Captain Sonar

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Captain Sonar
Game data
author Roberto Fraga , Yohan Lemonnier
graphic Ervin , Sabrina Tobal
publishing company Matagot , Pegasus games
Publishing year 2016
Art Board game
Teammates 4 to 8
Duration approx. 45 to 60 minutes
Age 14 years and older

Awards

Captain Sonar is a board game by the French game designers Roberto Fraga and Yohan Lemonnier , which was released in 2016 by the French game publisher Matagot . In 2017 Pegasus Spiele launched a German-language version on the market, in the same year the game was included on the recommendation list of the Kennerspiel des Jahres and was voted eighth in the German Games Prize .

The game is a revision of the classic game Sink Ships , in which two submarine teams of up to four players each compete against each other and sink the opposing boat.

Style of play

In the game Captain Sonar , two teams of two to four players each compete as submarine teams in a future scenario and each have to track down and sink the opposing ship as a team. Each player of a team takes on a role in the team and plays either as captain , first officer , machinist or radio operator , each with their own tasks. The first team to receive four points of damage loses the game.

The game can be played in real time or turn-based, and there are several scenarios with partly additional victory conditions. In addition to the game instructions, the game material consists of two sets of 12 game sheets each:

  • one game sheet each for the first officer,
  • one game sheet each for the machinist,
  • five game sheets for the captain (one per scenario),
  • five game sheets for the radio operator (one per scenario).

There are also two transparent sheets for the radio operator, 8 washable foil pens and two privacy screens.

Game preparation

At the beginning of the game, the two protective screens are placed in the middle of the table to separate the two teams. The players sit opposite the table in a given order, with the players with the same roles of the opposing teams sitting opposite each other and within the teams the machinist on the outside, next to them the first officer, the captain and then the radio operator. After the players have chosen a scenario, the captain and the radio operator each receive the corresponding game sheets, the first officer and the machinist also receive their characteristic sheets and the radio operator also receive a transparent sheet. In real-time mode, players place all arcs with the dark side up in front of them, in turn-based play with the light side. Each player also receives a pen. If there are fewer than four players per team, one player generally takes over the radio operator and the captain also takes over the first officer or even the machinist.

Game flow

In the game, each player takes on different tasks according to his role:

  • the master sets start of the game, the start position of the vessel firmly and marks them with an X on his play arch. Together with the opposing captain, he gives the command “On diving station!” And starts the game. The captain now controls the boat by moving the submarine one space in each of the four cardinal directions, drawing it on his bow and announcing this course aloud. In the real-time game this happens in parallel, in the turn-based game alternately. As soon as the first officer and the machinist have carried out their action and have confirmed the course command with an "Ok", the master indicates the next course. The boat may neither cross the route it has already traveled nor drive over an island field or a field with its own water mines and the captain may only delete the previous route by surfacing. When the captain can no longer steer the ship, he has to let it emerge.
  • The radio operator follows the course information of the opposing captain and tries to find out where the opposing ship is. He is in constant contact with the captain and gives him the calculated course information. To make this possible, he draws the opposing captain's course information on his transparent sheet and places it on his play sheet, where he can move and adjust it. The radio operator can also be supported by sonar and search drones, which can be activated by the captain or the first officer.
  • The first officer keeps the various ship systems in view and forwards the information to the captain when weapons and other systems can be activated. With each course order, the first officer marks a space of any system on his game sheet. As soon as a system is marked in all fields, he indicates this to the captain, who can order the activation of the system. Only when the system has been activated can it be marked again. The first officer may activate the search drone and the sonar without an order from the captain; an order from the captain is required for all other systems. In addition to the systems, the first officer also marks the damage to his own ship. If four damages are marked, the ship is destroyed and the team loses the game.
  • The machinist observes the systems and damage caused by the master's choice of course. Every time the captain gives a course order, the machinist must mark a symbol in the relevant section. He can choose between symbols of the central circuits and the main reactor. The machinist should, if possible, inform the master about potential major damage before giving his course orders. There are various defects in the game:
    • System defects: As soon as at least one symbol of a certain system category is marked, it must no longer be activated. Every time the first officer wants to activate a system, he has to ask the machinists whether the system is operational or damaged. If a system is to be used that is damaged, it must first be repaired.
    • Reactor defects: Markings in the reactor alone have no effect as long as not all reactor symbols are crossed. If all reactor symbols have been marked, a reactor defect occurs and the ship suffers one point of damage, which is announced by the chief officer and the captain; then the operator can delete the markings.
    • Area defects: As soon as all systems in an area are damaged, the ship also suffers one point of damage. This is also announced and then the operator clears the entire damage in the area.
The machinist can carry out various repairs. A system will self-repair if all systems on one of the yellow, gray, or orange circuits are damaged. The reactor, on the other hand, can only be repaired by surfacing or through reactor damage.

