DESCRIPTION Solomons Campaign is an operational simulation of the first four months or so of the Guadalcanal campaign, published by SPI way back in 1973 (notice that significantly more time has passed between publication and today than had passed between the events simulated and the publication of the game). As an operational level game, the mechanics are somewhat abstract. You won't be moving planes from the hangar deck to the flight deck, for example. Ground strength points represent about 1000 men, and air strength points about 10 planes. Counters for ships represent from one (for CVs and BBs) to five (for DDs) ships. Each turn is a week, and each hex is about 200-300 miles (this is not stated in the rules). Components The components are typical for an SPI product of 1973: highly functional, but not glitzy. The 22x28 map is red and dark blue on blue stock. The central portion shows the area around Guadalcanal, and has 3-3/4 inch hexes (yes, almost 4 inches). Only Guadalcanal and Bougainville (the map calls Bougainville Shortland, after one of the small islands off Bougainville) are shown on the map; the rest of the Solomons are invisible (I told you the game was abstract). There are also areas that represent Rabaul, Truk, Espiritu Santo, and Australia. The mapsheet also contains displays and tracks. The turn record and reinforcement track (and their rules) are on a separate sheet. The combat tables can be cut from the rules folder. The 1/2 inch counters themselves are a bit abstract, too. They are white on dark blue for the Americans, and dark blue on pale yellow for the Japanese, and owe a lot to the counters for the earlier games USN and CA. Ground forces have the standard infantry symbol above their strength (they don't move, so there's no movement allowance). Air points are either land-based (LAC) or naval air (NAC), and show a generic airplane silhouette along with the strength and range. there is not distinction among types of plane (other than land or carrier based). Air and ground point counters (and supply counters) can be broken down and combined like money; they are just numbers. Ship counters have relevant values in the corners and a designation such as "CV-2" in the middle. The numbers are not hull numbers, just identification numbers for the game. Game Mechanics The game mechanics are clearly descended from USN. Each turn is broken down into about 100 segments, but in most of these on most turns nothing happens, so they can be skipped over quickly. There is a plot phase, a plot execution phase, a ground combat phase, then another plot phase and plot execution phase. Naval movement and naval and air combat is handled in the plot and execution phases. Each execution phase is broken down in to alternating day and night segments, 7 in each phase, in which the action occurs. In the plot phase you give mission and movement orders to naval units. Missions are given to task forces, and can be, depending on the composition of the task force, shore bombardment, surface action, or transport. The Japanese, only, have the option of switching any task force to surface action. Either side can abort a mission. Missions are assigned to air units in each day execution segment. Missions are CAP (area defense and point defense), bombardment of land bases, or anti-surface bombardment. Each task force or air group can only execute one offensive action per turn (another abstraction). Carrier air groups that have already executed their one offensive action can, however, under certain circumstances, counter-attack if their home task force is attacked by enemy carrier air groups. Assuming they survive that attack, of course. Slot runs The Japanese can make special runs down the Slot (the Tokyo Express). These can be bombardment or surface action missions, and can include a destroyer transport as well. The advantage of slot runs is that they are immune to air attack (they are out of range by daylight), which means that only cruisers and destroyers can go on them (other ships are too slow to get away in time). The disadvantage is that the Americans can have special anti-Slot TFs, which are guaranteed to intercept the Japanese. Refitting Only cruisers and destroyers (including the APD) stationed at Rabaul or Espiritu Santo can sortie every turn. All other American ships must skip