
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,807
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Blue Max
- 2–6 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 1983

Rules assistance for Dawn of the Rising Sun: Ship Forms
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Dawn of the Rising Sun: Ship Forms is an expansion for The Russo-Japanese War: Dawn of the Rising Sun released in 2006 180 minutes per game. It was designed by Bill Madison and Jay Wissmann and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Paper-and-Pencil.
56 page booklet which includes a form for every ship class, including the Royal Navy ships, found in the data annex. All forms include both profile and deck plan. As a bonus, a CD will be provided with the information in PDF format so that it can be printed with ease.
The listed playing time for Dawn of the Rising Sun: Ship Forms is 180 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
Dawn of the Rising Sun: Ship Forms has a complexity rating of 4.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a heavy game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Dawn of the Rising Sun: Ship Forms belongs to these categories: Wargame, Nautical, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Paper-and-Pencil. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Dawn of the Rising Sun: Ship Forms are: Bill Madison and Jay Wissmann. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Dawn of the Rising Sun: Ship Forms as an expansion for The Russo-Japanese War: Dawn of the Rising Sun. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need The Russo-Japanese War: Dawn of the Rising Sun to use it. Check that your edition of The Russo-Japanese War: Dawn of the Rising Sun is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.