"How would you game the Battle of Samar" Topic

How would you game the Battle of Samar for a convention?

With 20/20 hindsight, the Japanese players would likely attack in a manner more organized than what happened historically. In addition, the Japanese players would press their attack and possibly wipe out Taffy 3. After all, there are no real lives at stake in a convention game, so why not fight until the last man?

So I've been pondering ways of setting up the battle to steer things closer to historic events. I'd like to hear your comments on the matter.

1. Disorganization -- Divide up the players so most of them are on the Japanese side, and put them in command of a small number of ships each. At the star of the scenario, they are not formed into any battle line. Communication between the players should be severely limited to make it difficult to coordinate. To simulate the confusion, perhaps make some orders easy to carry out (like open fire) while other orders (form up) should have a probability that they don't get executed.

2. Retreat -- Adm. Kurita is not represented by any of the players. Instead, a set point in the game, start rolling a die. If a certain result comes up, Kurita has ordered a withdraw, and the scenario is essentially over. Have the probability of the withdraw order increase with each turn. This way, players can't anticipate when the withdraw order is given with 100% certainty.

Victory conditions will be based on the amount of damage inflicted on the enemy fleets.

This scenario can be appealing at a convention for the following reasons. You've got Yamato and Nagato firing their big guns. Who can resist that? This happens in daylight, so you get to put your models on the table. And you get air operations from the light carriers.

Well, what do you think?

Apparently the Japanese thought the DDs were cruisers so you might put the wrong ship models on as part of the confusion. I think both 1 & 2 will be necessary to keep the players from trying to "do better."

Start the game as Suzuya comes to aid Kumano and the Destroyers start the mass run in to deliever torpedoes.
To simulate the confusion the Japanese suffered you could set out US Cruisers in place of the destroyers and only replace them when the Japanese get in close. Even experienced players will hesitate when they see a pack of cruisers steaming toward them and getting hits.

Do be careful with whichever fire tables you are going to use as the Japanese didn't do great with guns during the battle.

If I would run it again, I would play the Americans and have all the players command a Japanese formation. The goal of the Japanese players would be the one who sinks the most American ships. Also, only have the Japanese heavy guns fire AP rounds.

Your two concepts could work.

Sounds like you have two good ideas. Perhaps try to test the scenario – use some simple C&C rules for the Japanese, since you probably won't have lots of testers. Something simple, like a die roll each turn for each IJN squadron. 1, 2 or 3, the squadron doesn't close in and falls back if in torpedo range of US DDs. 4,5 or 6 and they can close the range towards the nearest USN force.

To simulate the utter confusion you should add the aircraft attacks that went on simultaneously with the attacks by the DD's and DE's. Though little damage was done because most of the bombs were HE they and the fake torpedoes runs made by empty Avengers and staffing by fighters disrupted the Japanese formations.

If this is a tourny, rather than force the Japanese players to maneuver away or disadvantageously, which may lessen their positive experience, how about some "equalizer cards" for the American player:

- "charmed ship" – negates INITIAL damage to any one chip, once.

- "Herculean effort" – one damaged ship is upped to the next level movement rate.

- "Smoke and Mirrors" – Played on a Japanese ship, that ship fires as if the target were one range further away than actual. Card expires when Japanese ship shifts target, but is in effect again if it shifts fire back to original target

- "Squall" – any US ships within some radius of the card as set on the table are in a squall for D6 turns and enemy fire is affected somehow.

- "False alarm" – if the game is umpired, this card is played in secret to the Ump, on a selected squadron, who's player is told by the ump during the upcoming turn "torpedoes incoming" from the direction of the nearest US ship

- "Heroic legacy" – sinking/just sunk US DD/DE, with one last un-plotted heave on the rudder, is able to fire remaining torpedoes on any bearing, at 1.25 times normal range.

- "The legacy of the Hopkins" US DD/DE/CVE is able to fire at lowest gunnery factor until sunk, even if all gunnery factors are destroyed

- "Bastards! They got the __________!!!" – If any US DD/DE takes catastrophic damage and sinks, one US DD/DE within 12" becomes enraged and immediately makes two extra gunnery (not torpedo) attacks at assailant if possible. If no ship is in range of assailant, card may not be played.

- "Now you see me, now you don't" – When announced as a gunnery target, one US DD/DE may play this card on one assailant. That assailant has a 50% chance of an automatic miss on its gunnery attack"

- "Surprise!" Played during either its gunnery attack or torpedo attack phase, one US DD/DE is up to 4 lengths closer to its target, length being the length of the model in question.

- "blaze of glory" – if nominally surrounded and fired on by four or more assailants, one US DD/DE may make an extra gunnery attack, and may make a 3rd attack on 1-3D6. May be played once only.

- "Shell magnet" – played on an obviously sinking US ship, or one that is crippled and dead in the water, 1D6 Japanese ships (limit: no more than 2 BBs) in range and with LOS, designated by the US player, must fire on the shell magnet instead of targets which they would normally fire at – even if that contravenes any "nearest enemy" rules etc. Japanese ships must shoot at the shell magnet until it is sunk. This includes main and secondary weapons, but not torpedoes. Once ships are designated, the designations may not be switched. Ships may resume firing at other targets the turn after the shell magnet is sunk.

1. Set up a negative victory condition for the Japanese for damage taken.

2. Have the 'Halsey wasn't a Bull in the ring option.' On a particular roll he shows up – that is after all one of Kurita's primary concerns.

3. As noted above, mis-identification of ships (for both sides) as that was typical throughout the war (especially pilots). When someone gets close enough give them a much better chance to 'get it right.' Let everyone only know for sure during the wrap up.

4. During the game have the players make a half a dozen or so (maybe a dozen?) probability rolls in advance to cover the situations that will come up that turn. Use them in sequence and generate more if necessary.

5. The Japanese battleships only fire AP initially and are not informed of the exact effects of their hits (as per reality). Couple this with the lack of actual knowledge of what the targets are and it should lead to at least a hesitation in switching ammo types.

6. Depending on ruleset, only let the Japanese know what damage they have received without all the details of what hit them (another probability check?).

I am not sure you want to try to recreate the exact results in every instance – let chance decide if the Japanese have a really bad gunnery day?

Knowing that you are recreating the Battle off Samar would influence your tactics to an unreasonable degree.
The Japanese would know what they are facing. That would be wrong.
The batle would have to be disguised almost beyond recognition before it could be played.
You would require players ignorant of the actual battle if not, and what kind of naval gamers would THOSE players be?

I just posted a thread about what rules would you use to game this battle with and I have to say that I really like some of the suggestions here. My favorites are VirtualScratchBuilders recommendation of equalizer or event cards and Goragrad's negative victory conditions. One point that I haven't seen mentioned and I don't know if any rules cover it but at several times in the battle the DEs got so close the Japanese cruisers and battleships that the big boys couldn't depress their guns low enough to shot at them. This would be another point that I would recommend be considered.

Thinking about victory points; What about using the difference between the number of damage points inflicted by the Japanese on American Carriers, Battleships & Cruisers versus the damage points inflicted by the Americans on all Japanese vessels? You can't tell either side the the force composition of their opponent (or the battle name for that matter) then the Japanese maybe thinking that American heavies could enter the board at anytime and be ready for that.