 Strike South:
Japan Invades the
South Seas
Japan embarked on the Pacific War for one
reason: to seize the oil and metals of the
Dutch East Indies and Malaya. In a daring
five-month campaign, Japanese air, land and
naval forces conquered a vast segment of the
Earth’s surface from its American, British,
Dutch and Australian defenders.
Strike South is a Second World
War at Sea series game based on this bold
Japanese aggression. There are 140 “long”
playing pieces, depicting the major fleet
units of both sides: battleships, aircraft
carriers, cruisers and fleet destroyers. There
are also 280 square playing pieces, half the
size of the ship pieces, mostly depicting
aircraft but also smaller warships and markers.
The two operational maps depict the South
China Sea and the East Indies, including all
the major ports and airbases. The area covered
stretches from Formosa on the north to Australia
on the South. The maps overlap with that from Eastern
Fleet on the west edge, and stretch
to New Guinea on the east.
The
American seaplane tender Langley, lost in the campaign
The tactical map is a generic blue field
of hexagons, used to resolve surface combat.
There, ships maneuver and fight using their
gunnery and torpedo factors. Each player rolls
a number of dice according to the ship’s
capabilities, hitting on a result of 6. Gunnery
and torpedo damage tables give the results:
ships can suffer damage to engines, hull or
armament.
 
 
Air attacks are resolved in similar fashion.
The combat systems yield results rapidly but
in a historically accurate fashion, giving
a good balance of fun and insight.
Strike South includes 15 scenarios,
or game situations, re-creating the battles
and campaigns that took place in these waters.
Eight of these are “battle scenarios,”
useful for learning the combat system or for
a quick game of 30 minutes or less.
  
The other seven are operational scenarios.
Players form their ships into fleets, and
plot their movement across the operational
map. When contact is made between fleets,
play moves to the tactical map to resolve
combat. The scenario instructions give each
side a set of specific tasks that must be
accomplished to win the game: launch amphibious
invasions, escort troop convoys, bombard key
enemy positions, or seek and destroy enemy
fleets. These tasks are the same ones given
to the admirals on the spot.
Operations include the last mission of the
British battleship Prince of Wales, the Battle
of the Java Sea, the Battle of Sunda Strait,
and the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.
 
The scenarios give each player varied and
difficult tasks. The Japanese player usually
has more and stronger forces, but is under
a very stressful timetable and has been given
a very aggressive set of objectives. The Allied
player faces divided command and weak forces,
which must carefully strike at just the proper
moment.
Strike South includes:
- Two 32"x22" strategic maps
- 11"x17" tactical map
- 420 game pieces
- 12-page rulebook
- 12-page scenario book
- 2 player aid cards
- 1 organizational card
Links:
Stock Code: APL0030
Status: Out of Print
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