From Wikipedia:  "The objective of Force Z which consisted of one battleship, one battlecruiser and four destroyers, was to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet north of Malaya. However, the fleet was without any air support, which had been declined by Admiral Sir Tom Philips, the commander of Force Z. Although the British had a close encounter with Japanese heavy surface units, they failed to find and destroy the main convoy. They were then attacked and sunk by long-range medium bombers while attempting to return to Singapore"

In this hypothetical scenario, played with the Pz8 1939-41 Naval Rules, Force Z (HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse) intercept a Japanese fleet (Haruna and Kongo battlecruisers, Atago and Takao cruisers) with a limited and disorganized air support.

Here are the data for the ships involved. 
                                                                Def            Att            Range

HMS Prince of  Wales                                      5            5            4
(10x 14”)

HMS Repulse                                                  3            3            4
(6 x 15”)                                                      

Haruna, Kongo                                              3            4            4
(8 x 14”)                                                        

Atago, Takao                                                1            2            3           
 (10 x 8”)

I played solo picking the British, with the Japanese managed by a D6 roll. The Japanese also had 1D3 Bombers and 1D3 Torpedo Bombers (all land based). At the start of each turn I rolled one 1D6 for the B. and one for the TB. = 5,6 = one air attack was conducted (rolled 1D6 to determinate the target).

The playing surface (100 cm x 50cm) is divided in 8 zones. Ships can move from one zone to another or stay and manouvre broadside. The two opposing fleets can not cross the central line. This abstract system allows a simple game on a small table.

The Japanese sporadic air attacks caused only limited damages to the HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulse, that were repaired in the following turns. The two fleets came at short range but even if Force Z was able to hit several times the Kongo and Haruna, damages were again limited and soon repaired. 

The British had a superior firepower, but they wer not able to achieve a decisive "critical hit" or to cripple the Japanese ships. After some turns the Japanese progressively withdrew, under smoke curtains, making more and more difficult to hit them. When the Japanese fleet leaving the table, the battle ended... a strategical victory for the Force Z, that now controls the South China Sea!

After the battle of Lissa (1866)  there were not other major engagements between the Italian and the Austro-Hungarian fleets. 


This is a fictional naval battle in 1916 (50 years after the famous Italian defeat). 


1/3000 models are by Davco and include two hypotethical super-dreadnoughts: Francesco Caracciolo, that was only partially completed after WW1 and  scrapped in 1921; and the "Schiff VIII" of the Ersatz Monarch Class, that existed only on paper. I used the Pz8 1939-41 Naval Rules without modifications and played solo, picking the Italians with the "random activation" of the Austro-Hungarian.

In the first game the Austro-Hungarian fleet withdrew under smoke screens, after some indecisive fire from the super-dreadnoughts at long range... quite realistical, but I decided to try a second encounter.

This was more exciting with both fleets manouvering and counter-manouvering, until the  Italians managed to deploy broadside and straddle the Austrian-Hungarians... Zrinyi was Crippled, but the K.u.K. Admiral ordered to advance again towards the blazing guns, singing the Imperial Anthem... a rather suicide decision!

Viribus Unitis and Erzerhog Karl are sunk and the guns of the mighty Schiff VIII are silenced... the Imperial fleet retires past the burning Zrinyi and exits the table. A great imaginary victory for the Regia Marina... and a fun game for me.

I played in solitaire these two famous naval battles with the Pz8 1939-41 Naval Rules, the second using some additional rules for actions between Battle Cruisers and Light Cruisers. 

For Denmark Strait I took the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen, while the HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales where the Non Playing Opponent (NPO); this means that I rolled 1 D6 each turn, to see if they "decided" to advance, stay or withdraw. The first game was really quick, because at 3rd turn the British battleships withdrew away from the table, without any damage (let's say it was just a first brief encounter). The second game was  more interesting, with the HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales moving forward and then withdrawing under smoke screens, while the Bismarck tried to shorten the firing range, followed by the Prince Eugen at a more cautious distance. After a number of turns and some hits that both managed to repair, the British withdrew, with a tie result of 1 Turret Damage for the Bismarck and 1 for the HMS Hood.

For the River Plate scenario, the Graf Spee was the NPO, and I took the HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles. This time the D6 rolls made for a very aggressive Captain Langsdorff, that advanced at short range, allowing the British cruisers to use their torpedoes. HMS Exeter was sunk by one of the first German salvoes, but the German pocket battleship was sunk by one lucky torpedo hit from the HMS Ajax. Both games took around one hour, on a small space (my usual 120x80 kitchen table).

These are some modifications to the Pz8 1939-41 Naval Wargaming rules for the Battle of River Plate. Can used for other actions between Battle Cruisers and Light Cruisers. The other rules can be used as they are.
 
Fire:
                                                        Range (zones)
To straddle                        1            2            3            4    
11”-12” guns                   4,5,6       5,6         5,6          6
8”-6” guns                       4,5,6       5,6          6            -
 
Attack factors:

11”-12” guns = 3
8” guns = 2
5.9” / 6” guns = 1
 
Defence factors:


Add +1 for every 5000 t (rounded up or down)
 
Torpedoes:


Ships have one Torpedo Salvo for each 2 torpedoes. Range is one zone, hit with D6 = 1-3 (that is also the nr. of H damages inflicted). Only one Torpedo Salvo each turn is allowed.
 
River Plate - 1939
 
                                      Def           Att*           Range*
Graf Spee                        3            2 / 1            4 / 3
                                       3 x Torpedo Salvo
 
* Main / Secondary;  can fire both, but only on one target (subtract -1 to hit).
 
                                            Def           Att           Range
Exeter                                    2            1            3
                                             3 x Torpedo Salvo
 
                                            Def           Att           Range
Ajax, Achilles                        2            1            3
                                             4 x Torpedo Salvo