Naval affairs affected this war to a huge degree....is there much of that on the game itself? U-boats, and strangling Britain (a worthy goal in any game[:D])? The Hochseeflotte and Grand Fleet? Breaking the blockade of the North Sea that was to sap the morale of the German frontschwein so much?
I looked back and couldn't see any threads that actually started on this topic...so I ask the above questions.
The seas around Europe are divided into zones and players assign their squadrons to various missions in those zones. For example, Britain needs to keep merchant shipping in the North Atlantic zone throughout the war bringing in raw materials or its industry fails to operate at capacity. It also requires food. Germany needs to control the Baltic and it can seriously damage British shipping with subs or it can attempt to defeat the Royal Navy in an all-out battle between surface ships.
Other areas of contention would include the Black Sea and parts of the Med where French and Austrian and Italian fleets exist.
Control of sea areas allows for the use of amphibious operations. So Austrian control of the Central and Eastern Med would mean Britain being unable to send forces to Salonika or Gallipoli.