used With Permission

Thread: Dover Patrol, Stratego-At-Sea

Philip Thomas — 2005-09-23T14:06:53+00:00

Dover Patrol is a pretty old game, dating back to when there was a sizeable English fleet in the Straits of Dover. It sets up a clash between two equal fleets, who are operating out of harbours in opposite corners of the board. The Harbour is surrounded by a Harbour Wall, which prevents movement and attacks over it, though there is an opening of two squares next to the short side of the board. There is a filled in square in the Harbour which can't be moved to but carries a 'flag'. The aim of the game is to pick up the enemy flag (By sailling into an adjacent square), and then return it to your own flagzone, with your own flag still there. If one player cannot move, the other player wins (this torpedoes the 'block the harbour with mines' strategy). The pieces are set up so that only the player who controls a piece can see what it is.

Each turn, you move 1 piece 1 square forward, back, or sideways. If you end your turn in a square adjacent to an enemy piece, you may attack. (Just like Stratego). Both sides reveal their piece and the loser's sinks. If there is a tie, both ship sinks. Ships are rated from 2-10.
So far so simple. But there are several unusual pieces with special rules. Each player has 3 Submarines, which sink anything except Minelayers and Other Submarines (nothing happens), and Motor Torpedo Boats (Number 2) and Mines which sink them.

Each player has 3 Mines, which are stationary and kill anything that attacks them, except for Minesweepers, which kill them but are killed by everything else. Each player also has 1 Minelayer, which can move but cannot attack and kills anything that attacks them except Minesweepers (nothing happens), and Destroyers (Number 4), which Sink them.

Finally each player has a Flying Boat, which can move 2, can cross the Harbour Wall, and never kills anything, but is only killed by Destroyers and Motor Torpedo Boats (2 & 4).

How does the game play? First you have to set up your pieces- much like Stratego, but because of the extra options you have to think about it harder. Then in the opening phase both sides scout, normally with 3s. Once you have found a powerful or unusual piece, you try to bring its bane to bear on it, normally. There can be plenty of bluffing as well here. One side or the other will attack the harbour area, and the other side will defend- although much like in chess, you can have each player launching a flank attack on the side of the board containing the enemy harbour. The skills involved are memory and intuition, as well as a graps of which pieces work well together. I find it exciting and lively. Having 3 pieces at the top of the food tree makes it less easy to lose the game outright with a single blunder.

Also, the rules for ship-to-ship combat make a lot more sense than those for officer-to-officer combat did in Stratego, even though they are the same rules!

The component quality is excellent for the time and ok even by today's exacting standards. Since the backs of the pieces have to be uniform, the artwork such as it is occurs on the front- a pleasing silhouette of what even a landlubber can recognise as a ship, or a bigger ship.

All in all I think this is a decent game that deserves reprinting.

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ronster0 — 2005-05-12T01:16:02+00:00

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EJKemp — 2005-03-23T20:28:07+00:00

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EJKemp — 2005-03-23T20:28:07+00:00

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chrisinengland — 2004-07-01T10:21:56+00:00

Gibsons Games edition

Thread: Session Report

chrisinengland — 2004-03-29T04:28:23+00:00

Dover patrol the rematch 25 years on!

Having recently got a copy of Dover Patrol, which was a stock game we played as kids with my friend Phil. My brother and myself set up for a game, it be 25ish years since we last played. I was playing Blue with Andy playing Red.

The game opened rather un eventfully with the exchange of a few minor unit while scouting out the front line, myself getting a little the better of this rather indecisive exchange. I drew the first major blood when Andy rather smugly attacked my Minelayer, with his Flagship(10). I then managed to demolish the majority of the defences around Andy’s Harbour and sunk a couple of his subs, but not before running my battle squadron onto a mine! In the meantime Andy had been working his what turned out to be Strike force towards my harbour. By eliminating a number of minor pieces and some pretty dreadful play his flying boat managed to capture my flag and made up for his own harbour via the middle of board. During this time I was assembling an anti aircraft hunting for of torpedo boats (2) and Destroyers (4). Which surrounded his Flying board. In the mean time Andy lost track of where my minelayer was and a few more of his ships threw themselves suicidal on its minefields. While all of this was going on my flying boat was making towards Andy’s harbour pretty much unopposed, there being far fewer pieces now in play. Andy sacrificed a lot of material to try and get his flying boat out of the trap, but all to no avail, eventually its luck ran out. My flying boat now leaped the harbour wall pick up Andy flag, made a roundabout route to pick up my own flag and flew victoriously into my own harbour.

I finished the game with a significant superiority in material, Andy having lost all his Capital ship bar one, all his subs and all but one of his destroyers. But it’d been a close run thing before Andy’s flying boat was trapped. The start of the show for me was the Minelayer, which had reaped havoc care of Andy’s failing memory and his obsession with getting the Flying boat home. Playing time about 1hour 10. Lets hope its not 25 years before we play again!

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2001-12-12T22:43:05+00:00