5 ms·

Harpoon V

39 points by luu 6y ago

stefanpie 6y ago
I am trying to figure out how these work because this seems interesting to me. My understanding is that the "game books" tell you the rules and the scenarios. But how do you play the games: software, on a table like board games?
- simonh 6y ago
  You play it on a table with miniatures or markers, or even on a big sheet of graph paper. You can even play it on a whiteboard. The rulebook gives various stats for your assets (ships, planes, missiles and weapon systems), and you roll dice for things like sensor detection (radar, sonar, etc), scoring hits and damage to the target. There might be modifiers to various dice roles for weather, countermeasures, equipment and troop quality, etc. I played an early version a few times in the 80s, and read The Hunt for Red October the year it came out. Funnily enough I watched the movie last week, it really holds up.
- mcguire 6y ago
  See Miniature Wargaming (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_wargaming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_wargaming).
throwawaybutwhy 6y ago
Who needs Harpoon when there's Command? (One needs to be retired to play both, but I digress)
- evgen 6y ago
  I play Harpoon as a palate cleanser between runs of The Campaign for North Africa... I do agree with the article though, the tabletop boardgame was somehow more satisfying than the computer version of same.
  - simonh 6y ago
    You might like DEFCON. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1520/DEFCON/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1520/DEFCON/
  - mcguire 6y ago
    "...between runs of The Campaign for North Africa..." I'm not sure whether that is a boast or a cry for help. :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Campaign_for_North_Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Campaign_for_North_Africa https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4815/campaign-north-africa-desert-war-1940-43 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4815/campaign-north-afri...
    - evgen 6y ago
      Very tongue in cheek.... but I have a copy of the rules that I will pull out every time I move house and scan through before putting back into the big box of old games I almost never look at. I cannot believe how much time I spent on Squad Leader in my youth -- not even ASL, the original four box sets. Squad Leader, Starfleet Battles, and AD&D; it is amazing how much of a summer in the mid to late 80s could be occupied by those three and a group of geeks ready to play all day long in someone's basement.
- mezentius 6y ago
  I immediately thought of Command — it's a very deep rabbit hole to go down, and the sine qua non if you're into this stuff. But if you are not (1) a defense analyst or (2) a retiree you will be horrified to discover how much time you can sink into reading things like "Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat," or "NATO Defense Expenditures 1970-1990." https://store.steampowered.com/app/1076160/Command_Modern_Operations/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1076160/Command_Modern_Op...
- zabzonk 6y ago
  I used to play computer Harpoon a lot (before I retired!), so I thought Command would be right up my alley, but I came away with extreme brain ache. What I would like is a modern version of computer Harpoon, without the zillion bugs that were in the last iteration.
willvarfar 6y ago
No idea how this old Forbes article turns up on HN now, but I recognise that author! His own blog is kinda interesting http://www.hisutton.com/Covert_Shores_Articles.html http://www.hisutton.com/Covert_Shores_Articles.html and full of excellent illustrations, explanations and cutaways. (am a regular reader)
germinalphrase 6y ago
My assumption is that war games like this are generally complex and would be difficult for the non-boardgame player to just jump into. Arm I wrong about this? Is there a satisfying option in the genre that could be played by - say - a clever 12 year old?
- protomyth 6y ago
  I think Harpoon can be done by a clever 12 year old. Its not Squad Leader after all. Its more a carefully walk through the steps type thing.
- mcguire 6y ago
  Harpoon (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/300724/harpoon-v-modern-tactical-naval-combat-1955-2020 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/300724/harpoon-v-modern-...) isn't necessarily the most complex of the games, but it's not the least complex either. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1008/nautical/linkeditems/boardgamecategory?pageid=1&categoryfilter=1069 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1008/nautical/li... is a list of the modern naval games on BGG. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything that I recognize as a good game (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2073/sixth-fleet-modern-naval-combat-mediterranean https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2073/sixth-fleet-modern-... is popular, with the recent resurgence of late-Cold War games) and is not excessively complex. If you go back to WWII, there are more options (and many more games). I'll just make one suggestion: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3670/battlewagon https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3670/battlewagon (A print-n-play edition is available from WargameVault.) (It's moistened Star Fleet Battles, if you know that game.) Note: if you're talking about wargames in general, the sky's kinda the limit. How about another suggestion: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6544/battle-moscow https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6544/battle-moscow, which is old, but intended to be an introductory game, is freely available (https://grognard.com/bfm/game.html https://grognard.com/bfm/game.html), and has a really spiffy online verion (https://oberlabs.com/b4m/ https://oberlabs.com/b4m/).
  - ghaff 6y ago
    This is one of my favorite threads about a board wargame ever: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/371289/1914-jim-dunnigans-guided-tour-hell https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/371289/1914-jim-dunnigans-g... "This game should have been produced 55 years earlier and the General Staffs of the major combatants forced to play it at least 12 times before actually going to war. They may have been too old to begin a war at that point."
dragonwriter 6y ago
Publisher site here: http://www.admiraltytrilogy.com/harpoon.php http://www.admiraltytrilogy.com/harpoon.php Includes link for a free “Jumpstart” version of the game, among others.

