Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal Cyril Jarnot **** Get the NEW Carrier Battles APP **** Enhanced graphics, sounds & musics 11 scenarios and both sides included in th… $4.99 Buy Now Watch Media Details**** Get the NEW Carrier Battles APP **** Enhanced graphics, sounds & musics 11 scenarios and both sides included in the base-app A single living code now to maintain across all platforms Get the App bundle to migrate, contact the support if needed This one has a frozen scope **** Learn World War II history with a classic hex-and-counter digital wargame covering the naval-air battles of the Pacific War, in the South Pacific and Central Pacific in 1942-1943. CARRIER BATTLES 4 GUADALCANAL is a classic hex-and-counter wargame covering the naval-air battles during the Pacific War in 1942-1943 Review by Pocket Tactics " Overall Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal is a solid WW2 naval wargame built around a great interface. It’s a realistic simulation that is accessible and fun, retaining depth while not letting the player get bogged down in menus or decisions. Fundamentally Carrier Battles succeeds because it takes the juicy technical attributes of naval games and mates it with a cracking user interface " Find the Japanese and strike at them before they sink your precious aircraft carriers and prevent them from invading key points in New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands Main features: - Solitaire play again powerful Japanese AI - 6 historical scenarios : Coral Sea May 42, Midway June 42, Eastern Solomon Aug 42, Santa Cruz Oct 42, Guadalcanal Dec 42, Bismarck sea March 43 - Hex map with a scale of 30 miles per hex - 40 types of warplanes, historical ships - Naval-air search, radar, progressive intelligence gathering on enemy naval forces - Air strikes against naval and land targets, surface battles - Advanced damage system - Invasion, naval bombardment - Turn-based system - A nice on-boarding sequence will guide the player to the depth of the game - Available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Japanese - No internet connection required to play against the AI In-app purchases: - 2-players game over internet, turn by turn - A 7th scenario covering the landing at Bougainville and airstrikes against Rabaul in November 1943 - A 8th scenario covering the evacuation of Guadalcanal by Japanese troops in Jan/Feb 1943 - A 9th scenario covering the US invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942 - A 10th scenario covering the US carrier raids against Japanese positions in Feb/Mar 1942 - A 11th scenario covering the Japanese invasion of Wake in Dec 1941 - SeaPlanes + a 12th scenario covering US raids against the Gilbert islands in September 1943 - Advanced fog of war + a 13th scenario where the Japanese are attemptong to invade New Hebrides in July 42 - Play Japan agains US AI and what-ifs for the scenarios in order to test the effects of some likely events The duration of a game is about 1-3 hours Contact and support : [email protected] Information Seller:Cyril Jarnot Genre:Simulation, Strategy Release:May 03, 2016 Updated:Dec 23, 2021 Version:4.5 Size:92.2 MB TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating: (3) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal Looks very hardcore, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Bruce Geryk recommended it on Twitter and when he says something about a war game I sit up and listen. Stronsay Well-Known Member Aug 6, 2015 986 226 43 #2 Stronsay, May 23, 2016 A lot of work has gone into this. A complex hex-based boardgame but with the computer handling die rolls and chart calculations behind the scenes. There is much information to take in, especially regarding unit stats on the counters, though, helpfully, the manual and well structured tutorials are very clear and concise; so there is not too much reading required. The playability of these types of games depends a lot on the interface and this is just about the cleanest and most efficient digital interface I've seen. mzinn Well-Known Member Jan 5, 2014 770 0 16 #3 mzinn, May 26, 2016 You've got my attention currymutton Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2008 4,430 1 0 #4 currymutton, May 26, 2016 Very tempted. I tried to get my pals to play AH's Flat Top many years ago but in vain. Then came Carriers At War...You can see I am a Pacific naval war nut. But CoMKL and Romancing Saga 2... mzinn Well-Known Member Jan 5, 2014 770 0 16 #5 mzinn, May 26, 2016 Last edited: May 26, 2016 Me too. I always play the Pacific in Battle Fleet 2 which became one of my favorite iOS games for a while. I love naval games. It reminds me of playing games off of 5.25" discs on a PC with a CGA monitor. I couldn't get enough of naval war games back then. This one has me tempted. It has so much that I like. currymutton Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2008 4,430 1 0 #6 currymutton, May 26, 2016 Last edited: May 26, 2016 Bought, running through the tutorial which explains every counters and operations as such. Reminds me a lot of old-school hex-based wargaming. It seems like very much to be my appetite. Will report back here and PT later. Edit: Oh, forgot to mention one nice touch: the game using the board and counters to replay the event over Pearl Harbor as the unskippable