a turn to refit after each mission (this really is mostly transit time from base to the operations area). Other Japanese ships at Rabaul must also skip a turn. All Japanese ships at Truk (except submarines) must skip two turns. This refit time has a tremendous effect on the game. Hidden movement, intelligence, and reconnaissance Movement plots are secret, and movement is hidden. Except ... During the day, all Japanese TFs are spotted by the Americans (their presense is spotted, not their composition), and all American TFs are spotted by the Japanese in the northern half of the map (this expands later in the game). All TFs of either side in the same hex as Guadalcanal are spotted, day or night. In addition, at the beginning of the turn the Japanese must tell the Americans what kinds of ship will sortie from Truk and Rabaul. Combat Combat is generally straightforward, but I'll expand a little on how air groups attack naval units. The first step in any air attack is that the defending area CAP, if any, shoots at the attackers. The defender than tells in a general way what kind of ships are in each task force that is present in the hex. The attacker picks a task force to attack, and the defender then breaks that task force up into task groups of no more than 4 ship units. He again tells what kind of ship is in each, and the attacker allocates planes to attack as many groups as he wants. Each group then adds its AA strength to any point-defense CAP and shoots at the attackers. The survivors then attack individual ships. The combat results table is fairly bloody: attacks at 1:1 are guaranteed to at least cripple a ship, and carriers and transports don't have very high defense strengths. Three air points are all that is needed to guarantee some damage against a typical carriers; 6 will give a 50-50 chance of sinking it, and 9 will give a 5/6th chance of sinking. When a ship is crippled it must go to Australia or Truk and undergo repairs for a random amount of time: twice the number of turns on a single die roll, plus normal refit time. Shore bombardment will destroy aircraft and supplies. Supply destruction is either half the existing supplies or all of them (or none, of course). Supplies Ground units need supplies to attack; one supply point must be expended. One point must also be expended to launch an air attack from Henderson (but not CAP). American (but not Japanese) ground points need supplies to exist; one supply point must be expended each turn. After 3 turns with no supplies American troops start disappearing. Japanese troops can go indefinitely with no supplies. Training NAC NAC that arrive as reinforcement can't operate from carriers until they have been trained. To train them, they must go off on a carrier for a turn (Amerians) or two (Japanese). When the get back, they are trained. Submarines The Japanese have submarines, but they have little effect. They need to roll a 6 before they can attack at all (according to a Q&A on Web-Grognards), and they can only attack in daylight. Victory Victory is based on points. You get points for destroying enemy units (not merely crippling them), and for possessing Henderson at the end of the game. Destroyed supply points don't count, nor do destroyed Japanese land points. Miscellaneous rules Henderson field can't be used until a 1 or 2 is rolled at the beginning of the turn. Japanese units (except submarines) can't sortie from Truk unless a 1 through 4 is rolled at the beginning of the turn. I think this covers the main points of the rules. REPLAY Here is an account of a game I just played solitaire. Despite the secret plotting and the hidden movement, the game plays well solitaire, because of the intelligence and reconnaissance rules. Since the Japanese must tell the American what he is up to each turn, in outline, it is okay for the solitaire player to know what is in his own mind as the other player. In other cases, decisions can be made randomly for each side. For example, if your planes are attacking a task force with multiple groups, the "enemy" must tell you which groups contain carriers, battleships, and transports, so you, as the solitaire player, just pick randomly from among those groups that contain the kind of ship you want to attack. Submarines can be deployed randomly after the American movement plot is