My son ran his Axis and Allies War at Sea game at Spartacon.
For the main game he came up with an interesting scenario:
The American / Allies had several islands where they based squadrons of avengers (unfortunately they were all grounded waiting for parts).
The Japanese fleet was trying to reach the islands and devastate the airbases before the squadrons could be repaired.
Objectives:
The American and Allies had to hold the islands and gain control of the objective point in the center of the map for two turns to trigger an extra allied task force's entry into the battle.
The Japanese needed to gain control of any hex bordering the islands
The forces:
The Allies had two fleet carriers and two light carriers and two cruisers. The Japanese had three fleet carriers and a light carrier with two heavy cruisers and a light battleship.
Both fleets had a mix of destroyers and subs.
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Overall results:
The Allied fleet won the air exchange and managed to sink a Japanese main carrier while devastating the Japanese air power.
During the second round the Japanese lost most of their airpower, but they crippled the Enterprise.
The Allies tried to trigger the additional task force entering the game by holding their objective point, but the Japanese surface force closed and started devastating the Allied surface forces.
The Japanese air power was gone, but the Allied torpedo and dive bomber squadrons were destroyed and they only had fighters left – not much use against their ships. The Allied cruiser escorts were sunk (one by torpedoes), and the Japanese heavy surface ships were closing in. The allies would be forced to retreat.
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I find War at Sea (while limited in detail) is a quick and interesting little game and with the right scenario it can present the players with some interesting tactical challenges.
My Son came up with this scenario while I was traveling, and I was very impressed (slight bias).
Special thanks to the guys that joined in to let him give this a try. He has really gotten fired up about WWII naval, and has been reading "The Imperial Japanese Navy" by Paul Dull…..
reports from the final California Gen Con...
