Atlantic Storm: Admiral's Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1.0 Introduction
• 2.0 Card Decks
  • Convoy deck
  • Force deck
• 3.0 Getting Started
  • 3.1 Determine Dealer
  • 3.2 Convoy Draw Pile
  • 3.3 Example of 4-Player Setup
  • 3.4 Etiquette
• 4.0 Round of Play
  • 4.1 New Round Leader
  • 4.2 Select Convoy
  • 4.3 Declare Suit
  • 4.4 Play or Discard
  • 4.5 Battle Outcome
  • 4.6 Draw Cards
  • 4.7 End of Game
  • 4.8 How to Win
• 5.0 Legal Play
  • 5.1 Force Cards
  • 5.2 Bonus Cards
  • 5.3 Event Cards
• 6.0 Illegal Play
• 7.0 Victims of Fate
  • 7.1 Announcing Fate
  • 7.2 Effects of Fate
• 8.0 Battle Outcome
  • 8.1 One Side Wins
  • 8.2 Tied Combat
  • 8.3 No Combat
• 9.0 Spoils
  • 9.1 Dividing the Spoils
  • 9.2 Spoils Area
  • 9.3 Victim Spoils
• 10.0 Hand Size
• 11.0 Two- and Three-Player Games
• 12.0 Solitaire Game
  • 12.1 Solitaire Setup
  • 12.2 Solitaire Round of Play
  • 12.3 Enemy Turn A
  • 12.4 Determine Suit
  • 12.5 Player Turn B
  • 12.6 Enemy Turn C
  • 12.7 Player Turn D
  • 12.8 Enemy Turn E
  • 12.9 Battle Outcome
  • 12.10 Events in the Solitaire Game
  • 12.11 Increased Challenge
• 13.0 Chronological Version
  • 13.1 Convoy Draw Pile
  • 13.2 Force Draw Pile
  • 13.3 Hand Size
• 14.0 Team Version
• 15.0 Event Card Effects
  • 15.1 Storm
  • 15.2 Ultra & B-Dienst
  • 15.3 Admiral Tovey & Admiral Donitz
  • 15.4 Gray Ranger & U-461, Stiebler
  • 15.5 Huff-Duff & Shadower
  • 15.6 Raid on St. Nazaire & Black Gap
  • 15.7 Azores & Channel Dash
  • 15.8 Fuel Shortage
  • 15.9 Pivotal Battle
  • 15.10 Surprise
  • 15.11 Empress of Britain

1.0 Introduction

Atlantic Storm is a competitive strategy card game for one to six players. The package contains these rules, 170 cards, player aids, and dice.

This is the Admiral's Edition of the game. If you know how to play the First Edition, read the rules printed in blue to understand the changes that the Admiral's Edition introduces. The original rules have also been reorganized and clarified for the Admiral's Edition. Text printed in red provides gameplay examples and historical background.

2.0 Card Decks

Convoy deck

The Convoy deck contains 52 cards. All of these are Convoy Cards except for one Storm Event Card.

Figure 1: Features of Convoy Card

• A. Convoy Name and route
• B. Victim Status: Convoy names in yellow are victims of fate
• C. Year of Sailing
• D. Cargo Type: Full (yellow), Half-full (half yellow, half white), Empty (white)
• E. Victory Point (VP) Value
• F. Ocean: North Atlantic or Arctic (background image)
• G. History
• H. Card Number: The Convoy Cards are numbered sequentially in chronological order. This has no effect on play except for breaking a tie when determining the winner at game end
• I. (Admiral's Edition) Fated By: If a Force Card is fated against this convoy, it is listed here

Force deck

(Admiral's Edition) The Force deck contains 118 cards, which include Force Cards, Bonus cards, and Event Cards.

Figure 2: Features of Force Card

• A. Name and description
• B. Victim Status: Force Card names in yellow are victims of fate
• C. Side: The banner color indicates whether the card is Allied, Axis, or Either. British, Canadian, American, and Free French cards are Allied; German and Italian cards are Axis
• D. Air Combat Value
• E. Surface Combat Value
• F. Sub/Anti-Sub Combat Value
• G. Victory Point (VP) Value or Recycle icon
• H. Type: Aircraft, Surface, Sub/Anti-Sub, or Wild (photo frame)
• I. (Admiral's Edition) Category: Force Card, Bonus card, or Event Card
• J. Event/Bonus Text or History
• K. Years Available: A card is only playable in the years displayed
• L. Fated By: If this card is a victim, the card that fates it appears here
• M. Fated Against: If this card is a Fate Card, the name of its victim appears here
• N. Ocean Limitation: The background image shows the ocean limitation: North Atlantic only (blue sky and sea), Arctic only (peach sky and rough sea), or Both Oceans (stormy sky and whitecaps)

Figure 3: The photo frame identifies the card's Type — Aircraft (trapezoid), Surface (double-circle/peanut shape), Sub/Anti-Sub (circle), Wild (rectangle).

3.0 Getting Started

The following rules describe the Standard Version for all players. If you have less than four players, you should also read the section specific to the Solitaire Game or the Two- and Three-Player Game.

Atlantic Storm is a competitive game that involves elements of negotiation and cooperative play. The Standard Version provides the most uncertainty about your opponents as well as more opportunities for negotiation. However, we also include rules for a Chronological Version and a Team Version for those players who prefer more certainty or less negotiating.

The game is fought in rounds called battles. A battle occurs for a single convoy chosen by the round leader. Allied forces protect convoys, and Axis forces attack them. Each player may fight for either side in a given battle.

3.1 Determine Dealer

Randomly determine the dealer and (if desired) the order of seating at the table. The dealer is the round leader in the first round.

The dealer shuffles the Force deck and deals eight cards facedown to each player. Everyone looks at their hand of cards and discards two cards to the Force Discard Pile. This leaves everyone with a starting hand of six cards. Discards go face up in the pile, but only your top card must be shown when you discard two. The dealer places the remainder of the Force deck facedown as the Force Draw Pile.

3.2 Convoy Draw Pile

The player to the dealer's left builds the Convoy Draw Pile using one of the following methods. Players must agree at the start of play which method to use:

• Quick: Discard 28 convoys at random, and shuffle the remaining with Storm (24 cards)
• Random: Discard 16 convoys at random, and shuffle the remaining with Storm (36 cards)
• Loaded: Discard the 14 Empty convoys, and shuffle the remaining with Storm (38 cards). Thus the Draw Pile will contain only Full and Half-full convoys.
• Fated: Discard the 17 non-fated convoys, and shuffle the remaining with Storm (35 cards). Because this is an odd number, the round leader on the first round should place the convoy that he would normally remove from play (see rule 4.2. Select Convoy) at the bottom of the Convoy Draw Pile.
• Everything: Shuffle the entire convoy deck (52 cards).