made. The style of what follows is somewhat inconsistent. I could not decide on using present or past tense, so I ended up switching back and forth randomly. Of course, I could have gone back and fixed it, but I'm too lazy. Abbreviations: CV: carrier CVL: light carrier BB: battleship B: old battleship BC: battlecruiser CA: cruiser DD: destroyer SS: submarine TR: transport APD: destroyer transport NAC: carrier aircraft LAC: land-based aircraft CAP: combat air patrol AA: anti-aircraft CVBG: carrier battle group (anachronistic) SAG: surface action group (anachronistic) Turn 0 (Initial setup) Japan: Truk: 4 CV, 18 NAC, 1 NAC (untrained), 2 BC, 4 CA, 4 DD Rabaul: 13 LAC, 3 CA, 2 DD, 2 ground points US: On Guadalcanal: 15 ground points Off Guadalcanal: 3 CV, 24 NAC, 1 BB, 7 CA, 5 DD, 7 TR, 6 supply points Australia: nothing Espiritu Santo: 5 LAC, 1 APD, 3 ground points Turn 1 Die roll results in Henderson not being completed. The Japanese launched an air attack from Rabaul on the transports at Guadalcanal. One transport was sunk, and one crippled, which will return on turn 6. Fortunately for the Americans, one of the transports lost was empty. No planes were lost. Two ground strength points were landed by Japanese destroyers (I missed the rule that says only one destroyer can be used as a transport in a single execution phase). The Americans unloaded 5 supply points from transports, and another point with the APD. Turn 2 Henderson is still not ready. Units at Truk can't sortie. The Americans intercepted a Japanese slot run, but did no damage. Two more ground points landed. An air attack on Guadalcanal produced no results. An American ground attack resulted in a loss of two ground points by each side. The APD landed another supply point. Turn 3 Another slot run brought in two ground points for the Japanese, but not until American carriers sank an escorting cruiser at the cost of 3 NAC. The Americans sent out a convoy of 5 transports carrying 3 ground points and supplies, and covered by all 3 carriers. The Japanese launched an air attack at extended range. CAP brought down 14 LAC, and AA fire brought down the last attacker. A ground attack eliminated all Japanese troops on Guadalcanal, and cost the Americans two ground points. Eliminating Japanese ground points gains the Americans no victory points, while the Japanese get one VP per American ground point lost, but driving the Japanese off the island seemed worth the loss. Now there is nothing the Japanese can do on the island until ground reinforcements arrive on turn 7. After 3 turns (including turn 4 reinforcements): VP: Japanese: 11; US: 34 Losses: Japanese: 1 CA, 15 LAC, 6 ground points US: 1 TR, 3 NAC, 4 ground points On Guadalcanal: Japanese: nothing US: 15 ground points, 16 supply points Rabaul: 7 LAC Truk: 1 NAC (untrained) Espiritu Santo: 12 LAC, 3 ground points Australia: 6 NAC (untrained) Turn 4 Henderson still not done, but Truk units can sortie. The Japanese carriers stayed in port, hoping to be able to go after the US carriers in the next turn. All the battlecruisers and old battleships bombarded Guadalcanal, destroying half the supplies there. The Americans did nothing, not wanting to run into the BCs and Bs, except to send a supply point by APD. Turn 5 Henderson is FINALLY completed. Truk units can sortie again. The Japanese are expecting large reinforcements on turn 7, including 9 ground points and some reinforcements. They have decided to save the carriers to support them. If used this turn, they would not be ready until turn 8. They could, of course, delay using the reinforcements until turn 8, but the sooner the Japanese reestablish a presence on Guadalcanal the better. One carrier went off to train 5 NACs. The Japanese did send a small surface group, 1 CA and 4 DDs, to interfere with the American transports. The American plan this turn was like the Japanese plan at Midway: four TFs converging on Guadalcanal all taking different paths. There was one CVBG, with all 3 carriers, 2 SAGs, and transports. No air attacks were expected, as the Japanese have only 6 LACs at Rabaul, so splitting up made some sense. When the Japanese reached Guadalcanal (at the same time as the American SAGs and transports), American carrier planes attacked them first. 