Pacific Tide (Compass Games)

[Whiterook]

Pacific Tide — First Go! as mentioned in my central game log, this is a neat little game, with a small footprint of components and counters, and a 12-ish page rulebook… it went from tearing off the shrink to the table in just a few days. I can tell already that this is a fav, and that’s been the case with every game from Greg Smith to date for me.

Setup is a breeze, with pre-set units for each side well defined. The map is very well done, even being on the simplistic side, which is fine as the pint is to present the main areas of the Pacific. I’m really starting to like these Area Movement games… some people would perceive this as “light wargaming”, which I never really subscribed too (RISK is “light wargaming”), and in this case, there’s plenty to bite into! …an entire 5-year war five turns!



Each turn represents a year, starting from Pearl Harbor 1941, and continuing all the way to end war 1945. Card driven, you play the Japanese and American/Commonwealth forces in alternating card pick from a hand of cards, exhausting a years’ hand (or two consecutive passes to play by each side) ends the year. You earn Build points at the end of the year for certain conditions met, in which you can buy cards that were discarded, back! The cards are brilliant and I love the mechanic… it gives a great fog of war, in being limited in what you can do based on what you have in your hand for cards, and also introduces strategy in what and when to use them.

Area 27, the NW Pacific sea area contains the Japanese carriers fleet that will launch the attack on Pearl. At 5is start of the game, they are treated as hidden and thusly, are immune from American fleet attack temporarily… while the Japanese Naval Air units run their attack. 

…one of the interesting mechanics of this game is the fact that for both sides, when you end a year (a full turn), all your sides’ unit controlled areas (having units in those areas) need to create a continual path of connection every two areas… break that link, and those areas out of the link are destroyed! Consideration needs to be applied at this early juncture with that carrier task force so far eastward! As you can see above, that carrier fleet is not in Supply, and if things go badly there or to the immediate westward, the Japanese are going to have a very bad year!

[Whiterook]

1941

So the attack on Pearl Harbor was pretty vicious… of 5 Fleets (battleships, destroyers, cruisers and the like) stationed 5ere, three were destroyed outright and one damaged. Pretty devastating. In rolling a 2d6, I got a 7. So I immediately felt the impact of history on this first outing. It made me appreciate what the Americans must have felt, with the U.S. Pacific Fleet fairly decimated in a single morning; and how tenuous the forces were out in Midway, Wake, and the general Pacific theater. It was a hell of a way to start the year.

The other part of the Japan’s Pearl Harbor surprise attack included redeployment of three areas; again, keeping in mind what targets needed to be attended to next and keeping the supply chain open. Axis forces were shifted in the areas of Japan, Okinawa, the Marianas, and the Philippines. Action commenced at Wake and Midway… not necessarily because of historical precedence, but wartime necessity. It’s fascinating how this was almost destined, given the force dispersal of the day, and the needs to simultaneously defend and maintain an offensive against a wobbling entry into way for the Americans; they were so precariously stricken, and you can feel the palpable desperation of the moment.



The mechanic of not being able to attack the Japanese task force off of Pearl is perfect! …the Americans had no idea where they were right away, and so many American ships were out of action. The American carriers needed targets, and fat game start, that wasn’t to be the Japanese carrier task force.

Hawaii was effectively, reduced to almost non operational. It then came to an interesting choice for the Japanese… they didn’t know where the US carriers were at this stage historically, but I could have gone after them; or the second option was to head west with the Japanese task force, out towards Midway and Wake. I probably should have gone after the American carriers, but I was a bit concerned with that Supply chain thing… the 1941 turn has very few cards in your hand so, there was the potential to get stranded out there in a slugfest that ended up in loosing valuable units without bullets and bombs sending them to Davy Jones’ Locker!

[Whiterook]

1942

The next years’ play saw the American carriers run into the might of the Japanese Naval Air forces and suffer horrible loses. Hawaii is still held, barely; Midway and Wake were hotzones and left reeling; and the Japanese pulled out of the Philippines into some fierce fighting in Peleliu, to end up in major whoopassing of the Solomons. A few minor shifts and additions of some Allied Land Air, Commonwealths Infantry, and Japanese naval.



