From: Doug Murphy Subject: Review: Sky, Sea and Jungle (long) This is a new design from the fertile mind of designer Lou Coatney. He has tackled an ambitious subject in all its facets: the Allied offensive and Japanese responses around the Solomon Islands during four months of World War II, and largely succeeded in his goal of producing a fast and simple game of the campaign. For either $17 (kit) or $28 (assembled), you get two copies (one for each player) of some nicely drawn components: mapsheet, *fog*o war* screen for hidden movement, charts and tables, turn/rein forcements calendar, battle status sheet, and 192 units representing air, naval and land forces. Also included is a cardstock model of the Rabaul volcano, a nifty post-game analysis form and *tournament certificate,* nine pages of rules and nine additional pages of commentary and advice. Units and the fog screen are cardstock, differentiated by color (red for Japanese forces and blue for Allied). Four six-sided dice are also recommended (although only one is required) and not included. The rules are clear written and sequentially laid-out (Coatney*s design experience shows here, although his rule writing style is sometimes more stream of consciousness rather than *legal*). Any gamer with a modicum of experience will quickly grasp the main points, and frankly, should be able to facilitate a game with someone of little experience. His setup/reinforcements and turn sheet enables players to start play within 15 minutes of skimming the rules. There are nine turns, each representing approxima tely 2 weeks. The sequence of play begins with the fog screen set up between the players and reinforcements then determined by checking the turn sheet and received. The Allied player must choose his reinforcing units (within some parameters) one turn ahead of receiving them. Then the Japanese player deploys his units upon his map from behind the screen. The maps are drawn on light grey paper. In a nice touch that I haven*t seen before, the Japanese player*s map looks at the theater from the perspective of Rabaul and Truk. In others words, his bases are at map bottom, with the Allied areas of Australia and Espiritu Santo at map top. The Allied player*s map is more *traditional* and looks at the theater from the opposite perspective. Each map contains seven base *boxes* linked by dotted lines, each representing (clockwise on the Allied map) Australia, Port Moresby, Buna, Rabaul, Truk, a *Return to Truk* holding box, and Espiritu Santo. There are also three sets of *sea area* boxes in the middle of the map; one for the Coral Sea, the Slot, and South Pacific (roughly northeast of the Solomons). Each set contains three *time of day* boxes listed as: Day Only, Night & Day, and Night Only. Friendly units are deployed face down in one or more groups to a base box or a particular *time of day* box. The *time of day* boxes are an outstanding graphic solution to a real dynamic of this campaign: each side being able to deploy toward their strengths in day or night combat. The Allied player then deploys on his map and rolls for successful *codebreaking* that forces the Japanese player to remove the fog screen before the Allied moves. As a minor nit, Coatney allows players great flexibility in choosing their own numbers in rolling for *50% chances* for codebreaking possibilities and other random events, I would have recommended designating die roll numbers. If codebreaking is unsuccessful, the Allies deploy behind the screen and then the screen is removed. Sub attacks on enemy units in the same area are then rolled for on an Anti-Ship Hit table which lists damage effects by ship type after a d6 roll. Each player then rolls a die on the Strategic/Sea Area Detection/Surprise table for successful detecting/ surprising of the enemy in each sea area. Air units on reconnaissance can adjust the die roll in the player*s favor. Now the fun begins. Combat is the most complicated aspect of the game, but that complexity is mostly in its sequencing. Coatney divides up the sequences into Morning, Afternoon and Nighttime Combat. Morning and Afternoon sequences have the same cycle: First, Allied and then Japanese land-based air attacks are resolved against naval units in sea areas where a side has surprise or against land targets. Air units return to base immediately after their attacks so both sides can target their opponent*s air units. Next, naval air attacks and land-based air counterattacks are resolved. Coatney states Japanese air strikes are allocated first *as usual* but it appears this is a minor typographical error as Allied air strikes go first in the rules. Regardless, this doesn*t matter as naval air attacks are in effect simultaneous. In another clever use of map graphics, air units are limited in range against land targets by map notations showing Allied or Japanese plane icons with paths to target possibilities from sea ar eas. New Guinea is noted as within range of carriers within the Coral Sea but is missing corresponding plane icons on the map. Air attacks against task forces are allocated before ships are turned face up, then ships are attacked one-at-a-time allowing remaining air units to be switched to undamaged targets at will. The immediate availability for combat of most units within an area takes some getting-used-to after in comparison to other games requiring units to *recover* after operations. Finally, naval surface battles are resolved, with players able to opt to withdraw after a *round.* While it was not initially apparent to me within the rules, ships are placed on a battle status board in the *undamaged* section for their side, then moved to the Damaged or Heavily Damaged sections as combat results take effect. If a player decides to withdraw, combat is over. Combat is resolved simultaneously for each class of ship by rolling a die per firing unit on the Anti-Ship table. Capital ships are represented by individual units, cruisers are paired, and destroyers are flotillas. There are even PT boats for use in The Slot sea area (at Night). After surface combat, ships land troops and ships not used in battle conduct a round of shore bombardment after combat. Surface combat is mandatory if two sides share a Day Only and Night & Day box until one side withdraws. The Night combat sequence involves surface battles, troop landings and bombardments. First, players determine detection/surprise by rolling on another table with the appropriate column noted on the turn sheet (reflecting early superior Japanese night optics and later Allied radar improvements.) Surprise allows a player to fire, launch torpedoes