Wargame SITREP 231213 N3 Ops – A (card depth) deep dive into SCOPE: U-boot (Draco Ideas, 2022)

In early December I took delivery of a Gamefound campaign from Draco Ideas for SCOPE: Trilogy. This three-game set includes SCOPE: Stalingrad (2021-2023), SCOPE: U-boot (2022), and SCOPE: Panzer (2023). SCOPE: U-boot is the “blue box” game in the series. All three Trilogy titles are card wargames using 60 cards and each comes in a similarly sized 6.25″ x 4.25″ x 1.5″ box.

Like other games in the series, SCOPE: U-boot is generally what I term a “lite” or “family” wargame that is quick to play and delivers a flavor of the theme. While SCOPE: U-boot is easy to learn, it is perhaps also the most “complex” of the three SCOPE: Trilogy titles which, given the theme of hunting U-boats, is understandable.

Thematically, SCOPE: U-boot describes itself as, “a strategic stealth duel in which one player directs German U-boats attacking a convoy of cargo and escort ships led by the other player.” The movie that immediately comes to my mind is The Enemy Below (1957).

In the Base Game of SCOPE: U-boot one player controls the German submarines while the other player controls the Allied convoy and escorts. Every turn consists of two phases: An Action Phase where German player chooses between Submarine Movement or Torpedo Launch and the Allied convoy commander can choose Fast Ship Movement for destroyers or Slow Ship Movement for the convoy.

The stealthy ability of submarines in SCOPE: U-boot is portrayed by having the submarine replace an Empty Area card in the game area. When moving, the submarine player takes a quadrant (2×2) selection of cards into their hand, shuffles them, and then places them back into the game area face down as they want. Importantly, the submarine need NOT be in the quadrant selected; the submarine player may try to bluff the Allied commander into thinking the submarine is somewhere within! When launching a torpedo, the submarine is revealed and a torpedo token placed on the board before the submarine is returned face down to the game area. Torpedoes travel at a speed of one area each turn and will continue until they hit a target or exit the game area. Ships that are hit are sunk though some ships first are damaged and require a second hit to sink. The game ends when a player reaches their target point goal or no convoy ships remain in the game area having been sunk or exited.

SCOPE: U-boot includes Advanced Rules that introduce Slow Submarine Movement to replicate the slower relative speed of a submerged submarine. To compensate for the slower submarine movement, the Allied player does not automatically destroy submarine if within the same area as in the Base Game, but needs to search using Sonar and sink submarines using Depth Charges.

Another Advanced Rule in SCOPE: U-boot goes beyond The Enemy Below and introduces Surface Combat. A third game turn phase is added, the Surface Combat Phase, where ships can fire upon each other using guns, torpedoes, or even aircraft(!). For this Advanced Rule to be most enjoyable, another Advanced Rule, Reinforcements, needs to be used. Reinforcements brings new ships such as Battleship, the Flower-Class Corvette, the S-Boot, Armed Freighter, and Escort Carrier. New “sea terrain” in the form of Mines is also introduced.

Like other SCOPE: Trilogy titles, SCOPE: U-boot includes Alternative Scenarios. Some of these scenarios, like the full-blown “Naval Battle,” use all the Advanced Rules and likely will make the game longer than the 10-15 minutes of time advertised on the box edge.

The special rules for submarines and various ship capabilities make SCOPE: U-boot perhaps the most complicated of the SCOPE: Trilogy titles. Don’t get me wrong; I am not talking Advanced Squad Leader levels of complexity but when all the rules are used this game stretches my definition of a lite, family wargame. While the game is playable with all the Advanced Rules and Alternative Scenarios, I feel this “full-speed ahead” version is maybe taking the game system a bit too far. Just like you don’t order a hamburger in a fine Italian food restaurant, nor do you play a naval fleet battle with a submarine wargame. SCOPE: U-boot is best when used in keeping with the core theme—sub and convoy hunting.

Just like you don’t order a hamburger in a fine Italian food restaurant, nor do you play a naval fleet battle using a submarine wargame.

RockyMountainNavy, Wargame SITREP 231210

SCOPE: U-boot is a very enjoyable, easy to learn game that captures the flavor of convoy warfare in the Atlantic during World War II. This entry of the SCOPE: Trilogy is an excellent example of a card-based wargame demonstrating the enjoyable power a tight game system can bring to your gaming table.

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Feature image courtesy RMN

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