It’s looking precarious for the Allies.

[Whiterook]

1943

Major carrier production and deployment to Pearl, to add two… an additional three happened last year so that made for a large task force moved to Wake; Japanese moved five carrier fleet and Land Ir to the Marianas, but were depleted of two air wings. The Americans then launched an air attack on the Marianas… Japanese loose all air units and five carriers! That was just nasty. Americans loose their land air and a naval air wing. 

A damaged Japanese fleet make it back to Japan for repairs at the end of the year. Pearl send two fleets to the Central Pacific to try to dispatch a Japanese fleet to its watery grave. Peleliu and Esprito Santo fell the the Japanese. Midway and Hawaii falls to the Japanese from amphibious assaults of the islands. 

Americans take out two air wings and three carriers in the Marianas, loosing three air wings…but gains them back with a card play. Pearl gets some reinforcements.

Japanese repair two fleets.



This is definitely an uphill battle for the Allies at this point, but in ‘44, the card advantages could be in the Allies advantage. Will resume tomorrow!

[Whiterook]

1944

Two new carrier fleets are deployed to Pearl… build up continues for the Allies as the war rages on. Action In the North Central Pacific was fierce, as Japan started use of Kamikaze’s a giant two US fleets, destroying one and damaging another remaining, which hightails it towards the US West Coast for repairs.



The US moves it’s sea forces out of Wake, back to Pearl to consolidate for a move back into Midway; the Japanese move sea power from Japan, out to the Central Pacific, knowing they are a little under strength of the US plans to retake Midway, but are ever aggressive in battle planning and execution.



So the clash was on for a massive Naval air battle at Midway; and a coordinated amphibious assault by the US there, and the British trying to oust the Japanese out. On the latter, it was a stalemate. On the former, the Japanese lost two carriers and all their air wings! There are just two empty Japanese carriers in the Central Pacific. The US lost three air wings.



Midway was wrested of Japanese and goes back to US control. Empty carriers pull back to Pearl. 1944 ends with both sides having terrible losses, but the tide has shifted to the Allies. The next year would have definitely looked to be the conclusion to the war in this playing.

[Whiterook]

1945

The US repairs a fleet on the US West Coast. Builds and deploys two Carriers with full Naval Air in Pearl. Japanese do the same with one new Carrier/Naval Air and Naval Air replacement to one Carrier.

The US then deploys a task force of three Carriers/Naval Air and seven Fleets from Midway, out to the North Pacific for action on Japan. Seven US Carriers and six Naval Air for them were moved to the North Central Pacific to back up the first task force. Iwo Jimi was taken

Japanese do a Kamikaze attack on the fleets that just escorted the Carriers and the US lost one fleet and had another damages dare retreated to the Aleutians. 

US subs take out a fleet on the Japan coast! Infantry from Wake amphibious assaults the Marshalls and destroys the Land Air units. Allie’s take Singapore. Infantry amphib from Iwo to Truk and take the island. Three US infantry move into the NW Pacific Basin, outside of Japan. The noose is closing!

Japan builds and deploys two Carriers/Naval Air to Japan.

US launches air attack from the North Pacific, on Japan… takes out three Carriers and and their Naval Air wings, and one other air wing are splashed; two Army and two US Naval Air units are splashed. A costly fight, but consistent.

Kamikaze’s once again wreak havoc, taking out a US Carrier and Fleet, and damaging/retreating one Fleet, all in the North Pacific off the coast of Japan.

US pulls two Carriers with one Naval Air and three Fleets out of the North, to the North Central Pacific, since it only has one air wing left. Two Fleets go in Pearl. Two US Infantry deploy to Okinawa. Indochina is finally taken by the British in an amphibious assault. Two more Fleets go in Pearl. Nine Carriers/seven Naval Air and three Fleets move to the N. Pacific. US Infantry amphib from the Marshalls to Espritu Santo, thereby allowing the conditions needed (Allied control of all starting areas, excepting Japan) to use the Atomic Bomb…

US Naval Air attack in Japan sinks two Carriers, a remaining Naval Air wing, and four Fleets… and, Dropped the Atomic Bomb for a Decisive Victory for the Allies.



Thank you for following along!