3.3 Example of 4-Player Setup

(Diagram.) Each of the four players (A to D) has a Hand, a Card Play Area, and a Spoils Area in front of them. In the centre of the table are the Convoy Draw Pile, the Selected Convoy, the Force Draw Pile, and the Force Discard Pile.

3.4 Etiquette

Never show your hand of cards to other players. You may talk about your cards to other players as long as you do so openly to everyone at the table. Don't leave the table to discuss the game in private, and don't annoy other players by whispering or passing notes.

Players should never sort through the Force Discard Pile unless all players at the table agree.

Winning a battle is rarely done alone. You typically need other players to play on the same side as you, just as other players may ask for your cooperation. Conversation between players is encouraged.

Convince other players to work against the person with the highest score (which is not always apparent in the middle of the game).

A player is not required to keep any promises, but the best players are those who honor their agreements and win the trust of others. It is often wise to be a little vague about what you intend to play, because the situation may change before your turn comes around.

Furthermore, if you are too specific, this could give valuable clues to a lurking enemy.

Above all, have fun.

4.0 Round of Play

The game is played in rounds (battles). Each player gets to play once per round in clockwise order, starting with the round leader. Every round follows this sequence of steps:

4.1 New Round Leader

Players take turns leading the rounds.

The dealer leads the first round. At the end of that round, the player on his left leads the second round, the next player on the left leads the third round, and so forth around the table for the entire game until all battles are fought.

4.2 Select Convoy

The round leader flips over the top two Convoy Cards from the Convoy Draw Pile, selects one for battle, and removes the other from the game. Skip this convoy selection step if the battle is continuing from the previous round (see 8.2. Tied Combat). The round leader announces the year and ocean of the convoy and whether or not it is "fated."

4.3 Declare Suit

The round leader declares what "Suit" (Type of operations) will apply in that battle. The round leader always calls the Suit, even if he discards instead of plays. There are four Suits:

• Air: Only Air Combat Values apply to the battle's outcome
• Surface: Only Surface Combat Values apply to the battle's outcome
• Sub: Only Sub/Anti-Sub Combat Values apply to the battle's outcome
• Combined: All three Combat Values (Air, Surface, and Sub/Anti-Sub) apply to the battle's outcome

4.4 Play or Discard

Each player, starting with the round leader and going in clockwise order around the table, gets a turn to play from his hand or discard.

A player typically has a mix of Allied and Axis cards in hand, and it is his choice which side he plays on in that battle. A player may do one of three things:

• Play face up one or more cards within the restrictions of Legal Play (see rule 5.0)
• Discard one card to the Force Discard Pile instead of playing
• Discard his entire hand to the Force Discard Pile instead of playing (players often call this a "flush")

There is no passing. You are not required to play a card during your turn, even if you have a card that is playable in that battle, but if you choose not to play you must discard.

If you elect to discard, you must discard one card and keep the rest, or you must discard your entire hand. Those are the only two choices for discarding unless an Event allows you to do otherwise. Likewise, you may not play and discard in the same turn unless an Event allows you to do so.

Discards go face up in the Force Discard Pile, but only your top card must be shown when you discard more than one card.

4.5 Battle Outcome

The battle outcome is determined after the last player in the round plays or discards. There are three possible outcomes:

• One Side Wins: The victors divide the spoils of battle
• Tied Combat: The battle continues into a new round
• No Combat: Remove the convoy from play

4.6 Draw Cards

At the end of each round, all players draw enough cards from the Force Draw Pile to fill their hands. Players should draw in clockwise order beginning with the player whose turn it is to lead the next round. A player's hand size starts at six cards but may increase during play (see 10.0 Hand Size).

If the number of cards in your hand at the end of a round exceeds your hand size (due to an Event), you must discard enough cards from your hand to reach your allowed hand size. When the Draw Pile is exhausted, shuffle the Force Discard Pile and place it facedown as the new Force Draw Pile.

4.7 End of Game

A game ends when the Convoy Draw Pile is empty and the last battle is finished. Depending on the method used for building the Convoy Draw Pile, a game will last a minimum of 12 rounds for a Quick game, 18 rounds for Random or Fated, or 19 rounds for Loaded. However, tied battle outcomes will cause extra rounds.

4.8 How to Win

At game end, players count up the VPs in their spoils area. The player with the highest total wins. If two or more players are tied to win, the one who has the most Convoy VPs wins. If they are still tied to win, the player who has the lowest Convoy Card number wins (convoys are numbered sequentially in chronological order from 2 to 52).

5.0 Legal Play

During your turn, you may play one or more cards from your hand within the following restrictions:

• One Force Card: You may play no more than one Force Card unless an Event allows you to play two
• Bonus Cards: You may play any number of Bonus cards. A Bonus card may be played alone, with a Force Card, or with other Bonus or Event Cards. A Bonus card does not require a Force Card to be played with it.
• Event Cards: You may play any number of Event Cards
• Year: Your card play(s) must match the convoy's year
• Ocean: Your card play(s) must match the convoy's ocean (North Atlantic or Arctic). Cards with a "Both Oceans" background may be played in both oceans (for example, Victorious).
• Side: If you play more than one card, they must be on the same side (Allied or Axis), but the nationalities on that side do not have to match. A few Event Cards may be played with either side: Surprise, Empress of Britain, Fuel Shortage and Pivotal Battle.
• Type: If you play more than one card, they must all be of the same type (Aircraft, Surface, or Sub/Anti-Sub) unless an Event allows otherwise. The Wild type may be played with any type.

Figure 4: The photo frame identifies the card's Type (Aircraft, Surface, Sub/Anti-Sub, Wild).

The Suit of a battle never restricts what card Type you may play. For example, if the round leader called Sub and played a U-boat with a Sub Combat Value of 3, you might play an Allied Aircraft card that has an Anti-Sub Combat Value of 2.

Your card play(s) may have a Combat Value of zero in the declared Suit. For example, if the Suit is Air and someone played the Audacity with an Air Combat Value of 3, you might play U-751 even though it has an Air Combat Value of 0 because it is fated against Audacity.

Example of legal play: In a 1941 Atlantic convoy battle, you could play any combination of the following cards together or alone from your hand: Luigi Torelli, Shadower, Black Gap, and/or Axis Minefield.

5.1 Force Cards

A Force Card is identified by the word "Force" in its Category header, and it has separate Combat Values in Air, Surface, and Sub/Anti-Sub.

