In this series called My Favorite Wargame Cards, I want to check out one card from different wargames I’ve played. I’ll explain how that card works in the game. I’m no big-time planner, and to be honest, I’m not the best player. But I do get how game parts fit together and how to use them right. Anyway, here’s the next card in the series.

Card #66: Harwood’s Intuition from The Hunt from Salt & Pepper Games

I have tried lots of hidden movement games over time, and I liked them all. Some were wargames like They Come Unseen from Osprey Games,

and Bomber Command from GMT Games. There were also some regular board games like Hunt for the Ring from Ares Games. The idea of moving slow and careful, dodging those chasing you, while finding and hitting goals makes for a fun time at the table. These games get your brain hurting and test your smarts. But they also use some tricks, like fooling your opponent about where you are. You make them guess wrong on your spot. It’s a smart way to play in board games, though it’s hard to make it work well and keep the game fun. Back in 2022, we tried a fresh game by Matthias Cramer and Engin Kunter. It takes the hidden movement idea and sets it in real history. It’s about the fight for control in the South Atlantic between Britain’s Royal Navy and Germany’s Kriegsmarine in the early days of World War II. The game is The Hunt from Salt & Pepper Games.

The Hunt is a game driven by cards. The German side must stay out of sight while trying to sink ships that carry goods. The Royal Navy looks for them all over the South Atlantic. Each player has different moves to reach their goals, and both sides have it tough. But if you handle your cards smart, using them the best way, you can dodge the hunter or grab your target.

In this post, we’ll look close at a handy card for the British: Harwood’s Intuition. It’s a 5 Ops card. That means it’s key in the British deck because it lets you do 2 or 3 moves in one turn. But it has an even better job: use it as a quick response to surprise the Germans. If the German player looks for a freight ship in a spot where a British group is waiting, and you play Harwood’s Intuition right then, the British get a free search move. It adds +1 to the dice roll. A normal search needs 5 or higher on a six-sided die to work. With the +1, you succeed on 4 or higher. That’s a fair 50-50 chance. Keep in mind, the British goal is to spot and sink the Graf Spee at the Battle of the River Plate. What a sweet trick card for the British! When I play German, I always remember this card is out there. If British ships are near, there’s danger of a trap. That’s part of what makes this game so strong.

The Battle of the River Plate happened in the South Atlantic on December 13, 1939. It was the first real British sea fight in World War II. In the weeks before that day, after the Graf Spee sank some merchant ships, the Royal Navy told Admiral Sir Henry Harwood to watch the area between Medanos and Cape San Antonio. Those spots are off Argentina’s coast south of the River Plate mouth. Before the big fight, after radio warnings from the sunk merchant ship Doric Star near South Africa, Harwood thought the raider would hit ships near the River Plate between Uruguay and Argentina. He sent his group to 32 degrees south, 47 degrees west. Harwood picked that spot, he said, because it was the busiest shipping path in the South Atlantic. A raider could hurt enemy ships most there. A Norwegian cargo ship spotted Admiral Graf Spee testing lights and radioed it was heading to South America. The three cruisers of Force G met near the estuary on December 12 and practiced moves.

Some say the River Plate is more like a big bay or edge of the South Atlantic than a river. That’s because it’s so wide – the widest river if you call it that, up to 140 miles across. It forms the sea edge between Argentina and Uruguay. It was a key path for sea trade and a door to South America’s inside lands.

Harwood figured the German raider would come here, and that made good sense. The estuary was like a tight spot for ships, with risky tides and sand bars that made it hard for British merchant ships to get away from German guns. So near the River Plate estuary, Harwood’s ships H.M.S. Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles took their stand. With ships grouped there, on December 12 they got ready and planned tactics. They waited for the enemy to show so they could spring the trap, catch the sneaky Admiral Graf Spee by surprise, and sink her.

Here is a link to our full video look at the game:

We also did a talk with the designers Matthias Cramer and Engin Kunter on the blog.

In the next part of this series, we’ll check out Frederick Douglas from Votes for Women from Fort Circle Games.