To repair damage to the ship, the captain can order “surfacing!”. When he appears, he has to tell the opposing team which sector the own ship is in, after which repairs begin. In turn-based play, the opposing team has 3 additional rounds in which the emerged team skips. In the real-time game, the machinist begins to paint one of the submarine areas on his game sheet and has to mark this with his initials. He then passes the sheet on to the first officer, who does the same. This is followed by the captain and the radio operator, who then returns the finished sheet to the machinist. He hands it over to the machinist of the opposing team to check the correct border and markings. If this confirms the correctness, the engineer can delete all defects and confirm them to the captain, who then deletes the previous route and gives the command "Dive!". The opposing team may continue to play during the entire repair.

In order to activate the weapons and other systems of a submarine, all fields of the corresponding systems must be marked at the first officer. This tells the captain which systems are available and the captain can activate them at any time. The first officer can also activate the sonar and the search drone. To activate it, the operator must first be asked whether the system can be used and whether it is not damaged. Then the captain calls out "STOP!" And all players, including those of the opposing team, must interrupt their activity. Then the respective system is activated and the corresponding action is carried out, only then does the game continue normally. The following actions and systems can be activated:

  • A mine can be detonated: In order to carry out this action, a mine must first be placed on an adjacent space (also diagonally). This may not be placed in the route of your own ship and the ship may not enter a field with its own mine. The captain marks the field with an M on his game sheet. The captain can ignite any mine at any time in the game, except when the boat has surfaced, and announces this with the corresponding coordinates. If the enemy boat is on the mine, it receives a direct hit and thus 2 points of damage, if it is adjacent to the mine, it receives an indirect hit and thus one point of damage.
  • a torpedo can be fired: The captain can fire a torpedo on a field up to four fields (not diagonally) away and announces this with its coordinates. If the opposing boat is in the position, it receives a direct hit and thus 2 points of damage; if it is adjacent to the position, it receives an indirect hit and thus one point of damage.
  • A search drone can be activated: The captain or the first officer can activate a search drone and announce this. You ask the opposing captain whether his boat is in a specific sector and he has to answer truthfully.
  • activate the sonar : The captain or the first officer can activate the sonar and announce this. The opposing captain must now provide two pieces of information about the position (row, column, sector), one of which must be correct and one must be a lie.
  • Activate crawl speed : The captain orders a slow speed and is now allowed to move the ship without announcing the course. He may move his ship up to four spaces in any direction and gestures to pass this on to his team so that they can carry out the corresponding actions.
  • In addition, typical ship systems can be activated in the various scenarios.

Whenever a system is activated, the first officer erases the corresponding markings on his game sheet.

The game ends as soon as a ship shows 4 points of damage; it does not matter how the ship received the damage. The team on this ship lost the game.

Expenses and reception

The game Captain Sonar is based on the classic sinking of ships and was developed by the two French game authors Roberto Fraga and Yohan Lemonnier . It was published in 2016 by the French game publisher Matagot in a French, an English and a multilingual version, the illustrations and the cover design were done by the illustrators Ervin and Sabrina Tobal . In 2016 and 2017, in addition to a German-language version, Pegasus Spiele released further editions of the game in Italian, Hungarian / Romanian and Chinese.

In 2017 the game was included on the recommendation list of the Kennerspiel des Jahres and was voted eighth in the German Games Prize . The jury for the Kennerspiel des Jahres commented on the game as follows:

“Ships sink in real time. In the team game "Captain Sonar", two submarine crews go on a dive trip with the aim of tracking down and eliminating the enemy. (...) What a hectic thrill! There is a turn-based entry-level mode for cadets. "

In 2017, Captain Sonar: Upgrade 1, an expansion to the game with five additional scenarios, was published in German as Captain Sonar: Volles Rohr in 2018 and can only be obtained from specialist retailers until the end of July 2018.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Official rules of the game for Captain Sonar (pdf); accessed on May 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b Versions of Captain Sonar in the BoardGameGeek database; accessed on May 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b Captain Sonar on the website of the Spiel des Jahres eV ; accessed on May 19, 2018.
  4. ↑ Captain Sonar: Full Pipe on the Pegasus Games website; accessed on May 19, 2018.

Web links