Some Force Cards have a "?" symbol in place of a number for a Combat Value. Each "?" represents a six-sided die roll, so the value will range from 1 to 6. Roll separately for each "?" you play. However, no player rolls for "?" until everyone has played or discarded that round. The Bismarck and Tirpitz have "??" Surface Combat Values. In these cases, the player rolls two dice, and the sum of the roll is that ship's Surface Combat Value.

You may only play one Force Card on your turn unless you play an Event that allows you to play two.

Force Cards have a VP value ranging from 1 to 5.

5.2 Bonus Cards

A Bonus card is identified by the word "Bonus" beneath the icon of its Type. A Bonus Card also has the "+" symbol after its Combat Values to indicate that the Bonus Card adds its values to the rest of your play.

A Bonus Card may be played alone or in addition to other cards from your hand. You may play as many Bonus Cards of the same Type (Aircraft, Surface, or Sub/Anti-Sub) as desired as long as they are on the same side (Axis or Allied). You do not have to match the nationalities of the cards on that side. For example, a British Bonus Card could be played with a Canadian Force Card.

Bonus cards have a Recycle icon in place of a VP value. Cards with the Recycle icon are discarded face up on the Force Discard Pile at the end of the battle instead of becoming spoils.

5.3 Event Cards

An Event Card is identified by the word "Event" beneath the icon of its Type. An Event Card may be played alone or in addition to other cards from your hand.

You may play as many Event Cards of the same Type as desired as long as they are on the same side (Axis or Allied). A few Event Cards may be played with either side.

See 15.0 Event Card Effects for more details about Events.

Some Event Cards also have "+" Combat Values, which are treated the same as bonus Combat Values.

Some Event Cards have a Recycle icon in place of a VP value. Cards with the Recycle icon are discarded face up on the Force Discard Pile at the end of the battle instead of becoming spoils.

6.0 Illegal Play

There are several ways your play may be illegal:

• Extra Force Card: Unless an Event allows you to play two Force Cards, you may only play one
• Wrong Year: The card(s) you play do not match the convoy's year
• Wrong Ocean: The card(s) you play are not playable in the convoy's ocean
• Mixed Sides: You play a combination of Allied and Axis cards together
• Mismatched Types: You play cards of different Types (Aircraft, Surface, or Sub/Anti-Sub) unless an Event permits this

Examples of illegal play: In a 1942 Arctic convoy battle, all of the following cards are illegal, whether played alone or together: Streitaxt, U-432, Channel Dash, Centimetric Radar, and Catalina.

If you make an illegal play and it is noticed before the next player plays or discards, then you must take the illegal play back into your hand and re-do your turn. If your illegal play is not noticed until after the next player plays or discards, then your illegal play is returned to your hand and you may not re-do your turn. In this case, you have lost your opportunity to play or discard that round.

7.0 Victims of Fate

Some cards are fated against other cards (their victims) based on historical occurrences. A Fate Card may itself be a victim to some other Fate Card. Fate cards list the name of their victim below the years available, and victim cards have their names printed in yellow type.

7.1 Announcing Fate

A Fate Card only affects its victim if you play the Fate Card after the victim in the current round (not in a previous round). If you play a Fate Card and its victim is played later in the round, the victim does not suffer its fate.

You must announce the victim when you reveal your Fate Card on your turn. If you fail to announce it before the next person plays, the fate does not occur against that victim.

A Fate Card targets its victim even if the Fate Card has a zero Combat Value in the declared Suit.

For example, if the Suit is Air and someone played the Audacity, you might play U-751 even though it has an Air Combat Value of 0 because it is fated against Audacity.

7.2 Effects of Fate

There are three kinds of victims. How fate works against each kind of victim differs as follows:

• Convoy Card: If your card is fated against the convoy this round, double the Combat Value of your Fate Card in this battle (when doubling a "?", double the die roll result rather than roll two dice). If you play other cards in addition to the Fate Card, their Combat Value is unchanged. An Event Card that fates a convoy has its Combat Value doubled, but the effect of its Event is not doubled.
• Force Card or Event Card with a VP value: If your card is fated against a Force Card or Event Card that has a VP value, you immediately destroy the victim. Remove it from the battle and place it face down in your spoils area.
• Bonus card or Event Card with the Recycle icon: Immediately discard the victim. Remove it from the battle and place it face up on the Force Discard Pile.

8.0 Battle Outcome

A battle ends after the last player in a round plays or discards. When the battle ends, roll a six-sided die for each "?" and total the Combat Values of the played cards for each side, Allies versus Axis. (The Bismarck and Tirpitz have "??" Surface Combat Values, so you roll two dice each to determine their Surface Combat Value.)

Count only the Combat Values in the declared Suit. If the Suit is combined, count all three of the Combat Values on each played card.

The side with the highest total Combat Value wins the battle and the other side's played cards become the spoils.

There are three possible outcomes to a battle: One Side Wins, Tied Combat, or No Combat.

8.1 One Side Wins

The side with the highest total Combat Value in the declared Suit wins the battle. The losing side's cards are destroyed (except for those that Recycle) and become spoils along with the convoy, while the winning side's cards are discarded face up on the Force Discard Pile.

In this way, losing cards in a battle are removed from play while winning cards may eventually return to play.

The player on the winning side who contributed the highest Combat Value for that side is the battle winner. He will decide how to divide the spoils.

If two or more players on the winning side played the same highest Combat Value, then the one who played his cards earlier in the round (i.e., before the other player) is the battle winner and will divide the spoils.

Example of One Side Wins: It is a battle for convoy SC 42 in a 4-player game. Player A is the current round leader, and he calls Sub for Suit and plays Markgraf ("?" Sub value).

He announces fate against the convoy, so the Markgraf's Combat Value will be doubled.

Player B plays Hudson and Metric Radar for a total of 3 Anti-Sub value (2+1).

Player C plays Escort Group 36 ("?" Sub).

Player D plays U-110 and Shadower (2+1 Sub).

Player A rolls a die to determine the Combat Value of Markgraf and he gets a 1 result, which is doubled to 2.

Player C rolls a die for Escort Group 36 and gets a 3 result.

The Allied side therefore wins the battle 6 to 5.

Players B and C each played a Combat Value of 3 on the Allied side, but Player B played earlier in the round than Player C, so Player B is the battle winner and divides the spoils, which includes SC 42, Markgraf and U-110.

The other played cards Hudson, Metric Radar, Shadower (Recyclable), and Escort Group 36 are discarded face up on the Force Discard Pile.

8.2 Tied Combat

If the total Allied Combat Value equals the total Axis Combat Value, it is a tied combat. (Players often call this a "push.") The cards that were played into that battle are "engaged" and the battle for that convoy continues as follows.

Place the engaged cards (including Recyclable ones) underneath the Convoy Card. Players will fight a new round for that convoy (same convoy, ocean, and year).

