By Jim Wallman
Central London, London 13 June 2015

“Don't Panic Captain Mainwaring!, Don't Panic!”
Corporal Jones, Warmington-on-Sea Home Guard, sometime in 1940

The Provisional Cast List for the London game on 13 June 2015 is here

This is an Alternate History WW2 game about the imaginary invasion of Britain by the German Army in the autumn of 1940, known as Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sealion).

In real life, the operation was never a realistic possibility, even though the German Army amassed huge invasion forces in Channel ports they were never able to reliably counter the twin threats of the RAF and the Royal Navy and the invasion was cancelled – much to the relief of the German High Command who felt the whole idea would very likely be suicidal.

However, writers and gamers, especially in the UK have always been fascinated by the prospect of a WW2 campaign set in Britain.

Game Play
The game will involve planning and executing a seaborne invasion. Unlike the Allies in D-Day four years later, the Germans had no overwhelming superiority in land, sea and air power, and had absolutely no experience of an opposed seaborne invasion. So gamers will be in pretty much the same place as their historical counterparts!

So the game challenge for the German players is to establish a foothold in SE England and see if they can bring about the collapse of the British Government before they are worn down or run out of supplies as the autumnal weather reduces their ability to resupply their forces adequately. The British and Commonwealth forces have to hold them up long enough for that to happen.

At the same time the British Cabinet is struggling with public morale, protecting industries, and trying desperately to bring in help from the Commonwealth or, perhaps more importantly the USA. Churchillian rhetoric is a powerful force, but can it stiffen weakened and ill-equipped armed forces against a ruthless implacable enemy?

This is an operational megagame covering military operations by British, Commonwealth and German armies. The setting is an alternate historical one so the outcome is entirely open - what happens will depend on players' decisions. The player teams are in a hierarchy of teams and the key to success is teamwork and good communication. Like all megagames this is as much about excellent intercommunication as it is about brilliant strategies on the map.

Player Roles

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