Close The Atlantic: World War Three

From BoardGameGeek:

Nominated for 2025 Charles S. Roberts Awards (“CSR Awards”) recognize excellence in tabletop conflict simulations. Note: Print & Play version available wargame vault on the web. The PnP version contains the full map in sections and unit counters for home printing. The box version is no longer available, September 2025. This is a game of modern naval combat; the focus is mainly on Convoy operations. Additional scenarios introduce rules for battle in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean. Ground battle is abstracted, although air and missile strikes against the front lines are introduced in the third scenario. The three scenarios can be combined to depict a full WW3 war all across Europe. The time-frame of the game is NOW, 21st Century, beginning in April to September, as decided by a D6 die roll. October brings increased chances of hurricanes which will seriously hamper operations. Turns are weekly, beginning with the first week of the month, decided by the die roll. The game abstracts the technical details for various equipment types. Counters represent 1 unit (like a submarine) or many (up to 100 aircraft) or a group of ships. Numeric counters are provided to slip under counters to indicate the count during engagements. For instance, a count of missiles fired. The Print and Play version contains the full map in sections and unit counters for home printing. The box version is no longer available, September 2025. Special Note: Launching a helicopter is either an Action or a Reaction. After launch, a helicopter can do a detection attempt, but the enemy has a chance first; to Act or React. Helicopters can be launched as Actions even if no enemy is present, one at a time. This replaces doing a counter move or placement on the map. Helicopters are placed on or near the parent counter and remain with that counter. Landing them is not an Action or a Reaction; simply remove the helicopter counter(s). -description from the designer