However, before the new round starts, all players may discard any number of cards from their hands. This gives players an opportunity to discard cards that may not be playable in the upcoming round in the hope of drawing cards that will be playable.

This rule only applies to tied combats, and all players may do this whether they played or discarded during their turns.

Players now fill their hands, and the next player whose turn it is to lead the round declares the Suit for the new round.

He may call the same Suit or a different one. Players may change sides; they are not committed to playing on the same side that they played on in the previous round.

The engaged cards underneath the Convoy Card do not affect the outcome of the new round, and they cannot be victimized by Fate Cards played in the new round.

Likewise, the effects of engaged Event Cards do not carry over into the new round.

A battle can be extended for more than one round in this manner as long as each round ends in a tied combat between Allies and Axis.

The eventual winner of the battle will divide the spoils according to who played on the winning side in the final round (not previous rounds). The spoils will include the convoy and all played cards of the losing side worth VPs (those played in the current round as well as those engaged during a previous round). Discard the other played cards face up on the Force Discard Pile.

Example of Tied Combat: It is a battle for convoy HX 84 in a 4-player game. Player B is the current round leader, and he calls Surface for Suit and plays Admiral Scheer (3 Surface) and Axis Minefield (1 Surface). He announces fate against the convoy, so Admiral Scheer's Combat Value is doubled to 6 plus the Minefield gives him 7 total.

Player C plays Hood (5 Surface).

Player D discards one card.

Player A plays Edinburgh (2 Surface), giving the Allies a total of 7, which makes it a tied combat. The players put Admiral Scheer, Axis Minefield, Hood, and Edinburgh underneath HX 84. These become potential spoils for the next round.

Each player now chooses whether to discard any cards from his hand, and they may only do this because it is a tied combat. Player B chooses not to discard; Players C and D choose to discard two cards each; and Player A decides to discard all of his remaining cards.

The players then fill their hands, starting with Player C who will be the new round leader.

Player C will call Suit for the new round, and the engaged cards underneath HX 84 have no effect on the outcome of the new round.

8.3 No Combat

If there are no cards in play at the end of the round, or if the only cards in play have 0 Combat Values in the declared Suit or no Combat Values (i.e., certain Event Cards), then the battle outcome is "no combat." Remove the Convoy Card from play, and discard all played cards (including any engaged cards from a previous round) face up on the Force Discard Pile. The battle was inconclusive.

Example of No Combat: It is a battle for ON 127 in a 4-player game. Player D is the current round leader, and he calls Air for Suit and plays Audacity.

Player A discards one card. Player B discards his entire hand.

Player C plays U-751 and announces fate against Audacity, sinking it immediately.

Although there has been fighting in the form of fate, the only remaining card in play (U-751) has 0 Air Combat Value, which was the declared Suit.

So the battle outcome is "no combat." Player C does not win ON 127 (it is removed from play instead), and U-751 goes face up on the Force Discard Pile.

9.0 Spoils

Players earn victory points (VPs) by collecting spoils through battle. Collecting the most spoils is the only way to win the game.

When one side wins a battle, the spoils include the Convoy Card and all played cards of the losing side except for the Recyclable ones. Any engaged cards belonging to the losing side are also treated as spoils (but discard the Recyclable ones).

Each spoil card is worth a number of VPs as indicated on the card.

Played cards from the winning side and all Recyclable cards are not spoils. They are placed face up in the Force Discard Pile instead.

9.1 Dividing the Spoils

The winner of the battle must divide the spoils among himself and every player who played a Combat Value of 1 or more on the winning side during that round.

If you played on the winning side but your Combat Value was 0, or if you played on the winning side but your play was removed because it was victimized by fate or returned to your hand because of Fuel Shortage, you are not eligible for spoils at the end of the battle.

Each player on the winning side must receive a spoil card before any one of them may receive a second spoil card (and each of them must receive a second spoil card before any one of them may receive a third spoil card, etc.).

The winner who divides the spoils does not have to distribute the VPs evenly; he just has to distribute the spoil cards evenly, and he can always start by giving himself the first spoil card.

Typically, the winner will keep the highest-VP spoil cards for himself and distribute the lower-valued ones to the other winning players.

You do not have to keep any promises you make to other players regarding the division of the spoils. For instance, if you promise a valuable spoil to someone for supporting your side in the battle, you could change your mind after you win but the other players will probably not trust you again.

One interesting tactic for dividing spoils is to negotiate a die-roll chance up front for getting a specific spoil.

For example, you might say, "I will help you win this battle if you give me a 50% chance of getting the convoy as my spoil."

If the battle lasts for more than one round, the winner only has to share spoils with others who played on the winning side in the last round of the battle.

9.2 Spoils Area

As you win spoils, place them on the table in front of you in your spoils area. Your convoy spoils must remain face up so all players may see their cargo and VP values. In this way, everyone can verify the allowed hand size of each player.

Your other spoil cards may go face down so their VP values are hidden from other players. To keep the spoils area tidy, players typically slip non-convoy spoils underneath their convoy spoils, thus forming small stacks of spoils.

You may not record or inspect the VP value of hidden spoils belonging to other players until the end of the game.

9.3 Victim Spoils

If you play a Fate Card to destroy a victim, the victim goes into your spoils area immediately, and it does not count against any share of spoils you may be eligible for at the end of the battle.

Similarly, if you are able to claim fate against the Empress of Britain Event Card at the end of the round, it goes in your spoils area and does not count against your share of spoils for playing on the winning side.

Example of Spoils: It is a battle for PQ 16 in a 4-player game. Player A is the current round leader, and he calls Surface and plays Bomber Command ("?" Surface).

Player B plays Gneisenau (5 Surface). Although Gneisenau is the victim of Bomber Command, it avoids the fate by being played after Bomber Command.

Player C plays Trinidad and Allied Minefield (2+1 Surface).

Player D plays Junkers 88A (1 Surface) and announces fate against Trinidad, placing Trinidad in his spoils area as a victim.

It is the end of the round, so player A rolls one die for Bomber Command and gets a 4 result, giving the Allies a total of 5 (4+1 for the Minefield).

The Axis total is 6 (5+1), so the Axis side wins. Player B contributed the highest Combat Value for the Axis, so he is the battle winner and divides the spoils.

There are two spoil cards PQ 16 and Bomber Command (the Allied Minefield is discarded because it is Recyclable).

Even though player D sank Trinidad by fate, player B must still give player D one of the two spoils, because player B may not keep a second spoil until he gives everyone on the winning side one spoil.

Therefore, player B keeps PQ 16 and gives Bomber Command to player D as his spoil.

