Seventh Fleet

About this game

Seventh Fleet

Seventh Fleet is a strategic naval simulation of a theoretical combat between Soviet and US forces in the Pacific in 1996.

Designed for 1 - 2 players, each player controls the major naval and naval air forces of either the US or Soviets. A computer opponent is available for 1-player games. The viewpoint is of the theater naval commander, and the player composes task forces, establishes missions and destinations for those groups, and responds to operational events.

The game is text-only, and came with a board and physical pieces to allow the player to keep track of the location of theirs and enemy units. All games begin on June 01, 1996. Time passes in half day intervals, allowing the player to input new commands for their fleet. Gameplay occurs in 3 sections, first is taskforce management, where the player can combine and split ships from each taskforce to create new taskforces. The player can also check the status of each unit, and set the mission for each taskforce, including: anti-surface, anti-submarine, attack shore targets, or shadow an enemy taskforce. The player is also given the length of time until additional ships arrive in the naval theater. In the second section, the player gives movement orders to each taskforce, as well as submarine and air support. In the third section, the player is given the results of intelligence collection, searches by task force and submarines, as well as the options to launch attacks against a particular target or location.

The game starts at rising tension, but as direct combat between forces continues, there is the risk of escalating to global nuclear warfare, at which point the game ends. Otherwise, the game with a ceasefire after a set number of turns. If the game ends in ceasefire, both sides receive a score based upon the effectiveness of their command.