inoro. And I am giving it 5 Stars if it has US AI and mulitplayer (async online would be great) currymutton Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2008 4,430 1 0 #7 currymutton, May 26, 2016 Still enjoying the tutorial, it is quite long and you get hands on. Lost my first carrier (tutorial) battle at Coral Sea. Recall a lot of good old memories back in the Carriers At War days. More later. mzinn Well-Known Member Jan 5, 2014 770 0 16 #8 mzinn, May 26, 2016 Thanks for imps Think I'll pick it up tonight It's funny my kindle has become my bookshelf & my iPad has become my board game shelf. Stronsay Well-Known Member Aug 6, 2015 986 226 43 #9 Stronsay, May 26, 2016 This certainly evokes memories of cardboard wargaming, but without all the set-up, calculating, and record keeping. Once familiar with the sequence of play it is all fairly straightforward, and I can concentrate on trying different strategies: Although I still go back to read some of the tutorials between games to remind myself of the smaller details. That in itself is enjoyable as the tutorials are so well written and illustrated. I'm learning that timing of attacks is important so as not to have aircraft returning to my carriers after dark, and thus increasing the risk of accidental landing damage. mzinn Well-Known Member Jan 5, 2014 770 0 16 #10 mzinn, May 26, 2016 Thanks so much for the insight! currymutton Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2008 4,430 1 0 #11 currymutton, May 27, 2016 Last edited: May 27, 2016 Curry: Inevitably, review... Mutton: If you can't stand this format, please go outside, take a deep breath and come back and read Curry: I think @Stronsay has done a great job giving the great things regarding Carrier Battles for Guadalcanal (CB4G) Mutton: ...actually digital wargaming in general Curry: I cannot say for Android, irrc, digital implementation of old-school naval wargames like CB4G is rather rare. If anyone finds something close, please let me know. Mutton: The game is about naval battles taken place in Pacific year 1942 (with one in 1943), which marks the new ear of dominance of air power in naval battles. Before that, sea battles were mostly engaged using big guns where ships of each side could see each other. Curry: The game covers all the major battles taken place around the area around Eastern New Guinea to the Guadalcanal, starting with Battle of the Coral Sea which most consider this as the first real air-naval battle in history. Mutton: ...and the "bonus" scenario for Battle of Midway...yeah! Curry: This game appeals for all who wish to play naval commanders re-enacting tactical naval battles, not limited to WW2. The game is complex but automation frees the player from all the underlying, tedious micro-management, focusing on making the tactical decisions instead. Mutton: The developer has the mindset of broadening the appeal, so when you first start the game, it forces you going through a step-by-step tutorial. Each tutorial topic focuses on one particular element of the game. Another great arrangement is that you can practice in tutorial battles. Curry: And when you have done the tutorials, you can go into the big world of actually battles. There are six historical scenarios. For now, you can only play as US against the AI playing Japan. Mutton: Each scenario is provided with historical backgrounds plus scenario notes. Another nice touch is that the starting position for Japanese is varied and so is the size of forces available. The makes the game less repetitive. Curry: Another thing the developer adjusts is the length of the battle: most actual battles featured lasted over a week but the game reduced them to 3 days. Mutton: It is understandable and does not affect the enjoyment of game: nobody really wants to sit there, waiting for enemy to appear with nothing much to do for a couple of game "days". Curry: The heart of the game is air battle. You assign planes from airbase, or from aircraft carriers if they are available, to different missions: Combat Air Patrol (CAP) is defending friendly airbase/carrier against any air attacks. Search is locating enemy ships, this is important because the enemy ships are hidden by default. Mutton: and there is a term for that "fog of war" Curry: And even if you spot the presence, the details of the enemy ships are not immediately reveal to you. If you keep on "spotting", you grain more details about what the enemy force is made up of: how many ships are there? What classes are there? and so on Mutton: Of course the last mission type is air strikes. Each airbase or carriers can prepare for strikes at 2 different targets the same time. Curry: All the operations are done by drag-and-drop and buttons. And the UI is very clean and consistent, with major option buttons on the left and command buttons at the button. The buttons are responsive too. Mutton: Thank goodness it was not Tiler... Curry: As for the AI, it is very good, it knows how to use night cover to do landing when your air power is absent, and re-arrange its carriers to do multiple-axis strike. Mutton: ah, what Curry means making air strikes coming from more than one direction and at different time so the attacker can get tactical first strike advantages Curry: And move damaged ship away from your attack. Timing your attack is crucial: an carrier is most