10.0 Hand Size

Players fill their hands at the end of each round. Players should draw in clockwise order beginning with the player whose turn it is to lead the next round. Your hand size is normally six cards, but you may increase this to a maximum of nine cards by winning convoys. Calculate your hand size using the cargo type of your spoil convoys.

• Full Cargo: If the cargo icon on a convoy is yellow, it is a Full convoy. For every Full convoy in your spoils area, you may increase your hand size by one card
• Half-full Cargo: If the cargo icon on a convoy is half yellow and half white, it is Half-full. For every two Half-full convoys in your spoils area, you may increase your hand size by one card
• Empty Cargo: If the cargo icon on a convoy is white, it is Empty. Empty convoys do not increase your hand size

The maximum allowed hand size is nine cards, regardless of how many Full or Half-full convoys you have won.

If you have more cards in your hand than you are allowed at the end of a round (due to an Event), you must discard enough cards from your hand to reach your allowed hand size.

11.0 Two- and Three-Player Games

When you have only two or three players, use the Standard Rules with the following changes.

Each battle now consists of two rounds of play, but the battle outcome is not calculated until the end of the second round. Thus, each player gets to play twice in the battle. Fill your hand to its capacity between each round.

• Round leader (e.g., Player A) selects convoy, calls Suit and plays or discards
• Player B plays or discards
• Player C (if present) plays or discards
• All players fill their hands or discard down to their hand size
• Player A plays or discards a second time
• Player B plays or discards a second time
• Player C (if present) plays or discards a second time
• Determine battle outcome and divide spoils
• All players fill their hands, and the next person in order becomes the new round leader

Treat each of your plays as separate. Thus, you may play Allied in one round and Axis in the next. If you play on the same side in both rounds, they are separate plays.

You may not play a Force or Bonus card with a zero Combat Value in the declared Suit unless it fates a victim card in play (e.g., U-751 played in an air battle to fate Audacity). This rule prevents players from playing cards with no Combat Value just to increase potential spoil VPs. You may play Event Cards with no Combat Value in the declared Suit because Events can affect play.

The Storm Event lasts through both rounds. Playing Ultra or B-Dienst in the first or second round delays that specific play until the end of both rounds after the other players have taken their turns. Likewise, Events played in the first round can target someone's play in the first or second round (e.g., Fuel Shortage, Black Gap, or Raid on St. Nazaire), but it does not affect both of that person's plays (i.e., you may only target one of their plays with that Event).

The battle winner is still the player who makes the highest single play on the winning side. Furthermore, when you divide spoils, you do it by player not by play.

For example, Player B wins the battle with help from Player C, and there are three spoil cards. Player B may keep two spoil cards and give one spoil to Player C, even if Player C played on the winning side during both rounds of the battle.

If the outcome is tied, Allies versus Axis, then the forces are engaged, and the battle for that convoy continues with the next player calling Suit and starting another double round of play.

12.0 Solitaire Game

The solitaire game gives you control of all forces on one side while the game system plays the other side. Use the Standard Rules with the following changes.

12.1 Solitaire Setup

Start by choosing which side you want to be, Allies or Axis. Then create two Force Draw Piles as follows:

• Remove from play the four Event Cards that are not side-specific: Empress of Britain, Surprise, Fuel Shortage, and Pivotal Battle. They will not be used.
• Divide the remaining Force deck into an Allied deck and an Axis deck
• If you elect to play Allies, keep the Allied deck intact but remove Admiral Dönitz, B-Dienst, and U-461 from the Axis deck. They will not be used.
• If you elect to play the Axis, keep the Axis deck intact but remove Admiral Tovey, Ultra, and Gray Ranger from the Allied deck. They will not be used.
• Shuffle the Allied and Axis decks separately and place them facedown as the respective Draw Piles
• Deal yourself eight cards from your side's deck. Discard two of your choice, leaving you a starting hand of six cards

Next, build the Convoy Draw Pile as follows:

• Remove the Storm Event from the Convoy deck. It will not be used.
• Shuffle the Convoy deck and deal 17 convoys facedown as the Convoy Draw Pile. Remove the other 34 convoys from play.

The game will last 17 rounds (or longer if there is a tied battle in any round).

12.2 Solitaire Round of Play

In the solitaire game, each round consists of five Turns: A, B, C, D, and E.

The enemy always takes Turns A, C, and E, and you always take Turns B and D. The battle outcome is calculated after all five turns are complete.

Because the enemy is always the round leader, the enemy's first play (play A) always determines the Suit of the battle.

Start each round by turning over the top card from the Convoy Draw Pile. This is the battle you will fight (there is no choice of convoy in solitaire play). Exception: If the previous round ended in a tied battle, those forces are engaged and you fight another round for that convoy, with the enemy again going first and determining the Suit.

12.3 Enemy Turn A

The enemy always starts each round with Turn A. The enemy never has a hand of cards. Instead, you draw from the enemy Draw Pile as needed:

• Draw the top card from the enemy Draw Pile

• If the enemy card is playable in the convoy's ocean and year, it becomes play A

• If the enemy card is not playable, discard that enemy card and draw again until you get one that is playable in the convoy's ocean and year

• However, if you have not drawn a legal enemy play after nine attempts, the enemy gets no play A

• If the enemy card you draw is a legal play and it is a Bonus or Event Card, put it in play and draw once more:

  • If that next card is not playable (wrong ocean, wrong year, or its Type does not match the Type of the Bonus or Event Card you already put in play), discard it and play A is complete
  • If that next card is also a legal play (right ocean, right year, and its Type matches the Bonus or Event Card you already put in play), add it to play A
  • If that next card is itself a Bonus/Event Card and it is added to play A because it meets the above conditions, draw once more.

  Continue this process until you draw an illegal card or a legal card that is not a Bonus/Event.

Example of Enemy Turn A: The enemy is Axis and the convoy is PQ 18 (1942 Arctic).

You draw the top card from the enemy Draw Pile, and it is Reissewolf (Atlantic only), so you discard it and draw again.

The next card is U-432, which is good in both oceans but it is 1943 only, so you discard it and draw again.

The next card is Axis Minefield, which is legal so you put it in play. It is a Bonus card so you draw again.

The next card is Metox, which is playable with the Minefield's Type and in 1942 Arctic, so you add it to the Minefield and draw again because Metox is also a Bonus card.

The next card is KG 26, which happens to be fated against PQ 18. However, KG 26 is an Aircraft Type and therefore does not match the Sub Type of Metox, so you discard KG 26 and enemy play A is complete.

