Second World War at Sea

The greatest conflict in human history played out on all of the world's oceans, and we cover these battles in our Second World War at Sea series.

The Second Great War is our innovative alternative-history setting for Second World War at Sea.

You can check out Second World War at Sea in the Pacific right here.

Here's a look at all of our Second World War at Sea products:

Playbooks - A Complete Game in a Book!
Coral Sea - Introductory Game!
Bismarck, Playbook Edition
Black Sea
Eastern Fleet
Horn of Africa
Java Sea
North Cape
Sea of Iron
Tropic of Capricorn

Boxed games
La Regia Marina
Midway Deluxe Edition
Norway 1940
South Pacific

Expansion Sets
Islands
Plan Z
The Cruel Sea
The Emperor's Sword

Books
Ironbottom Sound
Malay Barrier
North Atlantic
Ships of Plan Z
Plan Z: Stolen Fleets

Second Great War at Sea Books
Fleets: Imperial Germany
Fleets: Imperial Russia
Fleets: La Royale
Tre Kronor
Tropical Storm
The Second Great War
Sword of the Sea

Campaign Studies
Bismarck: Force de Raid
Coral Sea: Defending Australia
Midway: Rising Sun 1940
Eastern Fleet: Gulf of Aden
Midway: Aftermath
Java Sea: Royal Thai Navy
Java Sea: Wicked Sisters

Golden Journals
No. 28 British Carriers
No. 30 Caspian Princes
No. 31 Deluxe Bismarck
No. 42 Battleship-Carriers
No. 43 River Plate
No. 45 Fleet Air Arm
No. 53 Pacific Flattops
No. 55 Flying Carriers

Playbooks
A Playbook has everything you need to play (except dice), and you don't need any parts or rules or anything else to play every scenario in the box.

Coral Sea
The introductory game for the series, based on history's first carrier battle, in which no ship fired on (or even sighted) another. $65.99

Horn of Africa
Battles in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that actually happened (or could have happened) in 1940 and 1941, plus the possible 1936 British intervention in the Abyssinian War. $65.99.

Tropic of Capricorn
The Second Great War comes to South American waters with 24 scenarios, one full-sized map and 180 new silky-smooth, die-cut playing pieces (100 long, 80 standard). $65.99. This game is temporarily unavailable.

Eastern Fleet
British-Japanese carrier battles in the Indian Ocean, 1942. With 30 scenarios, one full-sized map and 280 die-cut playing pieces (100 long, 180 standard). $75.99.

Bismarck, Playbook Edition
The German Navy's commerce raids of 1939 through 1941 into the North Atlantic. American, British and French warships hunt the grossly outnumbered Germans, who do have the vast gray Atlantic in which to hide. $120.99.

Sea of Iron, Playbook edition
Naval warfare on the Baltic Sea, 1939-1945. Includes the German, Soviet, Swedish, Finnish and Polish navies - plus the Baltic States. $84.99 This game is not yet available.

Java Sea
The Japanese Strike South through the Philippines, East Indies and Malaya in 1941 and 1942. Forty scenarios, 520 playing pieces and two large operational maps of South-East Asian waters. $119.99.

North Cape
Bitter surface, air and submarine combat in ice-choked waters of the Far North, as the Royal Navy (with Soviet and American help) fights to force convoys through to Murmansk and Archangel, daring the Germans to stop them. $119.99

Black Sea
Naval action on the Black Sea, featuring the fleets of the Soviet Union plus those of Turkey and Romania with two maps, 300 die-cut-and-mounted playing pieces and 24 new scenarios. $65.99 This game is not yet available.

Complete Games
These games are the heart of the Second World War at Sea game system. Each of them is a "core" game: It has everything you need to play, and you don't need any parts or rules or anything else to play every scenario (complete game situation) in the box.

Midway Deluxe Edition
The climactic carrier battle of the Pacific War, with more than 50 scenarios, 700 playing pieces, a large operational map of Hawaiian waters and a special tactical map of Pearl Harbor. $119.99.

South Pacific
The Solomons Campaign of 1942 and 1943. Over 1,000 silky-smooth, die-cut playing pieces one 22x28-inch operational map, a special Tactical Map showing “Ironbottom Sound,” and over 60 scenarios, organized in our “story arc” format. This game is currently sold out.

La Regia Marina
The Mediterranean Campaign of 1939 through 1943. With almost 1,000 silky-smooth, die-cut playing pieces, two 22x28-inch operational maps and over 75 scenarios in our “story arc” format. This game is not yet available.

Norway 1940
The German invasion of Norway, April - June 1940. $84.99 This game is not yet available.

Historical Studies
In-depth looks at the history behand the battles and campaigns, or the troops who fought them, with seperate history and game books to give you a rich experience you will not find anywhere else.