4 NAC were lost, and one destroyer sunk; not such a good deal for the Americans. Then there was a daytime surface action: 2 American BBs, 2 CAs, and 2 DDs, against 1 Japanese CA and 3 DDs. The Japanese lost 1 CA and 1 DD; the Americans lost nothing. Now down to 2 DDs, the Japanese TF aborted. This mission by the Japanese was probably a bad idea; they should have foreseen running up against a much superior force. The Americans landed 3 ground points and 9 supply points from transports, and another supply point from the APD. The APD always sails as late in the turn as possible, hoping that by then all the excitement will have died down, and it times its trip to arrive at Guadalcanal at night, to avoid air attacks. The SAG that sailed from Australia ended its turn in Espirtu Santo. The force there now has 2 BBs, 6 CAs, 2 DDs, and the transports. In the last execution segment, 13 LACs transferred to Henderson. Turn 6 [Before starting this turn, I discovered a Q&A on Web-Grognards, which indicates that the APD unit should not appear until turn 2. To compensate for this error, I've deducted one supply point.] Truk units can't sortie. They weren't planning to, anyway. There are only two DDs left at Rabaul, so they won't be going anywhere, either. The Japanese did try an air attack against Guadalcanal, though. CAP brought down 6 LACs, which left too few to achieve any bombardment results. The Americans didn't do much, either. Three ground points were transported to Guadalcanal, and one cruiser transferred to Australia. Hornet arrived at Australia, with a DD, and immediately went off to train replacement NACs. It will be back on turn 7. After 6 turns (including turn 7 reinforcements): VP: Japanese: 16; US: 81 Losses: Japanese: 2 CA, 2 DD, 21 LAC, 6 ground points US: 1 TR, 7 NAC, 4 ground points Japanese: Rabaul: 14 LAC, 2 BC, 2 DD, 9 ground points, 3 TR Truk: 1 NAC, 2 NAC (untrained), 6 CV, 36 NAC, 2 BC, 2 B, 4 CA, 6 DD, 1 SS (at sea) Guadalcanal: nothing US: Espiritu Santo: 4 LAC, 3 BB, 5 CA, 2 DD, 6 TR, 1 APD Australia: 8 NAC, 3 NAC (untrained), 4 CV, 5 DD, 1 CA Guadalcanal: 13 LAC, 21 ground points, 15 supply points Turn 7 Truk units can't sortie. This changes Japanese plans. They will not transport their new troops to Guadalcanal. They will still send out a bombardment group of two BCs and 2 DDs from Rabaul. The Americans decide to save their carriers for later, to get at the Japanese carriers and transports. However, they send out every surface unit in Espiritu Santo, 3 BBs, 5 CAs, and 2 DDs, to get the Japanese bombardment group, figuring that this will be the best chance they will ever have in a surface engagement. When the battle comes, the Americans get 2.5:1 odds in a night surface engagement. They cripple one BC and one DD, which will return to action on the 14th and 15th turns, respectively. This was the worst result they could get without losing any units themselves. The Japanese then bombarded the island, destroying 1 LAC and half the supplies. The next segment, the Americans launch an air attack against the retreating bombardment group. AA fire brings down one LAC, and the bombers cripple the DD, which won't return before the end of the game. The Japanese, guessing that the Amerians would be aggressive, attacked Guadalcanal by air. They decided to go against the surface ships, which were still there. The Japanese chose a TG with only three units, one BB and 2 CA. American AA got 4 LAC, and the surviving planes attacked each CA at 1 to 2. They cripple both cruisers, which will return on the last turn. The APD brrought a supply point to the island, and 4 LAC transferred there, too. Neither side is happy about this turn. No decisive results were achieved, although the Americans did nearly eliminate, at least for a while, the Japanese surface group at Rabaul. Turn 8 Truk can sortie. This turn will see the big battle. The transports will sortie from Rabaul, carrying 9 ground points. Unfortunately, there are no escorts for them, but the other Japanese TFs will travel with it to provide some support. The carriers, all 6 of them, will sortie from Truk, along with a SAG consisting of 2 BCs, a CA, and a DD. The Japanese now have 3 SSes. Until now the Americans have been able to avoid the one sub in action, but now all the southern approaches to Guadalcanal can be guarded. The American CVs will sortie to intercept the Japanese. There will