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Bismarck rules of play  1961 Version

Search Board

The search for the Bismarck is done on the Search Board. The Search Board shows the

portion of the North Atlantic Ocean where the Bismarck operations took place May 23 to May

27 1941. Areas and zones printed on the board are used to determine movement.

AREAS: The large blocks such as A-1, B-2, etc.

ZONES: The small blocks lettered A to D.

The Search Board is used by both players. A smaller reproduction of this board is printed

on the Record Pad so players can keep a written record of opponent’s movements. 

Battle Board

Actual battle is conducted on the Red and Blue Battle Board. At the start of any battle

the Bismarck is placed in the center square and the British ships are placed on any of the

outermost squares at the discretion of the British player.

 Note: Ship forms printed on the Battle Board do not indicate where you are to place ship

counters. They are printed merely for effect.

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Ship Counters 

The square counters represent all ships that take part in the search procedure. They are

used only on the Search Board.

Types: B – Battleship and Battle Cruisers, C – Cruisers, A – Aircraft Carriers.

Movement Factor: Maximum number of zones a counter may be moved in one turn on the

Search Board.

The rectangular counters represent ships that take part in battle. They are used on the

Battle Board.

There are no counters for cruisers. In real life such ships would engage a battleship only

in sheer desperation. Therefore, in the play of Bismarck, cruisers are used only in the Search

Procedure  – and any engagement between the Bismarck and British cruisers can be done only

through Chance Table play. In addition, the German cruiser Prinz Eugen, which was with the

 Bismarck for a short time, is also not included since it played no important role in the actual

 Bismarck operations.

How to Win 

The player who has accumulated the most points when the game ends is declared the

winner. A Points Earned table is printed on the Battle Board. The game ends as soon as:

A.  The Bismarck is sunk, or

B.  The Bismarck enters any of the ports of Bergen, Brest, St. Nazaire or Ferrol after May

25, or

C.  The German player has accumulated more points than it is possible for the British

player to score, or

D.  Play reaches the time limit.

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Sinking the Bismarck does not automatically make the British player the winner – it

merely ends the game with the winner being the player having the most points at that

time.

Prepare for Play 

1.  Place the Search Board between both players with the Search Board Chance Table

side facing the British player.

2.  Place the Screen in the middle of the Search Board so that Starting Placement and

subsequent play on both sides can be done in secret.

3.  Place the Battle Board off to the side with the North end facing the German player.

4.  The British player places on his Search Board all of the square ship counters as

instructed under Starting Placement of All Ships printed on the Search Board.

5.  The German player places on his Search Board at Bergen the square ship counter

labeled Bismarck. 

How to Play 

The following is a condensed step-by-step explanation of how to play Bismarck.

Hereafter, the British player is called Blue, the German player is called Red .

AREA SEARCH:

STEP 1: Red takes his turn. He secretly moves the Bismarck from Bergen (C-8,A) to the desired

zone. On the first turn the Bismarck may move up to 6 zones from Bergen; on all succeeding

turns it moves 2 zones per turn.

STEP 2: Blue takes his turn. He secretly moves his counters on the Search Board up to the

number of Zones represented by their movement factors.

STEP 3: Blue “calls out” areas his counters lie in. Red must reply immediately when Blue calls

out an area the Bismarck is in.

A.  If Red is not in any of the areas called out the Bismarck has not been located in which

case play reverts to Step 1.

B.  But, if Red is in an area with Blue players proceed to Zone Search, Step 4.

ZONE SEARCH:

STEP 4: Blue takes the pack of Zone Cards and pulls out one for each zone in the Bismarck’s

area that he has counters in.

STEP 5: Red takes the remaining Zone Cards and looks for the card representing the zone the

Bismarck is in.

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A.  If Red finds his card in the pack, he has not been sighted in which case play reverts to

Area Search, Step 1.

B.  But if Red does not find his card, he has been sighted:

1.  If sighted by a Carrier or Cruiser, Red must disclose exact zone. Do not proceed

to battle but revert to Area Search, Step 1.

2.  If sighted by a Battleship, proceed to Battle, Step 6.

BATTLE:

STEP 6: Red places the rectangular ship counter representing the Bismarck in the middle square

of the Battle Board.

STEP 7: Blue places on the Battle Board rectangular ship counters for each ship that sighted the

Bismarck  – placing them on any of the outermost squares regardless of the direction of 

movement of their respective Search Board Counters.

STEP 8: Blue may move each battleship counter one square in any direction, after which Red

may move the Bismarck one square in any direction.

STEP 9: Players figure their salvo count – getting one die roll for each salvo.

STEP 10: After each die roll the players consult the Battle Results Table and record “hits” on

their respective record sheets.

