Eastern Solomons redux

 Too long ago I explained the  approach to a campaign using Flattop as an engine.  I found another game covering the same  campaign in a simpler format. .....

 

 

There was a classic Avalon Hill game of the Battle of Midway,  called the same.  There is a company that makes variations of different games,  and the Battle Midway has several. One of these is the Eastern Solomons,  the theater for the Coral Sea Battle,  the Guadalcanal campaign,  the Bougainville operations and the reduction of Rabual.

The 'gam' includes the search map and counter sheet....but no rules!  But with Flattop and a really good order of battle resource we should be up and running soon. 

  The publisher has printing rights (per their website) is called  Camelot Games (US) .  There is an unrelated company in Italy with the same name. 

The map pictured is the most significant areas of the Eastern Solomons.  The grid is the search board for the air sea search in the game. 


The game play is like 'Battle Ship' in the search phase but instead of hits you get to set up and attack on the battle board.  My stalwarts of Friday afternoons declared it a better option than pursuing Flattop. 


All this, and my Wildcats and Dauntless DB's are base coated and ready to fly!

Comments

rross said…
Some progress is being made, Joe!
James Fisher said…
This is really interesting Joe. I really liked/like Flattop and have always had it in mind for tracking aerial searches, movements of fleets and rosters of air cover in a game in which the air attacks on the ships and any surface action would be represented on the tabletop.
If like battleship, I take it that in this game you 'call out' a location to search and are told 'hit' or 'miss' by your opponent and you then mark locations on your own grid as the location of the enemy ship's becomes apparent? Except that, unlike Battleship, the ships are in motion and have air cover as well as big guns?!
pancerni said…
James, in a nutshell, you have the search pattern mechanic down. And yes, all you can deduce for certain is that some enemy ship is there. And send in you strike forces. And hope you hit him harder than he hits you in return.
caveadsum1471 said…
Nice map and sound like its going to be fun!
Best Iain
pancerni said…
Iain, I will try to take good notes!

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