be a big carrier battle. The Japanese have 6 CVs and 36 NAC, while the Americans have 4 CVs and 32 NAC. The Americans only have 3 CAs and 2 DDs available for surface action, and they expect this group to be outclassed, so they will stay home. The carrier battle occurs on the second day of the turn. The American CVs are off Guadalcanal, and the Japanese forces are in the hex just north of the island. The Americans put up 4 NAC and 16 LAC on CAP, leaving 28 NAC for the attack, and the Japanese put up 15 NAC CAP and attack with 21 NAC. The Americans decide to concentrate on the CV TF, and let the transports go. Japanese CAP gets 3 NAC. The Japanese have 3 TGs, each with 2 CV and 2 DD. The Americns split their attack against 2 of them. They pick (randomly) 2 that only have light carriers. In the first attack, 3 NAC are shot down by AA, leaving 9 to attack the carriers. They get a 3:1 on the weaker, and a 2:1 on the stronger. The results are that the weaker is sunk and the stronger is crippled (to return on the second-to-last turn). Two NAC are shot down in the second attack, leaving 11 NAC to go against the ships. They get a 3:1 against the stronger CV, and a 2:1 against the weaker. Both are sunk. The CVs lost are Junyo, Ryuho, and Zuiho, and Hiyo is crippled. Eleven more NAC are lost when there are no decks for them to land on. Then the Japanese attack. CAP got 7 Japanese NAC, leaving 14 to attack. They all go against a TG with only 1 CV (one of the 3 TGs has 2 CVs). AA got 3 NAC. All 11 remaining attackers go against the CV at 3:1, and Hornet is sunk. All surviving planes land on carriers. So far so good for the Americans, but the turn isn't over yet. On the third day, Cactus Air Force attacks the transports. The CVs, which are still hanging around, will provied CAP. The Japanese also decide that this is the best time to attack with their LACs. Sixteen LAC attack the transports. CAP gets 4, but the rest get 2:1 attacks against the 3 transports. One is sunk, and the other two crippled. They will not be repaired before the game ends. Nine ground points are lost. When the Japanese attack, they lose 7 LAC to CAP, which leaves them not enough to inflict any damage. That night, the Japanese surface group bombards the island, destroying 3 LAC and half the supplies. Once again, the APD takes a supply point to Guadalcanal, and two LAC transfer there. Additionally, a spare Japanese cruiser transfered from Truk to Rabaul, as did one BC and one CA from the surface group. All in all, the Americans don't have much to complain about this turn, despite some not-so-good die rolls. They have 3 carriers left to the enemy's 2, and they destroyed (if they didn't sink outright) the troop convoy. Turn 9 At this point, the Japanese situation looks hopeless. They have nothing on Guadalcanal, and, given what happened last turn, they have little hope of getting anything there. Even if they do get troops there, and even if they have enough supply to attack, they have little chance of whittling down the large American force already on the island. Their only hope is to sink the rest of the American carriers without losing their last two. Not impossible, but not likely, either, especially since, due to their recycling time, the Japanese carriers have only two sorties left. Truk units can't sortie, but they weren't planning to, anyway. There are only 3 American supply points left on Guadalcanal, not worth risking much to get. So, the Japanese navy will do nothing this turn. Knowing that, the Americans will send a supply convoy of 4 transports loaded with supplies. And the APD later. When the transports arrive on the third day, the Japanese launch an air attack with 15 LAC. CAP gets 6, but the survivors sink one transport and cripple another (which won't be back before the end of the game). So Guadalcanal only gets 6 supply points, plus 1 from the APD. On the last day, 2 LAC and 7 untrained NAC deploy to the island. After 9 turns (including turn 10 reinforcements): Japanese: VP: 88 Losses: 3 CVL, 2 CA, 2 DD, 1 TR, 21 NAC, 38 LAC, 15 ground points Rabaul: 12 LAC, 2 BC, 3 CA, 9 ground points, 3 TR Truk: 1 NAC, 10 NAC (untrained), 2 B, 2 CA, 2 SS (at sea) Refitting: 2 CV, 6 DD, 16 NAC, 1 BC, 1 DD Repairs: 1 CV, 1 BC Guadalcanal: nothing US: VP: 244 Losses: 1 CV, 2 TR, 15 NAC, 9 LAC, 4 ground points