Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures: War At Sea is a standalone miniature wargame, originally produced by
Avalon Hill, later by
Wizards of the Coast. Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures gameplay is associated with
Axis & Allies Miniatures, a World War 2 land battles game also made by Avalon Hill, but the two games are very different. Players take command of miniatures that are 1/1800 scale and represent fleets of individual warships, submarines, and squadrons of Aircraft.
Releases
Starters
War at Sea Starter Set: Released on March 16, 2007; It includes 9 randomized units, 2 double-sided battle maps, 6 island cards, and 8 six-sided dice.
War at Sea Starter (Revised): Released on March 16, 2010; It includes 8 non-random miniatures, 2 double-sided battle maps, 4 six-sided dice and a new rule book.
Series
War at Sea:[1] Set of 64 models, released on March 16, 2007. It features ships, submarines and aircraft from the
UK,
US,
France,
Australia,
Germany,
Italy and
Japan.
Task Force:[2] Set of 60 models, released on July 25, 2008. Added
Canadian and
Dutch warships.
Flank Speed:[3] Set of 40 models, released on September 1, 2009. Introduces
Soviet and
New Zealander warships.
Condition Zebra: Set of 40 models, released on June 8, 2010. Introduces
Greek and
Finnish warships.
Fleet Command (usually known as Set V): Set of 39 models, released on December 7, 2010. Introduces
Polish and
Swedish warships.
Surface Action: Set of 40 models, released on October 24, 2011. Introduces a new Bismarck, LST,
HMS Eagle,
Taihō,[4] shore batteries, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and
USS Wasp.
Rules
War at Sea uses fairly simple rules. The players can get quickly familiarized with the
Quick Start Guide and then continue with the
Advanced Rules.
The advanced rules have been periodically updated, beginning in July 2007, with the
Clarifications Document. The update introduces new concepts (such as
ASW harassment and strafing penalties) not present in the original rules. Since at least one unit of the Task Force expansion set directly refers to these new rules, they are implicitly considered as part of the core ruleset, despite only having been published online to date.
There are some companies and blog sites that offer other ideas for Battles, advanced rules and tactics as well.
Errata
An official FAQ for the Task Force set can be found online.
[1]. It addresses errata such as misprints and ambiguously worded rules for the Task Force expansion. Further errata are contained in the
Clarifications Document. Only additional unacknowledged errata are listed here:
The correct name of the Dutch submarine is
HNLMS Zwaardvisch, not Zvaardvisch.
The
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 reconnaissance plane was nicknamed "Condor", not "Kondor".
In the War at Sea base set and the Flank Speed expansion, the colors of the Italian
roundel were inverted. The roundel in Task Force was correct. (This error is partially acknowledged in the Clarifications Document.)
In the expansion Flank Speed, the set checklist lists
Voroshilov as part of the Soviet forces, but the actual ship included in the set is
Kirov. Both are
Kirov-class heavy cruisers of the same series and are considered sister ships.
The
Yamashiro miniature is actually the
Fusō. Yamashiro should have the third turret pointing towards the stern. Fusō's third turret points toward the bow.
The
HMS Repulse miniature is actually that of her modernized sister ship
HMS Renown, and not the unmodernized HMS Repulse.
Some
HMS Glorious miniatures have the island installed backwards.
Some
USS Houston miniatures have no island installed.
Axis & Allies.org An unofficial site dedicated to the World War II boardgames and miniatures games. This site features news, strategies, house rules, downloads, events, and active message forums.
Wargaming Recon New England gaming podcast and blog focusing on War at Sea featuring Sneak Peeks, Pictures, Stats, and Analysis for fleet builds and gameplay.
Axis & Allies Forumini One of the foremost discussion forums for Axis & Allies miniatures.
Axis & Allies Forumini Wiki Established by the members of the Axis & Allies Forumini, this site contains reviews and histories of each unit, as well as pictures of each unit's card.
Miniature Battle Guides This Site offers digital materials, score sheets, fleet ideas and Battle Guides for the War at Sea player.
Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures: War At Sea is a standalone miniature wargame, originally produced by
Avalon Hill, later by
Wizards of the Coast. Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures gameplay is associated with
Axis & Allies Miniatures, a World War 2 land battles game also made by Avalon Hill, but the two games are very different. Players take command of miniatures that are 1/1800 scale and represent fleets of individual warships, submarines, and squadrons of Aircraft.
Releases
Starters
War at Sea Starter Set: Released on March 16, 2007; It includes 9 randomized units, 2 double-sided battle maps, 6 island cards, and 8 six-sided dice.
War at Sea Starter (Revised): Released on March 16, 2010; It includes 8 non-random miniatures, 2 double-sided battle maps, 4 six-sided dice and a new rule book.
Series
War at Sea:[1] Set of 64 models, released on March 16, 2007. It features ships, submarines and aircraft from the
UK,
US,
France,
Australia,
Germany,
Italy and
Japan.
Task Force:[2] Set of 60 models, released on July 25, 2008. Added
Canadian and
Dutch warships.
Flank Speed:[3] Set of 40 models, released on September 1, 2009. Introduces
Soviet and
New Zealander warships.
Condition Zebra: Set of 40 models, released on June 8, 2010. Introduces
Greek and
Finnish warships.
Fleet Command (usually known as Set V): Set of 39 models, released on December 7, 2010. Introduces
Polish and
Swedish warships.
Surface Action: Set of 40 models, released on October 24, 2011. Introduces a new Bismarck, LST,
HMS Eagle,
Taihō,[4] shore batteries, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and
USS Wasp.
Rules
War at Sea uses fairly simple rules. The players can get quickly familiarized with the
Quick Start Guide and then continue with the
Advanced Rules.
The advanced rules have been periodically updated, beginning in July 2007, with the
Clarifications Document. The update introduces new concepts (such as
ASW harassment and strafing penalties) not present in the original rules. Since at least one unit of the Task Force expansion set directly refers to these new rules, they are implicitly considered as part of the core ruleset, despite only having been published online to date.
There are some companies and blog sites that offer other ideas for Battles, advanced rules and tactics as well.
Errata
An official FAQ for the Task Force set can be found online.
[1]. It addresses errata such as misprints and ambiguously worded rules for the Task Force expansion. Further errata are contained in the
Clarifications Document. Only additional unacknowledged errata are listed here:
The correct name of the Dutch submarine is
HNLMS Zwaardvisch, not Zvaardvisch.
The
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 reconnaissance plane was nicknamed "Condor", not "Kondor".
In the War at Sea base set and the Flank Speed expansion, the colors of the Italian
roundel were inverted. The roundel in Task Force was correct. (This error is partially acknowledged in the Clarifications Document.)
In the expansion Flank Speed, the set checklist lists
Voroshilov as part of the Soviet forces, but the actual ship included in the set is
Kirov. Both are
Kirov-class heavy cruisers of the same series and are considered sister ships.
The
Yamashiro miniature is actually the
Fusō. Yamashiro should have the third turret pointing towards the stern. Fusō's third turret points toward the bow.
The
HMS Repulse miniature is actually that of her modernized sister ship
HMS Renown, and not the unmodernized HMS Repulse.
Some
HMS Glorious miniatures have the island installed backwards.
Some
USS Houston miniatures have no island installed.
Axis & Allies.org An unofficial site dedicated to the World War II boardgames and miniatures games. This site features news, strategies, house rules, downloads, events, and active message forums.
Wargaming Recon New England gaming podcast and blog focusing on War at Sea featuring Sneak Peeks, Pictures, Stats, and Analysis for fleet builds and gameplay.
Axis & Allies Forumini One of the foremost discussion forums for Axis & Allies miniatures.
Axis & Allies Forumini Wiki Established by the members of the Axis & Allies Forumini, this site contains reviews and histories of each unit, as well as pictures of each unit's card.
Miniature Battle Guides This Site offers digital materials, score sheets, fleet ideas and Battle Guides for the War at Sea player.