Ironbottom Sound/Lower Solomons
The bitter naval and air campaigns around Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands would decide the outcome of the Pacific War. Lower Solomons tells the story of the campaign and the ships, planes and men that fought it. Ironbottom Sound is an expansion for South Pacific with 36 new scenarios fcovering the Tassafaronga operation, the Japanese evacuation of Guadalcanal, and the New Georgia campaign. Full package $45.99; Lower Solomons only $30.99.
This Historical Study is not yet available.

Expansion Sets
Not playable alone, these add more ships, planes and scenarios to existing games.

The Cruel Sea
The Second Great War comes to the North Atlantic, with the ships, airships and planes of Imperial Germany, Imperial Russia and Republican France. With 740 new pieces and 30 new scenarios. $80.99.

Plan Z
The ships and planes of the famed German Plan Z, and the British ships and planes that would have been built to match them. With 510 new pieces and 30 new scenarios. $70.99.

The Emperor’s Sword
Japan and the United States vie for the Pacific with the ships and planes planned and never built (or built too late to see action). With 770 new pieces and 30 new scenarios. $99.99. This item is not yet available.

Islands
A set of special island markers, hexagon-shaped and nearly two inches across to fit on the Second World War at Sea tactical map. With 15 markers total, with four different styles of island. $20.99

Books
These scenario books include playing pieces, and anywhere from 20 to 30 new scenarios plus background articles on the campaigns and the navies that fought them. They are not playable by themselves, but require pieces from one or more games (see the individual product pages for listings).

Plan Z: Stolen Fleets
An expansion for Plan Z, with 80 new pieces adding the German H41-type battleships plus captured French, Soviet and Dutch ships under German colors. Plus 30 new scenarios for Plan Z.

The Second Great War
A sourcebook for the Second Great War alternative history setting, laying out the background of the participants, their armed forces and the course of this war that never happened. This game is temporarily unavailable.

Sword of the Sea
The Second Great War at Sea in the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and Persian Gulf. With Ottoman, Imperial Persian, German, Italian, and Indian ships and aircraft. Sword of the Sea requires Horn of Africa to play all of the scenarios.

Fleets of the Second Great War: Imperial Russia
A source book detailing the Imperial Russian ships of the Second Great War. All of them are covered: those present in The Cruel Sea, Sword of the Sea, Tre Kronor and more. Each class has its own description both in narrative and tabular form and schematics.

North Atlantic
A battle analysis for Bismarck, with historical background, additional scenarios and 70 new die-cut and silky-smooth playing pieces. This book is not yet available.

Ships of Plan Z
A sourcebook all about the ships found in our Second World War at Sea: Plan Z expansion set, plus 95 new "long" ship pieces.

Fleets of the Second Great War: Imperial Germany
A source book detailing the Imperial German ships of the Second Great War. Most are present in The Cruel Sea, and we’ve included the ships in the Baltic or on foreign stations. Each class has its own description both in narrative and tabular form and schematics.

Second Great War at Sea: Tropical Storm
An expansion for Tropic of Capricorn, adding an additional map, 30 new scenarios, and 80 new die-cut and silky-smooth playing pieces. This book is temporarily unavailable.

Second Great War at Sea: Tre Kronor
An expansion for Sea of Iron, as Imperial Russia challenges Imperial Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Finland and Latvia (yes, Latvia). With 140 new doubled-sized, die-cut and silky-smooth playing pieces and 40 new scenarios. $39.99. This book is not yet available.

Fleets of the Second Great War: La Royale
A source book all about the real French Navy, and the French Navy of the Second Great War, too. Each class has its own description both in narrative and tabular form and schematics. $30.99

Java Sea: Malay Barrier
Malay Barrier is a scenario and analysis book based on these plans, addressing the effect of additional British and American naval and air forces on the campaign, and added Japanese strength to counter them. We also take a look at how Force Z might have operated in both the East Indies and the Indian Ocean, had it arrived in the theater a little later or managed to escape destruction. You’ll need Second World War at Sea: Java Sea, Eastern Fleet and Midway Deluxe to play the 30 new scenarios. $30.99. This book is not yet available.

Campaign Studies
Brief books adding 10 or so new scenarios to one of our games, plus background articles on the campaigns and the navies that fought them.