vulnerable when its flight deck is arming airplanes. A hit on the deck cause major fire and explosion and the game reflects this Mutton: As in Battle of Midway historically. Oh, please bear in mind the AI does not make the same mistakes as its historical counterpart! Curry: I run this on my iPad Mini 2 with latest iOS and it is very smooth Mutton: except there was once a hangup after submitted the turn and another time, a crash to Spring Board Curry: I also find a bug, in one game, my search plane suddenly changed from a US diver bomber icon to a Japanese dive bomber icon. It landed later back to my carrier and later participated an attack on Japanese ship... Mutton: The game also seems to either skipping/abstract the effects of cloud cover, "localized" foul weather. Not to mention omitting entirely New Caledonia base which is as important as bases in mainland Australia during that period Curry: I can't help but thinking Carriers At War was flashier and gives you more control over damage control, which is automated here. Mutton: I recall you yelling and leaning over the chair, back then, while watching the bombs and torpedoes running towards a ship... Curry: I think most people will complain about the lack of ability to play the Japanese side. Mutton: And single player only. Curry: But the developer says the above are noted and may be present in the future updates. Mutton: To sum up: CB4G captures the feeling and the essence of board wargaming. The presentation is minimal and very well done. Timing plays critical factor to winning the game which may not be aware by the player at first. Curry: That's it! Thanks for reading. Mutton: Over and out! (Edit Curry: One more thing! If you are learning the rope, try the "Bismark Sea" scenario first, the only 1943 one. Not only it is easy to manage with fewer units to deal with, the US force has superiority over the Japanese forces making it easy to win Mutton: should have use Allied instead of US, right? ) scarypharaoh Well-Known Member Aug 26, 2009 889 0 16 Medical Professional With Carmen Sandiego #12 scarypharaoh, May 27, 2016 What a great post Curry! That is very informative. Thank you currymutton Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2008 4,430 1 0 #13 currymutton, May 27, 2016 Thanks for your appreciation, when most find my style odd and TL;DR Omitted another point the rule book is accessible both in game and from Main Menu, which is very important for a complicated (mobile-wise) game like this. Stronsay Well-Known Member Aug 6, 2015 986 226 43 #14 Stronsay, May 27, 2016 Thanks to both Curry and Mutton for the entertaining and informative review . Thanks also for replying to my question about fighter escorts in the game forum. I've now found the relevant section in the advanced rules covering this. I've also had a couple if crashes to desktop; but not too inconvenient as the game state was saved. I've been defeated in the Coral Sea scenario yet again and have restarted. This time I'm transferring some spare long range bombers from Townsville on the Australian coast to Port Moresby to assist in defence against invasion. Will also try keeping Yorktown and Lexington carriers closer together so that if one is damaged or sunk, then airborne planes can return to the other. I note your comments regarding the Bismark Sea scenario so may try that next. skoptic Well-Known Member Apr 3, 2015 634 82 28 #15 skoptic, May 27, 2016 Thanks for the review - I had just read over on PT. They are never TL/DR material! I had bought straight after PT article, but have had busy eves so not had a chance to get stuck in yet past tutorials. Looking forward to it! currymutton Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2008 4,430 1 0 #16 currymutton, May 27, 2016 Last edited: May 27, 2016 Thank you for all your kind words! A couple of remarks: About searching and spotting: it is vital to locate Japanese vessels before they spot you. If you send out enough planes, say 6 or more, the larger the search circle will be. But if the plane you choose does not endure enough, it will return to the airbase/carrier before sunset and unlike CAP, they do not seem to relaunch. Most of the time, the dive bomber will be your obvious choice as scout planes, but I find the P-40 (of endurance 22) and Beaufighter (endurance 26) are alright choices. Also occasionally there are watch towers reporting back enemy sighting. IIRC, their locations are not shown on map, very much unlike the game Flat Top. They are nice additional source, but you cannot entirely rely on them to watch things out for you. After you are done with Bismark Sea, I suggest you try Midway, not because it is famous, it also has less thing to manage: just 1 base plus 3 flat tops. Note that Midway has oil limit so use it wisely. The most important thing to watch out for, especially for you history bluffs, the AI does not quite make the same historical mistakes and quits after you blown its flat tops out of water, not only it will try to sneak in the TRS at night, it also try to mix its big-gun capital ships with your flat tops -- just bear in mind that even those WWI-refitted dreadnoughts are extremely deadly to your, well, just everything... May write more after digging more other scenarios. mzinn Well-Known Member Jan 5, 2014 770 0 16 #17 mzinn, May 27, 2016 Awesome imps - thanks everyone for