After all salvos have been fired a round of battle is over. Repeat steps 8 through 10 as often as

necessary until:

a.  The Bismarck is sunk, thus ending the game, orb.  All British ships on the Battle Board are sunk in which case play reverts to Area

Search, Step 1, or

c.  A withdrawal occurs through Chance Table play in which case play reverts to Area

Search, Step 1.

REMEMBER: When the Bismarck is sighted by a Carrier or Cruiser do not proceed to

battle – do not play any Chance Table. Simply repeat Area Search procedure.

 Be sure you understand the above routine before reading further. The remaining instructions

deal with details of play.

How to Move Counters on the Search Board 

1.  Blue is allowed to move all counters up to their movement factor in each turn.

2.  Blue is not required to move every counter, nor does he have to move any counter in each

turn.

3.  Counters may be moved in any direction, or combination of directions, in each turn.

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4.  Counters may be moved less than their movement factors.

5.  Movement counters are not transferable from one counter to another, nor can they be

accumulated from one turn to the next.

6.  There is no limit to the number of counters that can be stacked in any one zone.

7.  Movement is not allowed into or through zones not containing letters A through D.

8.  Counters may be moved through occupied zones.

9.  Counters in zones at the board edges are not allowed to move off the board.

10. When play is on the Battle Board, all Search Board counters may be moved one zone

after every three rounds of battle.

11. Movement factor for the Bismarck is six zones in the first turn; two zones all turns

thereafter.

The die is used only to resolve battle and Chance Table situations  – it has nothing to do with

movement. 

How To Search 

AREA SEARCH: After Blue has moved all the counters he chooses to move on the Search

Board, he finds out whether or not he has moved into an area that Red is in. This is done as

follows:

1.  Blue calls out one area at a time after each of which Red must state whether or not the

Bismarck is in that area.

2.  Blue is allowed to call out only the areas where there are British counters. He is not

allowed to call out areas where there are no counters.

3.  Blue is allowed to call out areas in any order he chooses.4.  Blue is not required to call out every area in which he has counters.

5.  Blue stops calling out areas as soon as the Bismarck has been located. Players then

proceed immediately to zone search.

6.  Blue may stop calling out areas any time he chooses in which case players mark off time

and repeat search procedure.

ZONE SEARCH: After Blue has located the area Red is in he finds out whether or not he

has counters in the same zone with the Bismarck. This is done as follows:

1.  Blue withdraws cards representing only the zones where he has counters. He is not

allowed to withdraw cards for zones where there are no British counters.

2.  Red takes the remainder of the zone cards and looks for the card of the zone the Bismarck 

is in. If Red cannot locate his card, then Blue and Red are in the same zone. If Blue and

Red are not in the same zone, or Red has been sighted only by a Blue Cruiser or Carrier,

players mark off time and revert to area search, Step 1.

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If the Bismarck has entered a zone of Bergen, Brest, St. Nazaire, or Ferrol and British

Battleships have also entered that zone, players must proceed to battle. The Bismarck is not

considered in port until the Chance Table calls for withdrawal or all British battleships on the

Battle Board are sunk.

How to Move Ships on the Battle Board 

1.  You are allowed to move all ships one square per round.

2.  You are not required to move every ship, nor do you have to move any ship in a round.

3.  Ships may be moved vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.

4.  Ships are not allowed to engage each other from A-range until they have first fought from

B-range. For instance, if a British ship, in moving first, moves into B-range, the

Bismarck is not allowed to move closer into A-range. If it wishes to move it must either

move out of range or to another square in B-range.

5.  Ships of opposing players are never allowed in the same square.

6.  There is no limit to the number of British ships allowed in any one square.

7.  Ships on the Battle Board cannot move off the Battle Board. Withdrawal may occur only

when called for by the Battle Board Chance Table.

8.  When a British ship is sunk it is removed from the game. Its corresponding Search Board

counter must also be removed from the game.

9.  After every three rounds of battle all Search Board counters may be moved one zone  –  

and all ships that were previously just one zone away from the battle zone may be

brought into the battle. Ships already on the Battle Board remain in position – all new

arrivals are placed on the outermost squares according to their direction of movement.

10. Ships may be turned completely around each turn.

How to Face Ships After Movement on Battle Board 

1.  Ships may be faced in any direction regardless of the number of ships in any one square.

2.  Examples of facing positions are as follows:

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B-Range A-Range

 

B-Range A-Range

Bow to Bow, Bow to Stern, Stern to Bow, Stern to Stern 

B-Range A-Range

 

B-Range A-Range

Bow to Broadside or Stern to Broadside 

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B-Range A-Range

 

B-Range A-Range

Broadside to Bow or Broadside to Stern 

All other situations not shown above are automatically Broadside to Broadside. A few

Broadside to Broadside examples are as follows:

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How to Figure Salvo Count 

The maximum number of salvos a ship is allowed to fire in a round is based on the following:

a.  RANGE: Bow and Stern turrets may fire from A and B ranges. Secondary Armament

may fire from A range only.

b.  FACING: In Bow facing only bow turrets may fire; in Stern facing only stern turrets may

fire; in Broadside facing all turrets may fire. For Secondary Armament, Port guns may

fire only when the enemy is on the port side; Starboard guns may fire only when the

enemy is on the starboard side.