Bismarck: Force de Raid
Bismarck: Force de Raid adds 14 more scenarios to Bismarck: Playbook/Second Edition (you only need Bismarck: Playbook/Second Edition to play them). They’re based on a French campaign to keep the North Atlantic clear of German surface raiders, while Britain remains neutral. $14.99

Coral Sea: Defending Australia
How strategically valuable was Port Moresby? We look at how the Japanese might have made use of this base on the New Guinea coast, that they failed to take during the Battle of the Coral Sea. In 14 scenarios the British Eastern Fleet defends Australia. Requires Coral Sea and Eastern Fleet. $14.99

Midway: Rising Sun 1940
President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the U.S. Pacific Fleet to shift its base to Pearl Harbor in May 1940. We look at how a Japanese attack and invasion might have unfolded when the American carriers were still operating biplanes in 11 scenarios. Requires Midway Deluxe Edition and Bismarck Second Edition. $14.99

Java Sea: Royal Thai Navy
Royal Thai Navy is focused on the 1941 Franco-Thai War and other potential operations by Thailand’s small but modern navy during World War II. All of the pieces needed are included in our Java Sea game; this book gives you 11 scenarios so you can play with them. You’ll need Java Sea to play the scenarios. $14.99

Eastern Fleet: Gulf of Aden
Japan’s never-executed plan to capture Ceylon in the spring of 1942 would have opened the door to the next stage, securing the southern outlet to the Red Sea. Gulf of Aden looks at this potential carrier duel in the Arabian Sea. With 14 new scenarios; requires Eastern Fleet, Horn of Africa and Bismarck. $14.99

Midway: Aftermath
Midway: Aftermath adds 11 more scenarios to Midway Deluxe Edition (you only need Midway Deluxe Edition to play them). They’re based on a continued Japanese offensive in the Hawaiian Islands following a mutually-destructive result of the historical Battle of Midway (rather than the one-sided outcome). $14.99.

Java Sea: Wicked Sisters
Thirteen scenarios tell the story of a mission that never happened: the rumored journey of the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen to the Far East in early 1942. You’ll need Bismarck Second Edition or Playbook Edition, South Pacific, Horn of Africa, Eastern Fleet and Java Sea to play the scenarios. $14.99.

Golden Journals
Our little publication exclusively for the Gold Club.

No. 55: Flying Carriers
In the 1930’s, the U.S. Navy built a pair of huge airships capable of operating their own aircraft. Flying Carriers tells their story, and those of the planned flying carriers to follow, with 28 new die-cut and silky-smooth pieces plus scenarios so you can play with them in Java Sea and Midway Deluxe. This volume is not yet available.

No. 53: Pacific Flattops
Twelve aircraft carriers fought the early major battles of the Pacific War: Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz. Now you can play with giant-sized pieces for those 12 carriers, in Coral Sea, Midway Deluxe and South Pacific. You use them just like the original pieces: they still (just barely) fit on the Tactical Map. You just get to have more fun with them. And of course we tell you all about the ships and and the game. This volume is not yet available.

No. 50: Les Portes-Avions
In 1939, France boasted the world’s fourth-largest fleet of aircraft carriers – one aging flattop barely adequate for training. But the Marine Nationale had plans for modern carriers, and now you can play with them. You get 30 new pieces (ten aircraft carriers and twenty airplanes to fly off of them), the stories of the ships, and scenarios so you can play with them.

No. 45: Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm add the Royal Navy’s large array of light carriers and many more ships – escorting cruisers and destroyers and even a few battleships – to your Plan Z universe. You get the full 210 pieces that originally appeared in our long out-of-print East of Suez expansion plus, of course, scenarios so you can play with them (you’ll need Bismarck, Tropic of Capricorn, Horn of Africa and Plan Z).

No. 43: River Plate
Chase the German armored cruiser Admiral Graf Spee through the South Atlantic Ocean in this variant that turns the alternative-history Tropic of Capricorn and Tropical Storm into a depiction of an operation and battle that actually happened. With 23 die-cut and silky-smooth playing pieces plus a set of scenarios.

No. 42: Battleship-Carriers
In the summer of 1942, both the United States and Japan drafted plans to convert battleships and battle cruisers into aircraft carriers. Those plans never came to fruition once one side started winning and the other losing faster than either imagined possible. But that won’t keep you from adding them to your cardboard fleets: 20 new die-cut and mounted pieces, a description of the conversion plans, and some scenarios so you can play with them.

No. 31: Deluxe Bismarck
We make Bismarck Second Edition even more fun to play, with giant-sized battleships and battle cruisers. You use them just like the original pieces: they still (just barely) fit on the Tactical Map. You just get to have more fun with them. And of course we tell you all about the ships and and the game.

No. 30: Caspian Princes
It’s a tiny, but complete, Second Great War at Sea game. Russian and Turkish flotillas and air forces battle for control of the Caspian Sea, with coast-defense ships and small destroyers. Everything you need to play (except dice) is included, headlined by 30 new die-cut and silky-smooth pieces and a full-color map.

No. 28: British Aircraft Carriers
The British Eastern Fleet gets a carrier force that can stand up to the Japanese First Air Fleet, making stand-up carrier battles in the Indian Ocean possible. The Brits are still flying Fulmars and Albacores, and add some Skuas and Rocs. There are 25 new die-cut and silky-smooth pieces plus scenarios for Eastern Fleet Second Edition.

Useful Downloads!
You can download the Player Log Sheet right here.