Sink the Bismarck! is based upon the Battle of the Denmark Straits, May 1941."

"The game is designed to be played by a team or 'Flag Staff' determining the actions of each ship in their force. The Flag Staff can consist of any number of players; though recommend not more than 8 - 10 per staff. The staff must have one Admiral in charge of the staff and acting as commander of one ship, and a Flag Captain, commanding the second ship. The remainder of the staff is divided among three departments; the Navigation Department (NAV DEPT) responsible for ship movements, the Engineering Department (ENG DEPT) responsible for battle damage repairs and generating smoke screens, and the Operations Department (OPS DEPT) responsible for guns, torpedoes, and air operations. Each department executes its duties through the use of 'action cards' which they hold. These cards are described below.”

“During each turn, or hand, only up to two departments may contribute to the four action cards forming the hand for each ship. These four cards are placed next to the ships face down. Each round a ship commander turns over a card from the hand and the actions resolved. The commanders may, based on the course of events, change the order of the remaining cards to the played, or declare emergency maneuvers, however they cannot consult any other member of the staff unless using the Send Signals Card.”

“To simulate the pace of combat operations, admirals and their staffs have only three minutes to select and order all their cards. If any ship's commander is not ready at the end of the three minutes, play begins with the ready commanders.”

“The game can be played with either paper or model ships of various sizes on a large table top or floor. Scale can be set to whatever units are convenient for play; all movement and hit probability charts are based on generic 'unit distances.' One unit can equal 1 inch, 1 foot, 1 yard or any other unit of length which suits the dimensions of the playing area. For table top play, 6 inches per unit is recommended. For floor play, 1 foot per unit can be used.”

This game has evolved considerably since its first incarnation in 2003, though the card driven mechanism has remained more or less the same. Originally designed as a two-player, two-battleship duel, it has since grown into a simulation of the Battle of the Demark Straits, using up to four different British ships to confront Germany's Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, as well as using whole teams of players for each ship, vice the original two players, which stresses a cooperative level of play.

The game is a favorite with the "Fight on the Floor" crowd, as it plays best on large open floors such as cafeterias and gyms, though it can also be played on table top. The game uses a simple generic variable scale system which allows the players to adapt the game to using inches, feet, yards, or any other convenient unit, depending on the space available. It can be played with downloaded paper ships or any appropriate model or miniatures. I routinely play the game using large 19 inch plastic battleships manufactured by Strombecker (no longer in production, but frequently available on eBay).

The game has both basic rules for those who want to quickly get to moving and shooting, and advance rules which require players to carefully manage fuel and ammo as well as carefully consider the specific performance advantages and disadvantages of each ship.

While not required, when playing with a large number of players, the game runs more smoothly with a Battle Umpire, who minds the clock, summons captains to the battle table, calls out the outcome of card interactions, etc.