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c.  GUN DAMAGE: A ship gets one die roll for each gun section box containing no hits at

the beginning of a round of battle. That salvo count is not reduced during a round if hits 

are incurred. However, such hits affect the salvo count for the following rounds. For

instance, the Bismarck starts off with a bow turret salvo count of six. If two bow turret

hits are incurred during the first round, Bismarck still gets six die rolls in that  first round,

however, in the second round the Bismarck only gets four die rolls. If a ship is sunk 

before a round is over it still rolls its full salvo count for that round.

d.  TIME: If battle is at night  the British player’s salvo count is reduced in half – Blue

getting the benefit of any fraction. Red’s salvo count is not reduced at night.

NOTE: If no salvos are fired after both players have moved their ships such action still

counts as a round of battle.

How to Resolve a Battle 

1.  One player rolls off his entire salvo count then his opponent does likewise. It makes no

difference which player rolls first since both players roll their salvo count for that round

regardless of hits incurred on their own ships.

2.  After each die roll, match up the number rolled with the proper  firing at column under the

correct range to get the result of the salvo. For instance, if the Hood is firing at the

Bismarck’s port side from B-range and a 3 is rolled, the Bismarck incurs one port

secondary armament hit.

3.  Whenever a hit is scored players place a check in one box of the section that has been hit.

a.  Each hit upon a gun section reduces the salvo count by one for the following

rounds.

b.   Hits incurred on gun sections that are already completely knocked out are scored

as midships hits instead.

c.  A ship is not sunk until every midships box has been checked. For instance, it

takes 10 midships hits to sink Bismarck; three midships hits to sink the Hood, etc.

d.  When a ship incurs a hit on the first shaded box in its midships section it loses its

firepower. Beginning with the following round, it may no longer fire and must

hope for withdrawal and must elude the enemy for the remainder of the game.For instance, the Bismarck would be rendered helpless on the 8

thmidships hit;

KGV on the fourth midships hit, etc.

e.  The Rodney has no stern turrets. However, it does have a third bow turret but it is

in such a position that it can fire only in broadside facing. On the Hit Record the

third Bow turret is considered a Stern turret.

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f.  In cases where it is not obvious which Secondary Armament (port or starboard)

has been hit the decision is left to the ship receiving the hit.

Multi-Ship Battle 

1.  When more than one British ship engages the Bismarck on the Battle Board, Blue’s salvocount is the total salvo count of all ships. For instance, in the first round when both the

Hood and Rodney are engaging the Bismarck broadside to broadside from B-range the

total salvo count would be: Blue – 20 die rolls; Red – 12 die rolls.

2.  You may direct fire on any and all ships in range.

3.  You are not required to direct all your fire on one ship, nor are you required to fire at all

ships.

4.  Ships in B-range may fire over ships in A-range.

Chance Tables 

SEARCH BOARD: The Blue player has the option to play the Chance Table at the end of any

daytime search turn in which he has failed to locate the Bismarck. Red may play the Chance

Table only if Blue declines his option. To play the Search Board Chance Table, roll the die

once. 

BATTLE BOARD: Both players may play the Chance Table at the end of any round of battle.

Players electing to play the Chance Table are allowed one die roll each – Blue rolling first when

both elect to play.

Players are cautioned to study the Chance Tables before electing to play them.

How to Withdraw From Battle 

Withdrawal from the Battle Board may occur only when called for by the Battle Board

Chance Table. If a 1 or 2 is rolled by either player, play on the Battle Board ceases immediately.

Players revert to Area Search, Step 1, with all ships moving from the same zone that they were in

at the beginning of the round of battle procedure.

Time 

Players record the passage of time by checking off one box left to right as follows:

1.  After each Search Turn in which the British player fails to sight the Bismarck, or

2.  After every 6 rounds or at conclusion of battle.

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NIGHT PLAY: Shaded Time Record boxes indicate play is at night – a distinct

advantage for the Bismarck which was the only ship with radar-controlled fire power at

night.

You have completed the instructions to BISMARCK. BISMARCK has been purposely

designed to be challenging. For this reason you must become completely familiar withthe rules in order to play correctly. Examples of play are included in the Historical Notes

card and should be referred to while playing your first few games.