Espiritu Santo: 3 BB, 3 CA, 2 DD, 2 TR, 1 APD Refitting: 2 TR Australia: 8 NAC, 2 NAC (untrained), 3 CV, 5 DD, 3 CA Repairs: 2 CA Guadalcanal: 13 LAC, 7 NAC (untrained), 21 ground points, 10 supply points Turn 10 Truk can sortie. The Japanese decide to send two bombardment group, one in each execution phase, the first from Rabaul and the second from Truk. The Americans decide to try to intercept the first. On the second morning, American planes from Guadalcanal attack the first Japanese group. They lose 3 NAC and cripple the BC in the group; it will not return. The remaining Japanese ships, 3 CAs, knowing that an American force with at least one BB is on the way, wisely decide to abort. On the same day, the American group evades a Japanes submarine. The second Japanese bombardment group arrived on the fifth night of the turn, and destroyed 3 LAC and half the supplies. The APD mission aborted because of the presence of the bombardment group. They should have kept going; if the Japanese went after them, they couldn't have bombarded. Two untrained NAC went to Guadalcanal, and 10 untrained NAC went to the new Shortland air base; Japanese task forces heading for Guadalcanal will now have CAP at a vital point. Turn 11 Truk can't sortie. The Japanese sortie a bombardment group from Rabaul consisting of 1 BC and 3 CA, timing it to arrive in the eighth segment (nighttime). The Americans send a heavily-escorted supply convoy which will arrive at the same time. The American convoy consists of a BB, 3 CA, and 2 DD, plus 4 TR full of supplies. There is a night surface action, in which the American BB and one CA were crippled (both are out of action for the remainder of the game). There were no Japanese losses. However, the supplies were landed. The NAC on Shortland prevented air attacks on the Japanese TF. The Japanese transferred 2 untrained NAC to Rabaul, and the Americans transferred 2 untrained NAC and one LAC to Guadalcanal, plus a supply point on the APD. Turn 12 Truk can sortie. This turn will have another carrier battle. The Japanese sortie a small surface group (1 BC and one DD) and the carriers from Truk, and 3 transports loaded with troops and an escort of 3 CA from Rabaul. The Americans sortie the carriers from Australia and a surface group (2 BB, 2 CA, 2 DD) from Espiritu Santo. They all arrive at Guadalcanal on the third day, the Japanese submarine having missed both American groups. The Americans use the 19 air points at Henderson as CAP, and the Japanese use all their carrier planes as CAP. The action starts with an airstrike against the American carriers launched from Rabaul. CAP and AA get 19 of the 20 attackers. Then the American air strike hit the Japanese carriers. CAP got 3 NAC, leaving 11 to go against one TG and 10 to go against the other. AA got 3 NAC attacking the first group, but the remaining 7 NAC got 2:1 odds against Zuikaku and sank it. In the second group, AA got 2 NAC, and the remaining 9 got 3:1 on Shokaku and sank it, too. All told, iin the air battle, the Japanese lost their last 2 carriers, the 16 NAC they carried, plus 18 LAC and 1 NAC from Rabaul. The Americans lost 8 NAC, but they have 8 more waiting as replacements in Australia, already trained. Then the surface battle. The Japanese switched their bombardment group to anti-ship. The Americans attacked with a BB, 2 CAs, and a DD, and sank the Japanese BC. This left a BB and a DD to attack the transport group at 1:1. Half the Japanese force was crippled: a CA and 2 TRs (with 6 ground points aboard). None of the crippled ships will return. No American ships were hurt. In the ground phase, the Americans attacked at 3:1 and eliminated the 3 Japanese ground points that had, finally, just landed. The Americans returning to Espiritu Santo evaded the SS again. And the ADP delivered a supply point. Three LAC transferred to Guadalcanal. The remnand of their surface group and carrier group retuned to Rabaul instead of Truk. After 12 turns (including turn 13 reinforcements): Japanese: VP: 99 Losses: 2 CCV, 3 CVL, 1 BC, 2 CA, 2 DD, 1 TR, 38 NAC, 56 LAC, 24 ground points Rabaul: 1 LAC, 1 NAC (untrained), 1 BC, 1 CA, 7 DD, 9 ground points Refitting: 1 TR Shortland: 10 NAC (untrained) Truk: 1 NAC, 2 NAC (untrained), 2 B, 3 CA, 1 SS (at sea) Refitting: 1 DD, 2 SS Repairs: 1 CV, 1 BC Guadalcanal: nothing Crippled: 