Modern Naval Battles III Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 2. Components
  • 2.1 Printing and Cutting the Cards
  • 2.2 Progressive Rules Booklets
• 5. Prepare for Play
  • 5.1 The Deal
• 6. Sequence of Play
  • 6.1 The Steps of a Player's Turn
• 7. Attacks
  • 7.13 Torpedo Attacks and Submarines
  • 7.15 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
• 9. Special Cards
  • 9.1 Additional Ship
• 10. "Carrier Modified" Action Cards
• 11. Sunk Ships and The End
  • 11.2 Sinking a Player's Last Ship
• 13. Optional Rules
  • 13.63 Flight Deck Fire
• 14. Tournament Rules
  • 14.1 Setting up a Tournament Game
• Definitions and Abbreviations

2. Components

Cold War Naval Battles III: Reinforcements consists of the following parts:

• This rules booklet
• 160 Ship cards

2.1 Printing and Cutting the Cards

There are twenty Ship Card Front Sheets and eight Ship Card Back Sheets. Naturally, the appropriate Back Sheet is printed on the reverse side of each of the Front Sheets (the first seven Front Sheets have a corresponding numbered Back Sheet; Front Sheets #8 through 20 all use the standard back design with the Cold War Naval Battles game logo). Print these cards on white 8.5" x 11" cardstock paper sheets (65# paper that is commonly available) with a color printer and cut them along the gray cut lines shown on their front sides.

2.2 Progressive Rules Booklets

This rules booklet includes all of the rules for every previous version of Cold War Naval Battles (i.e., the standard game and CWNB II: Action). All of the new stuff added in this expansion kit, going forward from this rule, is shown in blue type.

(Booklet note: the text below is the blue-type material. The base rules it modifies are in the Modern Naval Battles rulebook.)

5. Prepare for Play

5.1 The Deal

Divide all of the Ship cards into four piles by type as described below:

• Pile #1 contains all CV, CVN, CVH, and CVHG ship types.
• Pile #2 contains all BB, CHG, CA, CG, CGN and LPH ship types.
• Pile #3 contains all SS, SSN, and SSGN ship types.
• Pile #4 contains all DD, DDG, FF, and FFG ship types.

Shuffle each pile and deal to each player: one card from each of piles 1, 2, and 3, and four cards from pile 4 (for a total of seven Ship cards dealt to each player). This will give each player a Task Force of relative equivalence. Place the four piles with remainder of the Ship cards face-up in a visible location near the center of the table. Each constitutes a Ship deck of the appropriate number (1 through 4). Important: only the top card of each Ship deck should ever be visible. No peeking beneath the top cards!

6. Sequence of Play

6.1 The Steps of a Player's Turn

A.2 Fog of War: Roll a single six-sided die. The result is your Fog of War allotment for that turn, indicating how many 'actions' you may perform during Step B.1 (Battle Stations!) and what caliber of Additional Ship card you'll receive (if you play an Additional Ship card this turn, see 9.1).

7. Attacks

7.13 Torpedo Attacks and Submarines

Diesel submarines, because of their slower and noisier engines, are poor hunters and therefore suffer a minus one (–1) Chance to Hit modifier for its torpedo attacks against a passive submarine (as indicated under the word "DIESEL" on their Ship cards).

7.15 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)

Diesel submarines, because of their slower and noisier engines, are easier prey and therefore award ASW attacking them a plus one (+1) Chance to Hit modifier (as indicated under the word "DIESEL" on their Ship cards).

Soviet Echo class submarines, because they need to surface to launch and guide their missiles, are particularly vulnerable when in active mode. They award ASW attacking them a plus two (+2) Chance to Hit modifier (as indicated under the word "LAUNCH" on their Ship cards).

9. Special Cards

Important: The play of Special cards does not count against a player's Fog of War allotment!

9.1 Additional Ship

This card may only be played on your turn during Step A.5 (Ship, Ahoy!). Take the top Ship card from the appropriate Ship deck.

Which Ship deck you draw from depends upon your unmodified Fog of War die roll for that turn (Step A.2) as shown on the table below:

Unmodified Fog of War Die Roll	Your Additional Ship Is Taken From This Ship Deck
1	#1 (CV, CVN, CVH, and SVHG) [sic: the booklet prints "SVHG"; the ship type in the list is CVHG]
2	#2 (BB, CHG, CA, CG, CGN, and LPH)
3	#3 (SS, SSN, and SSGN)
4 through 6	#4 (DD, DDG, FF, and FFG)

Thus, a bad (low) Fog of War die roll will allow you to draw better Additional Ships that turn. Note that a player may always draw from a higher numbered Ship deck than he is allowed to draw from.

If a player plays a second Additional Ship card on the same turn, that ship is drawn from the next higher numbered pile, and so on for each extra Additional Ship card played. Any number of Additional Ships necessary can be drawn from Ship deck #4.

If there are no cards left in a given Ship deck, use the next higher numbered Ship deck instead (or if Ship deck #4 is depleted, go back to #3, etc.)

Remember, you may play multiple Additional Ship cards in a single turn one at a time, each time examining the top cards in the respective Ship decks before deciding whether to play an Additional Ship card to take it or not.

A newly received surface ship is added to a row in your Task Force that conforms to Rule 5.3 (Ships in Row Requirement). Newly placed submarines arrive in passive mode.

You may use these new ships to attack with this turn.

10. "Carrier Modified" Action Cards

ASW Support ships: The Soviet Moskva class and Italian Vittorio Venetto class Cruisers have ASW Rating that may be used in lieu of a Carrier Air Strike Rating for ASW conducted by that Task Force. These ships are immune to Bad Luck: Flight Deck Fire cards.

11. Sunk Ships and The End

11.2 Sinking a Player's Last Ship

A player whose last ship is sunk stays in the game and must play an Additional Ship card as soon as he is able to. A player with no ships remaining in his Task Force may still play Land Based Air Strikes (7.16), Bomber Strikes (7.17), Escorting Air Cover (13.4), Air-to-Air Refueling (9.5), Surprise Attack (7.18), Tactics (13.5), and attack with Anti-Submarine Warfare (7.15), Minefields (7.14), and Intelligence cards (9.6).

A player receives no points for ships sunk while he has no ships in his own Task Force. Such sunken ships are placed, face-up, at the bottom of their respective Ship deck.

13. Optional Rules

13.63 Flight Deck Fire

ASW Support ships are immune to Flight Deck Fire cards.

14. Tournament Rules

14.1 Setting up a Tournament Game

The setup up rules added in Cold War Naval Battle III: Reinforcements are perfectly suited for tournament play.

Definitions and Abbreviations

ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare; the painstaking tracking of submarines that are often passive by carefully listening for them from ship and helicopters 'Sound Bouyies.'

Diesel: The engine type used on older, non-nuclear powered submarines. Submarines with diesel engines must surface and refuel more often than their nuclear-powered counterparts, putting them at a disadvantage.

Launch: Soviet Echo class submarines have to surface to fire and guide their Missile Attacks. This makes them extremely vulnerable when launching Missile Attacks.

LPH: Helicopter Landing Ship; these ships carry troops (US Marines) and their equipment to battles on distant shores (thus their high Point Value), they are also armed with helicopters and a contingent of vertical take-off fighter-bombers.

Maritime Self-Defense Force: Japanese Navy.

SS: Diesel Powered Submarine; these are older designed submarines that are slower and noisier than Nuclear Powered Submarines, so they operate at a disadvantage.