Shipwreck: Scenario 02 – Operation Praying Mantis
- 1–4 players
- 60 min
- 2017
- BGG rank
- BGG #17,989
- BGG rating
- 8.0
Shipwreck
1999
Rules assistance for Shipwreck
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–10 players
- 60 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.6/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Shipwreck
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Shipwreck is a board game released in 1999 for 2–10 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Martin Bourne and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Paper-and-Pencil.
Expansions
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Shipwreck: Scenario 03 – the Bubiyan Turkey-Shoot
- 1–10 players
- 60 min
- 2017
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 01: The Assault on South Georgia
- 1–4 players
- 60 min
- 2018
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Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 02: the Empire strikes back
- 1–6 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 03: The Three Musketeers
- 1–4 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 04: Breaking the Pincer
- 2 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 05: Enter the Ring
- 2–10 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 06: Rolling Back the Pickets
- 1–2 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 07: Encounters in the Sound
- 1–2 players
- 60 min
- 2018
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Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 08: Operation Sutton
- 1–4 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 09: Bomb Alley
- 1–4 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 10 - The National day attack
- 1–4 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 11: Bluff Cove disaster
- 2 players
- 60–30 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 12: Exocet vs Carriers
- 2 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Corporate Rosario – Number 13: The Last Missiles
- 2 players
- 60 min
- 2018
Shipwreck: Submarines!
- 1–10 players
- 60 min
- 2018
The Battle of Baltim: The Missiles turn on Egypt
- 1–10 players
- 2021
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A Pearl of Great Price: Operation Morvarid – Iran strikes Iraq
- 1–2 players
- 2025
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Shipwreck: Freeplay '88
- 2 players
- 180–240 min
Shipwreck: Scenario 01 – The battle of Latakia
- 1–4 players
- 60 min
About the game
Vandering Publishing's Shipwreck is a very basic game of modern naval warfare. It already has one supplement released - "Freeplay '88", dealing with a NATO exercise in 1988. The game has been compared to "Harpoon 4", perhaps unfairly, as while it covers the same topic (modern naval warfare), the aim is present a much more global scope. Command of small fleets of ships is very easy in this game, as weapon effectiveness is determined by a single value and weapon damage is a single value (heavy, medium, light, etc). Ship damage are represented by a damage area with 4 damage levels - two 'lights', a 'heavy', and a 'critical' damage level. When a weapon damages a ship, a d10 is rolled and the weapon's size is compared against the size of the target ship on a chart to see the resulting damage level (with a chance of 'none' being one of the levels). If the given damage level is already called for, the next level up is used. The net effect is as mirrored by hypothetical naval combat - ships take very few hits to be 'mission killed'. Detection is handled within the rules in a very basic way, although special note should be made of the submarine rules. They make use of 'range bands' around a target ship. Submarines are not placed on the 'board' unless detected, making their approach and attack on these 'range band' diagrams, essentially their exact position unknown to BOTH players - neatly avoiding the need for a third player as referee almost always required in other games of the type. The production values of the game are fairly high - no counters or maps are included, but, given the nature of most modern naval games to use miniatures or simply graph paper, that's certainly forgivable. The game manual itself is printed on glossy paper with plenty of images throughout (several pages include color images) that really set the mood for the game.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Vandering Publications
Questions and answers
Shipwreck supports 2–10 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Shipwreck is 60 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.
The catalogue lists Shipwreck for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Shipwreck has a complexity rating of 2.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light 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.
Shipwreck belongs to these categories: Wargame, Miniatures, and Nautical. 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 Shipwreck are: Martin Bourne. 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 Shipwreck as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.