1 BC, 1 DD, 4 TR US: VP: 399 (+ 150 for holding Henderson) Losses: 1 CV, 2 TR, 26 NAC, 12 LAC, 4 ground points Espiritu Santo: 2 LAC, 2 CA, 2 DD, 4 TR, 1 APD, 9 ground points Refitting: 2 BB Australia: 24 NAC, 2 NAC (untrained) Refitting: 3 CV, 4 CA, 6 DD Repairs: 2 CA Guadalcanal: 11 LAC, 11 NAC (untrained), 21 ground points, 15 supply points Crippled: 1 BB, 1 CA, 1 TR If the Japanese position was hopeless three turns ago, it is totally, absolutely hopeless now. The have no chance at all of taking Guadalcanal, since they have only one transport left, and a force of only 3 ground points will be exterminated the moment it lands. Even if they somehow, magically, got all their ground points to Guadalcanal, and got them in supply, they would not have enough troops to attack at the minimum 1:1 odds. They have no air force left to speak of, either. At sea, they still have significant surface forces, but their last carrier, which will be repaired on the next to last turn, can only carry 5 NAC, so it will only be able to provide a little CAP to whatever TF it is with. From now on, the Americans can simply avoid surface actions, and the most the Japanese will be able to accomplish is to destroy a few air points and some supply points by bombardment. As far was victory points go, the Japanese are 300 points behind, not counting the occupation of Henderson. To win, they need more than the Americans have. Even sinking all three remaining American carriers won't give them a victory. Therefore, I'm calling the game. LESSONS LEARNED I think the Japanese needed to be more aggressive. On the last turn, for instance, I think they should have attacked the American carriers with every plane they had. I kept the carrier air groups on CAP hoping to protect the transports (and the carriers), but I should have foreseen that they were all doomed. On the other hand, had the Japanese attacked, they definitely had enough to get one or maybe two or even three American carriers. The final result would not have changed (the Americans would still have kept Guadalcanal), but the cost would have been higher, perhaps much higher. Air attacks on ships are very bloody. If even just a few air points survive CAP and AA, they can sink a carrier. If a lot of air points get through, low-defense-strength ships are all goners, and even high-defense-strength ships can be sunk or at least crippled. Also, only very small air groups will all be destroyed by CAP and AA (unless they are coming from Rabaul at extended range, in which case the losses are doubled). So some air points will almost always get through, and some ship will be crippled or sunk. DDs are, in every way but bombardment strength, stronger than cruisers in the game. This is clearly because they represent more ships, not because, ship for ship, they are stronger. Japanese DDs are also the only ships they have for the first serveral turns that can deliver troops and supplies to Guadalcanal (although the historical Japanese did have some transports available). I think the only way the Japanese can win is to get the American supplies, and then launch ground attacks (unsupplied Americans defend at half strength). So they need to go after the American transports, and use bombardment to reduce the supplies on the island. Bombardment does not seem to be very useful, however, unless you have enough strength to give a good chance of getting all the supplies in one attack. It takes many turns of getting just half of the supplies to totally eliminate them, in which time a resupply mission is likely to have succeeded. Even just bringing in one point a turn on the APD can keep the troops alive. CONCLUSION Overall Solomons Campaign is a very good simulation of the Guadalcanal campaign. Most of your time is spend planning your next moves. Because of the refit requirement, and the sporadic arrival of reinforcements, you must plan several turns in advance. The game does a good job of recreating the historical tempo of operations. You see very clearly why there were only two major carrier battles in the six months (only four represented in the game) of the campaign. -- T.M. Sommers -- tmsommers2@gmail.com -- ab2sb _______________________________________________ Consim-l mailing list Consim-l@mailman.halisp.net https://mailman.halisp.net/mailman/listinfo/consim-l