Dog Boats: Battle of the Narrow Seas is a tactical-level wargame where you (as the Captain) take the command of either a Royal Navy Fairmile D motor gunboat (MGB) squadron or Vosper 72' motor torpedo boat (MTB) squadron in either the English Channel or North Sea from 1943-1944. Your main goal is to survive the war while sinking as many enemy ships as you and your squadron can.

Enemies you and your crewmen will face include a variety of enemy ships, including E-boats, R-Boats, and patrol aircraft. Weather conditions and sea state are also modeled.

The player will move his squadron through various travel boxes on a map of the English Channel or North Sea during each mission on his way to the patrol area, then must successfully return back to home base.

Game components include a crewmen placement mats, strategic map mat, several Tables books, crewmen status sheets, campaign log sheet, and counter sheets representing individual MGBs, MTBs, enemy aircraft, warships, etc.