39 points by luu 6y ago

I am trying to figure out how these work because this seems interesting to me. My understanding is that the "game books" tell you the rules and the scenarios. But how do you play the games: software, on a table like board games?

simonh 6y ago
You play it on a table with miniatures or markers, or even on a big sheet of graph paper. You can even play it on a whiteboard. The rulebook gives various stats for your assets (ships, planes, missiles and weapon systems), and you roll dice for things like sensor detection (radar, sonar, etc), scoring hits and damage to the target. There might be modifiers to various dice roles for weather, countermeasures, equipment and troop quality, etc. I played an early version a few times in the 80s, and read The Hunt for Red October the year it came out. Funnily enough I watched the movie last week, it really holds up.
mcguire 6y ago
See Miniature Wargaming (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_wargaming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_wargaming).

throwawaybutwhy 6y ago

Who needs Harpoon when there's Command? (One needs to be retired to play both, but I digress)

evgen 6y ago
I play Harpoon as a palate cleanser between runs of The Campaign for North Africa... I do agree with the article though, the tabletop boardgame was somehow more satisfying than the computer version of same.
- simonh 6y ago
  You might like DEFCON. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1520/DEFCON/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1520/DEFCON/
- mcguire 6y ago
  "...between runs of The Campaign for North Africa..." I'm not sure whether that is a boast or a cry for help. :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Campaign_for_North_Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Campaign_for_North_Africa https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4815/campaign-north-africa-desert-war-1940-43 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4815/campaign-north-afri...
  - evgen 6y ago
    Very tongue in cheek.... but I have a copy of the rules that I will pull out every time I move house and scan through before putting back into the big box of old games I almost never look at. I cannot believe how much time I spent on Squad Leader in my youth -- not even ASL, the original four box sets. Squad Leader, Starfleet Battles, and AD&D; it is amazing how much of a summer in the mid to late 80s could be occupied by those three and a group of geeks ready to play all day long in someone's basement.
mezentius 6y ago
I immediately thought of Command — it's a very deep rabbit hole to go down, and the sine qua non if you're into this stuff. But if you are not (1) a defense analyst or (2) a retiree you will be horrified to discover how much time you can sink into reading things like "Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat," or "NATO Defense Expenditures 1970-1990." https://store.steampowered.com/app/1076160/Command_Modern_Operations/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1076160/Command_Modern_Op...
zabzonk 6y ago
I used to play computer Harpoon a lot (before I retired!), so I thought Command would be right up my alley, but I came away with extreme brain ache. What I would like is a modern version of computer Harpoon, without the zillion bugs that were in the last iteration.

willvarfar 6y ago

No idea how this old Forbes article turns up on HN now, but I recognise that author! His own blog is kinda interesting http://www.hisutton.com/Covert_Shores_Articles.html http://www.hisutton.com/Covert_Shores_Articles.html and full of excellent illustrations, explanations and cutaways. (am a regular reader)

germinalphrase 6y ago

My assumption is that war games like this are generally complex and would be difficult for the non-boardgame player to just jump into. Arm I wrong about this? Is there a satisfying option in the genre that could be played by - say - a clever 12 year old?

protomyth 6y ago
I think Harpoon can be done by a clever 12 year old. Its not Squad Leader after all. Its more a carefully walk through the steps type thing.
mcguire 6y ago
Harpoon (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/300724/harpoon-v-modern-tactical-naval-combat-1955-2020 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/300724/harpoon-v-modern-...) isn't necessarily the most complex of the games, but it's not the least complex either. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1008/nautical/linkeditems/boardgamecategory?pageid=1&categoryfilter=1069 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1008/nautical/li... is a list of the modern naval games on BGG. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything that I recognize as a good game (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2073/sixth-fleet-modern-naval-combat-mediterranean https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2073/sixth-fleet-modern-... is popular, with the recent resurgence of late-Cold War games) and is not excessively complex. If you go back to WWII, there are more options (and many more games). I'll just make one suggestion: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3670/battlewagon https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3670/battlewagon (A print-n-play edition is available from WargameVault.) (It's moistened Star Fleet Battles, if you know that game.) Note: if you're talking about wargames in general, the sky's kinda the limit. How about another suggestion: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6544/battle-moscow https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6544/battle-moscow, which is old, but intended to be an introductory game, is freely available (https://grognard.com/bfm/game.html https://grognard.com/bfm/game.html), and has a really spiffy online verion (https://oberlabs.com/b4m/ https://oberlabs.com/b4m/).
- ghaff 6y ago
  This is one of my favorite threads about a board wargame ever: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/371289/1914-jim-dunnigans-guided-tour-hell https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/371289/1914-jim-dunnigans-g... "This game should have been produced 55 years earlier and the General Staffs of the major combatants forced to play it at least 12 times before actually going to war. They may have been too old to begin a war at that point."

dragonwriter 6y ago

Publisher site here: http://www.admiraltytrilogy.com/harpoon.php http://www.admiraltytrilogy.com/harpoon.php Includes link for a free “Jumpstart” version of the game, among others.