12.4 Determine Suit

Next you determine the Suit of the battle based on enemy play A:

• If the Combat Value of play A is strongest in one Suit (Air, Surface, or Sub), that is the declared Suit for this round
• If the Combat Value of play A is equally strongest in two or three Suits, the declared Suit for this round is Combined
• If the enemy failed to get a legal play A after nine draws, the declared Suit is Combined

For purposes of determining the strongest Suit of play A, treat each ? as a 4. The actual Combat Values of all ? will be determined by die rolls after play E.

Example of Suit: Continuing the above example of PQ 18, play A consists of Axis Minefield and Metox.

The total Combat Values for these cards are 1 Air, 1 Surface, and 2 Sub, so the declared Suit is Sub.

If play A had only consisted of Axis Minefield, then the declared Suit would be Combined.

12.5 Player Turn B

You may now play from your hand using the Standard Rules. You must play or discard on your turn, and you use your Events normally.

At the end of Turn B, draw from your Draw Pile to fill your hand (or discard down to your hand size if your hand is overfull due to an Event).

12.6 Enemy Turn C

Although the enemy gets up to nine chances to make a legal play on Turn A, this is not the case with Turn C.

If the enemy does not draw a viable play on its first attempt during Turn C, the enemy gets no play that turn.

• Draw the top card from the enemy Draw Pile
• If the enemy card is playable in the convoy's ocean and year and it has a Combat Value of 1 or more in the declared Suit, it becomes play C
• If the enemy card is playable in the convoy's ocean and year and it fates one of your played cards, it becomes play C even if it has a Combat Value of 0 in the declared Suit. Put the victim in the enemy's spoils area.
• If the enemy card is not playable in the convoy's ocean and year, or it has a Combat Value of 0 in the declared Suit and does not fate you, discard it and the enemy gets no play C
• If play C is a Bonus or Event Card, draw once more:
  • If that next card is not playable (wrong ocean, wrong year, or its Type does not match the Type of the Bonus or Event Card you already put in play C), discard it and play C is complete
  • If that next card is also a legal play (right ocean, right year, and its Type matches the Bonus or Event Card you already put in play C) and it has a Combat Value of 1 or more in the declared Suit or it fates one of your played cards, add it to play C
  • If that next card is itself a Bonus/Event Card and it is added to play C because it meets the above conditions, draw once more. Continue this process until you draw an illegal card or a legal card that has a Combat Value of 0 in the declared Suit and does not fate you.

Example of Enemy Turn C: Continuing the above example of PQ 18, the Suit is Sub. You draw Lutzow for the enemy, which is playable in the ocean and year but it has 0 Sub value, so you discard it and Turn C is over.

12.7 Player Turn D

This is your second (and last) opportunity to play in the round. You may play or discard, and you use your Events normally.

At the end of Turn D, draw from your Draw Pile to fill your hand (or discard down to your hand size if your hand is overfull due to an Event).

12.8 Enemy Turn E

Follow the same rules of Turn C for Turn E. However, if the enemy has drawn a viable play E, it will evaluate its chance of success before committing to that play.

In other words, the enemy will not throw more force into a battle it thinks it will lose, as this would only feed VPs to the player. Without a good chance of winning, the enemy will discard play E instead of playing it.

• If play E contains only Recyclable cards, the enemy commits to play E because there is nothing more at risk
• If play E contains a card that fates one of your cards and the victim is worth 1 or more VPs, the enemy commits to play E so it will gain those VPs
• Otherwise, count up the total Combat Values of each side in the declared Suit
  • If play E will tie or win the battle for the enemy, the enemy commits to play E
  • If play E will not tie or win, the enemy discards play E instead of committing it
  • For purposes of this evaluation only, count each enemy "?" as a 4, and count each of your own "?" as a 3 (i.e., you do not roll the dice yet; you are just evaluating the chances of enemy success)

12.9 Battle Outcome

After all turns in the round are complete, roll dice for "?" as necessary and total the Combat Values of each side in the declared Suit. The side with the highest total value wins the round. Place the convoy and any spoils from the battle in the spoils area of the winning side.

If the battle outcome is a tie, place the engaged cards underneath the convoy. You may then discard any number of cards from your hand before filling your hand and starting a new round of battle for that convoy. The enemy is the round leader again.

Convoys in your spoils area increase your hand size as in the standard game, never to exceed nine cards.

Be sure to draw up at the end of a battle if a convoy you just won increases your hand size.

Continue the game until all convoys from the Convoy Draw Pile have been fought over and won.

12.10 Events in the Solitaire Game

At the start of the game, you always remove the four Event Cards that are not side-specific as well as the three Event Cards from the enemy deck that are listed in Solitaire Setup above.

Do not remove any of your side's Event Cards from your deck. You may play them normally. For example, were you to play Ultra as your play B, you would delay your normal play B until after enemy Turn E.

The only enemy Event that may trigger during the game is Black Gap or Raid on St. Nazaire. If the enemy plays either of these Events, it targets your next turn. For example, if enemy play A includes Black Gap, you may not play Allied on your Turn B, which means you may only discard on Turn B because you only have Allied cards in hand. Your Turn D would be unaffected.

12.11 Increased Challenge

If you are ready for a more challenging solitaire game, give the enemy two chances each on Turns C and E to get a viable play. In other words, if the first enemy card you draw on Turn C or Turn E is not playable in the convoy's ocean and year, or it has a Combat Value of 0 in the declared Suit and does not fate you, discard it and draw once more. If the second card you draw is also not playable or has a Combat Value of 0 and does not fate you, discard it and the enemy gets no play C or play E.

13.0 Chronological Version

Playing the chronological version may improve your memory of the card decks, but it requires more card sorting and shuffling than the Standard Version. Use the Standard Rules with the following changes.

13.1 Convoy Draw Pile

You will play each year in order, starting with 1940 and proceeding through 1943. Players must agree at the start of play which method to use for building the Convoy Draw Pile. Always remove the Storm Event from the game, it is not used in the chronological version.

Sort the convoys into four stacks based on year. There are two methods for building the Convoy Draw Pile: Random and Fated. Discard the indicated convoys based on the method agreed upon:

• Random: Randomly discard two 1940 convoys and five each from the other stacks, which leaves four in 1940 and ten each in the other years (34 cards).
• Fated: Discard the 17 non-fated convoys, which leaves four in 1940 and ten each in the other years (34 cards)

Shuffle each stack separately. When the last battle of a year is finished, use the next year's stack as the new Convoy Draw Pile. If you play the chronological version with the solitaire rules, the 1940 Convoy Draw Pile should only contain two random convoys, and each of the other years should only contain five random convoys (total of 17 convoys).

13.2 Force Draw Pile

Sort the Force deck into four stacks based on the earliest year the cards are playable.

