Currently I'm tinkering with my own naval rules. I've played War at Sea for quite some time and think it is a fast-paced, entertaining game. It lacks detail, but in some way that exact fact makes it what it is; because a player doesn't have to be concerned with every nut and bolt of his ships the game can work with entirely different mechanics than most naval games to give it its unique touch.
After War at Sea I've read up on many different rule sets, and in time I've made an observation:
Practically all other naval games (limiting myself to WW2) are trying to be a simulation of sort, some games are more a simulation than others, but most games have put the most effort into modelling the effects of armor, shells, penetration, weather, speed, maneuverability, etc.
Thing is, that amount of detailing also makes the games very predictable, since most ships can't move beyond a couple of inches per turn, shoot with extremely predictable accuracy, can't turn more than a few degrees and all stats of the ships are static, it is impossible to have any aces up your sleeve. That was something that War at Sea excelled at, because of the Special Abilities of each unit, the games became much more unpredictable and much more a game than a simulation. Something that might not be to everyone's taste, but was certainly very satisfying to me.So now what? War at Sea has been discontinued for a while although the community at the War at Sea forum are doing a terrific job in keeping the game alive, and with it; the only 'gamey' naval rule set I know of.
So, not finding what I'm looking for in other available rule sets, I've been working on my own set, which is a monumental task.
