Mediterrean Fury (Microgame Design) 

First of all I have to make a point: I’m not an expert of naval wargames. Second, I like this game very much. After these points make clear, I may start my review of this new game by Paul Rohrbaugh on the battle of Cape Matapan,  fought off Crete between the Italian and the British fleets in the mid of WWII.

The game is a simple, but not simplistic recreation of the battle, with hourly turns (with two scenarios, one of two days, the other of two days and an half) and single ships (a few battleships, several cruisers, a lot of destroyers) plus a few air counters, used mostly by the British player (but with several what if options for the Italian). Historically, the battle was a total disaster for the Italian navy and was the last important battle fought (and lost) by the Regia Marina before the armistice. But in the game, the Italian players has his chances to rotate the historical results and obtain a victory.

The game is very solitaire friendly (and this is not common in a naval wargame), the rules are normally well written (with a couple of doubts that were cleared by the author directly – nothing really important), graphics are up to the best standards in DTP these days.

Fleets are divided in task forces (TFs from now on) and are moved when the chit with the name of that TF on it is drawn from a cup. Before this, at the start of each turn, both players roll to see which of the fleets on the map, if any, are spotted. Spotted fleet may be fight against if a friendly fleet enter the hex during activation. Movement is based on the slowest ship in the TF (and is normally 1 or 2 hexes), while combat uses a battleboard and is fought in up to six round. Each ship is rated for Primary and Secondary gunnery plus Torpedos. For each point of gunnery the owner roll a die and each “6” scores a hit against one of the enemy ships. If a torpedo hits, a second roll is made to see how much damage the torpedo inflicts on the target (from 1 level to sink immediately). Each ships may get 3 levels of damage (that influence movement and combat) before being sunk.

During combat, a fleet or part of it may try to flee and there is a battle board movement that makes initial range shorter or longer. Other than for having to roll dozens of dice, the battle part of the game is very fun to play, very tactical in a simple way (there are rules for making smoke, screening, etc.) and not too long.

Even the spotting method is very clear, with several modifiers that makes it more historical (like the use of radar), and most important very playable solitaire. 

The game seems almost equally balanced, more than the historical situation and both players may have their chances to win, if they make the right decisions in the right moment, and it’s not too limited by sheer luck even if you have to roll so many dice.

I rate the game 7 + in a 1-10 scale

Roberto Chaivini