or withdraw first. In a nice bit of chrome, if certain die roll results appear in sequence, torpedoes may go *wild* and attack friendly ships. After air and naval combat is resolved, ground combat takes place. This aspect of combat is very simple. The attacker counts the units he wishes to commit to battle and compares that number as a ratio against the number of defending units. Each unit is worth *one" for this purpose. The appropriate ratio column is chosen on the Ground Combat table and the die is rolled. The cross-indexed result is a ratio of attacker to defender losses. For example, if four units attack two units under the 2:1 column an d a three is rolled, a 3:2 ratio is revealed on the table, calling for elimination of three attacking units and both defending units. These results took a bit of *getting-used-to* for our gaming group accustomed to terrain modifiers and different combat strengths. Once all enemy units are eliminated, friendly air units can use an island*s airfield. Supply is determined near the end of the sequence of play by simply tracing a supply line from a home base to ground units through sea areas under friendly control. Half the units in any group out of supply are eliminated. In the game*s only instance of ground movement, units can move along the Kokoda Trail on New Guinea between Buna and Port Moresby boxes, but the trail is not considered a supply line (requiring control of the Coral Sea area. Allied units can be aerially supplied. Finally, naval units can return to friendly bases and ground units move *strategically* between friendly bases without being carried by transport units. Naval units can apparently remain at sea between turns. Lastly, there is the now-infamous volcano rule. If the Allied rolls consecutive *sixes* at the end of four turns, the Rabaul volcano blows up and everything on the island or in port is blasted to smithereens. Victory is determined by assigning points to unit losses and control of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Buna and Port Moresby by turn. One of the most interesting aspects of the *time-of-day* boxes is how it allows one side to control the *day* and all its subsequent advantages and disadvantages and another to control the *night.* A player can choose to fight at a particular time-of-day that plays to his side*s strengths -- for example, the torpedo rules substantially favor the IJN at night. There is a remarkable level of depth to this game and some interesting chrome that did not require myriad special rules. Coatney*s designer notes and play suggestions are right on: he suggests withdrawing after early success in naval combat, else things tend to even out. The bloody ground combat rules recommend the Allied player land as many troops as possible on Guadalcanal as they will be attrited. One of the challenges of the campaign that is difficult to represent in the game is the historical Japanese Army lassitude to the initial Guadalcanal landing because of faulty intelligence about the number of Americans landed. When the fog screen is removed, the Japanese player can see just how heavily Guadalcanal is held, and react accordingly. However, the Allied player faces a dilemma about deploying his naval forces -- you really get a feeling for being in Admiral Fletcher*s shoes. Espiritu Santo can be heavily raided from the South Pacific box if you choose not to deploy against large enemy naval forces, but if you do deploy, your heavy forces are almost sure to get *snake-bit* by Japanese submarines and air attacks. The Japanese player has to balance a desire to deploy his forces piece-meal in order to immediately respond to any offensive with the potential power of a massed counteroffensive that may find the Allies too difficult to dislodge. This game recalls of all things TAHGC*s Victory in the Pacific for its simplicity and playability without the latter*s abstraction and dierolling (although there is plenty of *wristage* here as R. Berg might say). The game would also serve as a nice platform for naval miniatures combat. Coatney includes a definitive bibliography of classic works on the campaign. Given the mixed stan dard presented by the relatively few other games on this campaign (SPI*s Solomons Campaign, GMT*s Operation Shoestring come immediately to mind), Coatney*s design is both interesting, balanced and eminently tinkerable. In fact, the game is very playable solitaire if one takes the Allied side and sorts Japanese units (on their back sides) by type by base. Picking units blindly by type allows you to simulate the spasmodic naval and army response to Allied offensives. In our play, several games came out historically, with both sides alternating in response to the other*s initiative and the Allies outlasting the Japanese. In one game, the Japanese husbanded their strength for a massive mid-game counterblow only to be caught off-guard by an unexpected Allied deployment and heavily attrited. In another, the initial Japanese response to the invasion of Guadalcanal blew away the naval covering force and crushed the landing force, leaving the Allies unable to do more than re spond weakly for the rest of the game. In my mind, this design more than constitutes a relatively simple, easy-to-play, balanced and exciting game on a pivotal campaign of the Second World War. Designer Lou Coatney can be reached via email at: mslrc@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu Suggested Unofficial Errata: III. B. Definitions: JAAF: Japanese Army air force. NAV: US Navy air force. MAR: US Marine air force. New Guinea is the island containing Buna and Port Moresby. Doug Murphy From: Doug Murphy Subject: Re: Review: Sky, Sea and Jungle (long) -Reply >>> "Louis R. Coatney" 10/12/97 06:15pm By the way, WHAT happened in the one game where the Japanese wiped the Allied invasion fleet on the first turn? What were the defending Allied task forces like? Basically, it went like this: Turn 1: US invades Guadalcanal and awaits IJN riposte. Forms one big "covering" TF in Slot with transports and light escorts in 2nd group. Turn 2: IJN gathers forces, including units released from Truk, while US TF gets reinforcements. IJN shows up in slot, with torpedo-heavy force, at night, w/ surprise. Decimates cover TF, withdraws. Second IJN TF sails through to hammer transports. Third IJN force lands enough troops to "cover" most of landing force. Turn 3: US carrier force humbled by submarines and IJN carriers -- 3 sunk. IJN reinforces ground units on Guadal and eliminates the last few Allied units. With Henderson in IJN hands and barely any USN, we resigned the game. Doug Murphy