[1][2][3][4] During World War I, Britain's naval forces had successfully blockaded German access to the North Sea and the Atlantic.

At the strategic level, the players use pencil marks on a hex grid map of the North Sea to search for the other fleet.

In one of his contributions, Dunnigan levelled major criticisms of lack of historical accuracy at Avalon Hill's 1965 release, Battle of the Bulge.

[3] Dean E. Miller attributed this to the game's complexity, which, in the early days of board wargaming, was "just too tough for the mass market.

"[9] In A Player's Guide to Table Games, John Jackson noted that a large surface was needed ("a basketball court is perfect") and warned "You may object to crawling around on the floor, and the carefully plotted formations are particularly vulnerable to dogs, cats, children and other natural hazards."

"[10] In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Nicholas Palmer thought the rules revisions of the second edition improved a number of small points.

He concluded by warning that the games were long, saying, "Six hours plus: plenty of time for naval buffs to get their teeth into, but a bit different from normal wargames.

He did warn that the game "requires a great deal of time and room; formations are subject to disruptions by pets, children, or a misplaced foot."

However, Freeman concluded by giving an Overall Evaluation of "Good", saying, "It's fun, and the 'feel' of naval warfare is unmatched by any other game of the modern period.