The Battle of the River Plate is a tactical game of the December 13, 1939, engagement between the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee and its British pursuers, the Ajax, Achilles, and Exeter. Components consist of a rules booklet, a Combat Card, four ship-armor diagram cards, plastic blocks labeled as the ships, and blocks in several colors use to designate hits.
The game is intended to be played on a hex board supplied by the owner. The rules specify use of an Avalon Hill Stalingrad board so that starting hexes can be specified in terms of Stalingrad locations. Pieces use both hexes and hexsides for movement to double the number of possible facing directions.
Movement is plotted and executed simultaneously. Rules cover gunfire, torpedoes, smokescreens, and ammunition supply. There is no time limit; play continues until the Graf Spee escapes or is sunk.
The stated purpose of the game is to "introduce the designers method of naval combat". Five years later Bruce Moore published the better known game Early Pacific Battles.