by ROBERT BECKHUSEN
Life is busy aboard a submarine. To wile away the hours not spent working or training, crews have developed a rich tradition of card and board games.
Some of these games are popular among civilians, others were picked up by sailors when based overseas. A few games are almost exclusive to the submarine world, reflecting the mentality of the crews.
“It is in the DNA of submarine officers to be competitive,” says Iain Ballantyne, a naval journalist and author of Hunter Killers, a book chronicling the history of four Royal Navy submarine captains during the Cold War.
“As people who are accustomed to living by their wits and taking calculated risks they will be drawn to games that involve a certain amount of bluff, mind games and even gambling—though never for money,” he adds.
