“Back in the day”
One of the earliest naval wargaming rule sets I acquired was the Adventure Games edition of Harpoon II (1984) for modern naval combat. Not long after, Harpoon was picked up by Game Designers’ Workshop (GDW) and published in what was then a third edition in 1987. When GDW went defunct Harpoon III moved again to Clash of Arms who released a fourth edition in 1997. In the midst of the move from GDW to Clash of Arms, designer Larry Bond also released a set of World War II naval miniatures combat rules compatible with Harpoon in the The Rising Sun: Command at Sea Vol. 1 (1994). This title is recognized as the first edition of the Command at Sea rules set.
I admit that Harpoon, Command at Sea, and the later World War I rules set Fear God & Dread Nought (2001)—the original Admiralty Trilogy of wargames—has long been a guilty pleasure of mine. Yet, as much as I love playing out modern naval warfare battles with Harpoon, I almost-equally love the World War II version Command at Sea. I am not sure exactly how Command at Sea went from a first edition in 1994 to a fourth edition with Clash of Arms in 2008 but I do know for a fact that the rights for the game passed from Clash of Arms to the Admiralty Trilogy Group which released Command at Sea 5th Edition in mid-2025. As a further matter of fact, the original June 2025 release got its first major update in October 2025, though it is labeled “November 2025” in the digital download version.
YOUR Command at Sea
Here is how current publisher Admiralty Trilogy Group (ATG) advertises Command at Sea: 5th Edition – War at Sea 1926-1955:
Command at Sea (CaS) is a World War II tactical naval rules system. It can be used to simulate almost every naval operation of World War II with accurate and consistent results. Victory depends as much on the tactics and planning of the players as on the ships and equipment under their command. CaS uses the same format and terms as the other Admirality Trilogy games.
The CaS system emphasizes technical and historical accuracy woven into a streamlined, easy to follow rules structure that keeps the action fast-paced and fun. Much of the information used in CaS was drawn from declassified international naval and government documents. Combat resolution is built around a single die roll philosophy that keeps the players focused on the battle and not on the mechanics of the rules.
Command-ing summer resupply at Sea
With the release of Command at Sea 5th Edition this summer, the RockyMountainNavy Wargame Collection has seen a bit of a restock and some new related additions.
Command at Sea 5th Edition: War at Sea 1926-1955 Core Rulebook. This new 125-page digital release from ATG brings Command at Sea up to the “fifth edition” unified rules standard that ATG is working to bring all their titles into line with. As noted on the dedication page, this new edition “should look familiar to anyone who purchased an earlier edition” with some rules changes but, more importantly, incorporation of rules from other ATG titles to ensure consistency across the rules sets.
Command at Sea Player’s Handbook, Fifth Edition. This 40-page digital book includes the many tables—but not aircraft, ship, weapons, or sensors data annexes—that are useful in play. Definitely helps cut down on the need to reference the core rulebook in play.
Birth of the People’s Liberation Army Navy: May 1950 – Nov 1965 by Chang Lei. This 97-page book is effectively a supplement for use with Command at Sea 5th Edition. As the publisher’s blurb on WargameVault.com describes the book:
Chang Lei’s Birth of the PLA Navy features surface and air battles off the coast of China during the early days of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, from May of 1950 to November 1965. It includes twenty-two historical and hypothetical battles between Communist Chinese and Nationalist forces, with a few involving the US and UK. The battles were fought with a mix of second- and even third-hand ships from the US, Japan, the UK, and Russia.
For those of us in the West, this is “new history,” untouched by any other game. The historical scenarios were exhaustively researched, including visits to the battle sites and interviews with participants.
These earliest experiences have largely shaped the doctrine, strategy, and forces of the PLA Navy today.
This supplement is compatible with the Command at Sea 5th edition rules.
Birth of the PLA Navy tells the story of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) though a series of essays and—more impactfully—with scenarios for Command at Sea 5th Edition. Through the 22 scenarios—a mix of historical, “almost”, and “What if”—players learn the history of the PLAN from the earliest battles in 1950 through 1965. Granted, these battles extend beyond the timeframe of Command at Sea 5th Edition which carries the subtitle of War at Sea 1926-1955 but the rules are fit to the technology of the combatants regardless of the actual year of the fight. Supporting the scenarios are data annexes for Chinese Communist, Chinese Nationalist, United Kingdom, and United States ships, aircraft, weapons, and sensors. There are more than a few ships and aircraft in Birth of the PLA Navy that I do not believe were previously available. Birth of the PLA Navy is a self-contained supplement; players need bring only the core rules to play as all other data is provided. Birth of the PLA Navy also overlaps with the official ATG data annex book China’s Navy: Ships and Aircraft of the People’s Republic of China, 1955-2021 that was last updated in March 2023.
The Naval SITREP: The Journal of the Admiralty Trilogy Game System, Issue #69 October 2025. The Naval SITREP is a bi-annual publication from ATG dedicated to supporting their product line. While multiple ATG games are supported, Issue #69 includes “Command at Sea Scenario: Convoy HG 76″ and new rules changes for “Altitude Bands and Flying Really Low” that are already incorporated in the “November” update to Command at Sea 5th Edition. There are also the articles “Rule Change: Battery Mishap – New Battery Discharge Rates for Harpoon V and CaS 5th Ed.” and “CaS 5th Rule Change: Aircraft Ready Times” that again are incorporated into the latest update of the core rulebook.
So much gaming…so little time
As much as I love a good World War II naval battle, I think the first Command at Sea 5th Edition games I will get to my gaming table will almost certainly be drawn from Birth of the PLA Navy. As the darkness of winter nights descends on North America I look forward to seeing the hot battles of the PLAN.
Feature image “Yongtai 62” at the “Sea Battle East of Chongwu”, November 1965 (courtesy inf.news). Birth of the PLA Navy lists this ship as a “Type 62 [Shanghai I]” patrol gunboat (PG).
The opinions and views expressed in this blog are those of the author alone and are presented in a personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Navy or any other U.S. government Department, Service, Agency, Office, or employer.
RockyMountainNavy.com © 2007-2025 by Ian B is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 