Shuffle the 1940 cards and deal four cards to each player. Everyone looks at their cards and discards one card to the Force Discard Pile. This leaves everyone with a starting hand of three cards. (Exception: in a 6-player game, everyone must discard two cards and keep two cards.) The dealer places the remainder of the 1940 Force Cards facedown as the Force Draw Pile.

When the Draw Pile is exhausted, shuffle the Force Discard Pile and place it facedown as the Force Draw Pile. Furthermore, when the last battle of a year is finished, shuffle the next year's stack of cards together with the current Force Draw Pile and Force Discard Pile. All of these become the Force Draw Pile for the new year.

13.3 Hand Size

Base hand size starts low but increases each year, so be sure to fill your hand at the start of each year to its new capacity:

• 1940: three cards (two cards in a 6-player game)
• 1941: four cards
• 1942: five cards
• 1943: six cards

Full and Half-full convoy spoils increase your hand size as in the Standard Version, but maximum hand size may never exceed base hand size by more than three cards. For example, in 1942 the maximum hand size is eight cards.

14.0 Team Version

The team version is only playable with an even number of players (2, 4, or 6). It provides certainty about who is friendly and who is enemy, and there is no need to negotiate. Use the Standard Rules with these changes:

• Divide the players into equal teams; one team is Allied and one team is Axis
• Sit in alternating positions around the table so an enemy player is on each side of you
• Remove Surprise, Empress of Britain, Pivotal Battle, and Fuel Shortage from play
• Sort the remaining Force deck into two Draw Piles, one with Allied cards and one with Axis cards
• Instead of dividing spoils between players, each team collects spoils
• The team with the most spoil VPs at the end of the game wins

You may also combine the team rules with the chronological rules if all players agree.

15.0 Event Card Effects

Every Event Card has text on it describing its effect. An Event's effect supersedes the normal rules of play.

15.1 Storm

When the round leader flips over the top two cards from the Convoy Draw Pile and one of them is the Storm, the round leader must select the other card that was flipped as the convoy for this round.

The Storm limits each player to play no more than one card that round (one Force Card, or one Bonus card, or one Event Card).

This is a very strict limit, so there would be no point to play Surprise, for example, because you would not be able to play any other card under Surprise.

However, when Storm is in effect, each player may also discard any number of cards to the Force Discard Pile in addition to their single play.

If someone plays Fuel Shortage during Storm, that is his one card play.

However, if Fuel Shortage is passed to you (see rule 15.8.), it does not count as your one card play because you did not play it from your hand. You may play one card (and discard others) before rolling for Fuel Shortage. Remove the Storm Event from play at the end of the round.

15.2 Ultra & B-Dienst

Each side has one Intelligence card. You may play one of these from your hand during your turn instead of your normal play. Draw one card now, but delay your turn to the very end of the round after the other players have taken their turns.

Then, when it is your turn to play, you must play on the same side as your Intelligence Card or play nothing more and end your turn. For example, if you play Ultra (Allied intelligence), you delay your turn to last but you may not play an Axis card. If you choose not to play at that time, you keep Ultra in front of you and end your turn.

No one rolls for "?" Combat Values until after your final play. Playing last allows you to see what everyone else has played (except any cards hidden beneath Surprise), perhaps to fate them or to play a victim card safely, but you won't win any ties since you play after everyone else.

When Ultra and B-Dienst are played in the same round by two players, both of them delay their turns, but the one who delayed later in the round gets the final turn.

If you play Ultra, someone might target you with Black Gap, which prevents you from playing Allied. When it comes to your final turn, you could not play any more Allied cards because you were targeted by Black Gap, but you could not play Axis because you played Ultra, so you could only end your turn.

The same would happen if you played B-Dienst and were targeted by the Raid on St. Nazaire Event. If you play an Intelligence Card but it is returned to your hand before your final turn (due to Fuel Shortage), you do not get your final turn.

If Fuel Shortage is passed to you and you decide to play an Intelligence Card to delay your turn, you do not roll for the Fuel Shortage Event at this time but instead pass it to the next player. In this case, you only get to roll for Fuel Shortage if it is passed to you on your last turn.

You may never play an Intelligence Card under Surprise, and you may never play one after you play Pivotal Battle because you already started your turn by playing Pivotal Battle.

15.3 Admiral Tovey & Admiral Donitz

There are two Admiral Cards, one for each side. When you play an Admiral, you do one of two things:

• Change Suit of the battle to Combined. This affects all players in the round. You may not change the Suit to Air, Surface, or Sub, only to Combined. Announce the Suit change when you play the card. If the Admiral Card is returned to your hand before the end of battle due to Fuel Shortage, the Suit remains Combined. It does not revert to the original declared Suit.

• Instead of changing Suit to Combined, you may play two Force Cards instead of one. This only affects your play. The two Force Cards may be the same or different type.

  If you also play Bonus or Event Cards, they must match the type of either Force Card you play (Aircraft, Surface, or Sub/Anti-Sub). Of course, the Wild type is playable with any other type.

If you play an Admiral Card with Surprise, the Admiral must be played face up next to Surprise rather than under it.

Example of Admiral: It is a battle for SL 125, and the round leader calls Air.

He plays Admiral Tovey, Beaufighter, Scylla, and CAM Ship (Admiral Event, two Force Cards of different types, and a Bonus card of the Wild type).

15.4 Gray Ranger & U-461, Stiebler

When you play the U-461 Event, you may play two Force Cards of the Axis Sub type instead of one. For example, you could play U-461, Raubgraf, U-91, and FAT (Sub Bonus Card) from your hand together in a 1943 battle.

When you play the Gray Ranger Event, you may play two Force Cards of the Allied Anti-Sub type instead of one. Furthermore, both of those two Force Cards receive the Arctic Ocean ability for this battle. The Gray Ranger does not allow you to play other cards that are Atlantic-only.

For example, you could not play Empress of Britain with Gray Ranger. If you play one of these cards with the Admiral Card of its respective side, and you choose the Admiral effect that allows you to play two Force Cards, you may now play three Force Cards that turn, but at least two of them must be the Sub/Anti-Sub type.

If U-461 or Gray Ranger is victimized by fate, the targeted player may still keep his two Force Cards in play.

Example of Gray Ranger: It is a battle for PQ 13, and the round leader calls Sub. He plays Gray Ranger, Ottawa, Beverley, and Hedgehog.

Ottawa is normally not playable in the Arctic, but Gray Ranger gives it Arctic Ocean ability for this battle.

Gray Ranger also allows him to play two Anti-Sub Force Cards instead of one. Hedgehog is an Anti-Sub Bonus card, so it may be played with the other Anti-Sub cards.

15.5 Huff-Duff & Shadower

When you play Huff-Duff or Shadower, you immediately fill your hand to nine cards and continue your turn. The purpose of these Events is to increase your chance of playing something along with Huff-Duff or Shadower.

