WAS Guadalcanal campaign - feedback needed

swarbs · WAS Guadalcanal campaign - feedback needed

Hello, I've been trying to think up a campaign, based on the actual units available for each side in the various battle around Guadalcanal, for PackerTim and I to play out on-line. Here's what I've come up with so far, sorry it is kind of long. If you have any questions or comments, please post, also, if you can suggest proxies for the needed cards that are not already in the forumini navy, please do so.

Sequence of Play:

A game consists of three rounds. Each round consists of a reinforcement phase, three days of battles and a resolution/victory phase.

The reinforcement phase: In this phase ships on the automatic reinforcement list are added to each player’s fleet list, and points may be spent to move ships from the available list to the fleet list.

A combat day: On each of the three days of combat use the following sequence.

Fleet planning:
Pick ships off your fleet list, paying their cost in points to deploy them for the day. Battleships and aircraft carriers cost 20 points more if they are not escorted by at least one cruiser or two destroyers each. Once points are paid a ship can be used in that day’s daylight and night-time battles, but does not have to be used in both. Write down your day-time fleet, they will be simultaneously revealed later to determine the battles. Additionally, up to three submarines may be deployed, and they can participate in one or both submarine phases.

Day-light Submarine phase:
Submarines are used to scout and independently attack the enemy, see rules below for the submarine phase resolution.

Reveal daytime fleets:
If both players have daytime fleets then a daylight battle commences, see daylight battle rules below. All surviving transports add one to the troop level on Guadalcanal, transports unloaded in daytime can be used to unload once more at night. If only one player submits a fleet, subtract one from the enemy’s troop total.

After fighting the battle, determine the composition of your night-time fleet. Please note that all damage carries over and that ships that are sunk stay that way permanently. Use your surviving ships, and those paid for but not used during the day, to build a night-time fleet.

Night Submarine phase: Same as the daylight sub phase, except the sub will be able to reveal or attack the night-time rather than the day-time fleet.

Reveal night-time fleets:
Night-time fleets fight using the night time battle rules below. All surviving transports add one to the troop level on Guadalcanal. If only one player submits a fleet, subtract one from the enemy’s troop total. Unless it is the last day of the round, all crippled ships are automatically added (at no cost) to the next day’s daylight fleet.

Land assault:
If a player landed no reinforcements on Guadalcanal on this day, subtract one from their troop total.

After three days of combat, progress to the ...

Resolution Phase:
If one player has more than twice the troops on Guadalcanal as the other, that player wins. If no one has twice the number of troops and it is the last round, then the player with the most victory points wins. If play progresses to the next round, then repair one point of hull damage to each damaged ship. Players may pay an additional ¼ (round up) of the ship’s cost to repair a second hull point.

Submarines:
For each sub roll one D6 for contact. On a result of a 3 or 4 the enemy reveals the number of ships in their daytime fleet, on a result of 5 or 6 the enemy reveals the exact composition of the fleet and the submarine may choose to attack. Roll one D6 to attack, on a result of 1 the sub is sunk, on a result of 2 no contact is made, on a 3+ the sub can attack. Subtract one from the roll if there is more than one ship in the fleet with an ASW attack value, subtract 2 if there are more than 5 ASW ships, and subtract an additional 1 if any vessel has the SA sub-hunter. The attacking sub may roll the range 0 value against any destroyer, the range 1 value against any cruiser, or the range 2 value against any carrier or battleship, all SA’s apply. (If there are no destroyers, cruisers can be attacked at range 0, capital ships at range1, if no escorts at all then capital ships can be attacked at range 0.

Daylight Combat:
In a daylight battle, use any open sea map. Ships deploy in normal deployment rows, submarines are not used. Deployments are written down and revealed simultaneously. A vessel may retreat during the movement phase by moving off of any side of the map. There are no objectives and play continues until one side has completely retreated or been destroyed. Stacking limitations are always the normal ones (four aircraft, two ships). Transports are unloaded by surviving on the map until the end of the battle or by retreating from the map in the enemy’s set-up row. The point cost of every enemy ship sunk is added to your points (to be used later for deployment, etc). Each hull point of an enemy battleship or fleet carrier counts as ten points additional points (sinking Yamato, for example would be worth 60 points for the six hull hits plus 70 points for the cost so 130 total). The first turn has no movement phase (meaning there is no way to retreat the first turn), and after initiative is determined, begins with air placement.