However, by playing either of these cards you have already committed to the side you are playing that round.

If you play one of these cards with Surprise, it must go face up next to Surprise rather than under Surprise.

15.6 Raid on St. Nazaire & Black Gap

When you play either of these cards, you may select one player after you in the round, and that person may not play Axis (if Raid on St. Nazaire) or Allied (if Black Gap) on his turn. That person may only play on the same side you did or discard during his turn.

These cards are not like Fuel Shortage, so you may never select someone who played before you in the round.

If the Raid on St. Nazaire or Black Gap card is returned to your hand before the end of battle (due to Fuel Shortage), or if Black Gap is victimized by fate, the person you targeted with the Event is no longer affected by it unless that person has already taken their turn.

If you play one of these cards with Surprise, it must go face up next to Surprise rather than under Surprise.

15.7 Azores & Channel Dash

If you play Azores and the Allied side wins the battle, you may return one Allied Aircraft Force Card to your hand at the end of the battle.

The Allied Aircraft Force Card must be one that fought in that battle and survived, even if it was engaged in an earlier round of that battle because of a tied combat.

It can be an Allied Aircraft Force Card you played or someone else played.

Similarly, if you play Channel Dash and the Axis side wins the battle, you may return one Axis Surface Force Card to your hand at the end of the battle.

You may not use Azores or Channel Dash to return a Bonus or Event Card to your hand, nor may you use it to revive a Force Card that was destroyed by fate during the battle.

You get the effect of this Event even if you played Azores or Channel Dash in an earlier round and it was engaged, as long as that side eventually wins the battle.

However, if Azores or Channel Dash is returned to your hand because of Fuel Shortage, you do not get the effect.

15.8 Fuel Shortage

This Event is playable with either side, so you may play it with Allied cards, Axis cards, or by itself. At the end of your turn, after you have played your other cards, if any, roll one die:

• On a roll of 1 to 3, select one player to be the target of the Event. If that player will go after you in the round, he may only discard on his turn instead of play.

  If that player already played this round, he must immediately return the cards he played to his hand. In either case, do not pass Fuel Shortage but keep it in front of you.

• On a roll of 4 to 6, pass Fuel Shortage to the next player in the round, and that player must roll for the Event at the end of his turn.

  If Fuel Shortage is passed to you, you are not required to play another card to use the Event, but you must play or discard normally before you do roll.

If someone passes Fuel Shortage to you and you decide to play an Intelligence Card to delay your turn (Ultra or B-Dienst), you do not roll for Fuel Shortage at this time but instead pass it to the next player. In this case, you only get to roll for Fuel Shortage if it is passed to you on your last turn.

If Fuel Shortage is passed to you when the Storm Event is in effect, you may still play one card from your hand without violating the Storm Event rule, because you inherited Fuel Shortage rather than played it from your hand.

The Fuel Shortage card stops as soon as it affects someone's play, or when it reaches the end of the round without having effect.

Fuel Shortage does not undo any fate against victims that may have happened.

If you play Fuel Shortage with Surprise, it must be played face up next to Surprise rather than under Surprise.

Example of Fuel Shortage: It is a battle for OB 293 in a 4-player game. Player A is the current round leader, and he calls Surface and plays Hood.

Player B plays Bismarck and announces fate against Hood, sinking it.

Player C plays Fuel Shortage and Victorious and rolls the die for the Event at the end of his turn, getting a 2 result which is successful.

Player C decides to target player B with the Event, which puts the Bismarck back into player B's hand, but the Hood is still sunk and remains in player B's spoils area.

If player A had instead targeted player D with the Event, player D would only be able to discard on his turn.

If player C had rolled a 4, 5, or 6 result for Fuel Shortage, player C would have instead passed Fuel Shortage to player D who would have to roll for the Event at the end of his own turn.

15.9 Pivotal Battle

If you play Pivotal Battle, it must be the first card you play. Discard any number of cards from your hand and refill your hand to its allowed size before finishing your play (do not count Pivotal Battle toward your hand size because it is already in play).

Pivotal Battle can be played with either side, so you may see the cards you draw before picking a side to play on.

After refilling your hand, you may decide not to play, in which case you do not get to discard again but must leave Pivotal Battle in front of you as your only play.

When you are the round leader, you must still declare the Suit before you play Pivotal Battle, because the round leader always declares Suit before he plays or discards.

You may never play Pivotal Battle under Surprise, and you may never play Ultra or B-Dienst after you play Pivotal Battle because they must be played alone.

15.10 Surprise

The Surprise Event may be played with either side. It allows you to hide the card(s) you play underneath Surprise until the end of the round. Certain Event Cards may never be played under Surprise. Such cards would be played face up next to Surprise.

Cards hidden by Surprise are revealed after all other players have played. Revealing your play last is not the same as playing last. Your turn order in the round is still the same as if you didn't play Surprise.

For this reason, you benefit when tying with another player on the same side if you play before him, even though you don't reveal your play until the end of the round.

If you play a Fate Card under Surprise, you may not call fate with that card at the end of the round because fate has to be announced on your turn. Therefore, if you want to fate an opponent's card (or the convoy), don't hide your Fate Card under Surprise but play it face up and announce the fate on your turn.

However, if you play a victim card under Surprise, it is protected from fate because no one after you in the round can call fate against it.

15.11 Empress of Britain

The Empress of Britain is playable with either side. Play it along with your other card(s) that round, and you may claim Empress of Britain as your victim of fate at the end of the battle (and before spoils are divided) if you meet these conditions:

• You play on the winning side of the battle
• You play a Combat Value of 1 or more in the declared Suit, and that Combat Value is still in play at the end of the round (i.e., it was not victimized)

If you play on the losing side, or if you have 0 Combat Value in the declared Suit, the battle winner treats Empress of Britain as a spoil card to be divided among the victors.

If the battle ends in a tie, Empress of Britain becomes engaged with the other cards, and the eventual battle winner treats it as a spoil card to be divided among the victors.

You are still eligible for a normal share of spoils if Empress of Britain becomes your victim.

Empress of Britain Example: It is a battle for OB 218 in a 4-player game. Player B is the current round leader, and he calls Sub and plays U-100 (3 Sub value).

Player C plays Sunderland (2 Anti-Sub value).

Player D plays U-32 (3 Sub value) and Empress of Britain.

Player A discards. At the end of the round, the Axis win 6 to 2, and Player D claims Empress of Britain as his victim because he has a Combat Value of 3 in the declared Suit.

Player B (who played the first 3 Sub) divides the spoils, which include OB 218 and Sunderland.

Player B must give player D one of those two spoils even though player D gained Empress of Britain by fate.