Night-time:
At night, use Iron-bottom Sound map, or another if playing on-line. Use night-time rules as determined by Rich Baker or others agreed upon, no aircraft or submarines can be used. The loser of the day-light battle chooses one set-up row to deploy in, the winner of the day-light battle may deploy anywhere else on the map that they wish, once again deployment is revealed simultaneously. Vessels may retreat as in daylight battles, and play continues until one side is destroyed or withdraws. Transports are unloaded by surviving the battle on the map. Points are awarded the same as during daylight. Once again, the first turn has no movement phase, begin with the illumination phase.

And just for kicks, here is the first round's fleet list, essentially based on the orders of battle over at navweps and balanced a little.

IJN
BB – Hiei, Kirishima
CV – Shokaku, Zuikaku
CVL – Ryujo
CA –
Tone class: Tone, Chikuma
Furutaka/Aoba class: Kinugasa, Aoba, Furutaka, Kako

CL –
Tenryu class: Tenryu, Tatsuta
Yubari class: Yubari
DD –
Kagero class: Kagero, Kuroshio, Oyashio
Asashio Class: Asagumo, Minegumo, Natsugumo
Shiratsuyu class: Suzukaze, Kawakaze, Umikaze
Fubuki class: Akebono, Ushio
Mutsuki class: Mutsuki, Yayoi, Uzuki
Kamikaze class: Yunagi
PATROL – 4subchaser
TRANS – 6 trans
SUBS – 6 I-19
AF – Zeke x 5, Val x3, Kate x3, Betty x4, Mavis x2

Possible reinforcement list1:
BB – Yamato, Mutsu
CA –
Myoko class: Myoko, Haguro
Mogami class: Kumano, Suzuya
CL –
Nagara class: Nagara, Yura
Jintsu class: Jintsu
DD –
Yugumo class: Yugumo, Makigumo, Kazagumo,
Kagero class: Amatsukaze, Nowaki, Tokitsukaze, Tanikaze, Akigumo, Hayashio, Maikaze, Isokaze
Shiratsuyu class: Harusame, Samidare, Murasame
Trans – 3trans
Subs – 2 I-19
AF – Zeke x 2, Val, Kate, Ki-61 x2

USN
CV – Saratoga, Enterprise, Wasp
BB – North Carolina
CA –
New Orleans Class: San Francisco, Vincennes
Northampton Class: Chicago
Pensacola Class: Salt Lake City
Australia Class: Australia, Canberra
CL –
Atlanta class: Atlanta
Sydney class: Hobart
DD –
Farragut class: Farragut, MacDonough, Worden, Dale
Bagley class: Patterson, Jarvis, Bagley
Benham class: Benham, Stack, Sterett, Wilson, Ellett, Lang
AF – Wildcat x4, Dauntless x4, Avenger x2, B-17 x2, PBY x2, P-38, P-39

Possible Additions
CA –
New Orleans Class: New Orleans, Astoria, Minneapolis, Quincy

CL –
Atlanta Class: San Juan
Brooklyn Class: Boise, Helena
DD –
Porter class: Phelps, Selfridge, Balch
Bagley class: Blue, Helm, Ralph Talbot
Benson/Gleaves class: Farenholt, Grayson, Monssen, Aaron Ward, Buchannan
AF – Wildcat, Dauntless, Avenger, PBY

Aquarius

This looks cool! I will ask my gaming group to try it out next week.

swarbs

Cool, I should say that both sides need to start with some points, probably balanced to play it the best, but perhaps for realism with the allies having slightly higher resources. I figure starting at 300 for each side isn't bad, it will make the battles big enough for fun, but small enough to play pretty quick.

Also, I've been thinking of other rules. Perhaps the Japanese can start with fewer points, but already with troops on the Guadalcanal, like in real life. Allowing the Japanese especially to convert DD's into transports would be really nice, something like each DD designated a destroyer transport looses all SA's, DD transports cannot be unloaded twice per day as regular transports can.

ericjohn