the insight. I always love the curry mutton dialog. Makes me laugh. Stronsay you nailed it with the old school cardboard war game feel without the hassles. Bought this last night & started tutorials. I figured this is a great game to learn on a 3 day weekend. Stronsay Well-Known Member Aug 6, 2015 986 226 43 #18 Stronsay, May 27, 2016 It's a recurring decision - how many aircraft to send on search and how many to keep ready for an effective attack. I presently send 4 on search from each carrier; with some spacing between them this gives a fairly large search area. I should experiment with larger numbers. An interesting point is raised regarding comparison with the historical events. I have only scant knowledge in this regard so I really need to download a book on the subject, and this will surely add much to my experience of the game. If anyone has book suggestions please let me know, and I'll start reading right after I finish my current book - Four Days at Waterloo - (Napoleonic tactics not being much help in Pacific fleet battles). Stronsay Well-Known Member Aug 6, 2015 986 226 43 #19 Stronsay, May 27, 2016 Good decision mzinn. Quite possibly the best use of a 3 day weekend! currymutton Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2008 4,430 1 0 #20 currymutton, May 27, 2016 Last edited: May 27, 2016 More mania: 1. I need to recheck how the "life point" (exact wording form rulebook iirc) is deducted, but you see here one tough TRS with life point = 2: ate 4 torpedoes and 9 bombs before being a permanent display on the ocean floor... 2. One of the devastating moment: during the Battle of Midway, the Soryu was the last standing CVA while one of her sisters was sunk and the 2 others were knocked out of action, she had 2+ planes arming on deck when my air group from Yorktown (which was also my last flat top with considerable strike power) arrived (not shown). She took considerable hit before sleeping at the bottom of the ocean 3. I got lucky and won the battle even though Midway took considerable damage (-23 life points) and with both Hornet and Enterprise down to last life point -- the final strikes from IJN did score hits but none was fatal. Thank for all of your tips that getting both of the TFs close together works. One thing to note that if the original mission of the flight group is to bomb a land-based target, it will not perform any attack if you switch during in-flight to enemy vessels, or vice versa. I am not sure if it is mentioned in the rule book but it is reasonable. Bombing vessels (armored targets) requires the use of armor-piecing (AP) bombs (well, soft-skinned transports are treated the same) and land targets employs high explosive ammunition (HE). Torpedo bombers hit ships with torpedo and makes bomb runs on land targets using HE bombs (sorry for being a nerd here). It is modeled as such here as well as in Flat Top. This is also one of the factors leading to the fateful decision made by the IJN commander during the Battle of Midway. I notice there is no submarine action. Also the "ship/land" attack mode is fixed. i.e., if your B-17 always does medium level bombing only, you do not have a choice to perform high level bombing, skip bombing or mast level bombing, which Allied used the last two in the Battle of Bismark Sea. May be I post them to the developer. May be next time, I post a full AAR (after action report) for your comments. In the meantime, may be, may be I should go back briefly to PACG or CoMKL for a change. Attached Files: File 27-5-2016, 21 05 55.jpg File size: 157.8 KB Views: 42 File 27-5-2016, 21 06 09.jpg File size: 168.3 KB Views: 37 File 27-5-2016, 21 06 20.jpg File size: 131.9 KB Views: 28 File 27-5-2016, 21 06 32.jpg File size: 204.7 KB Views: 30 File 27-5-2016, 22 48 27.jpg File size: 221.9 KB Views: 31 (You must log in or sign up to post here.) 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A lot of work has gone into this. A complex hex-based boardgame but with the computer handling die rolls and chart calculations behind the scenes. There is much information to take in, especially regarding unit stats on the counters, though, helpfully, the manual and well structured tutorials are very clear and concise; so there is not too much reading required. The playability of these types of games depends a lot on the interface and this is just about the cleanest and most efficient digital interface I've seen.
Very tempted. I tried to get my pals to play AH's Flat Top many years ago but in vain. Then came Carriers At War...You can see I am a Pacific naval war nut. But CoMKL and Romancing Saga 2...
Me too. I always play the Pacific in Battle Fleet 2 which became one of my favorite iOS games for a while. I love naval games. It reminds me of playing games off of 5.25" discs on a PC with a CGA monitor. I couldn't get enough of naval war games back then. This one has me tempted. It has so much that I like.
Bought, running through the tutorial which explains every counters and operations as such. Reminds me a lot of old-school hex-based wargaming. It seems like very much to be my appetite. Will report back here and PT later. Edit: Oh, forgot to mention one nice touch: the game using the board and counters to replay the event over Pearl Harbor as the unskippable inoro. And I am giving it 5 Stars if it has US AI and mulitplayer (async online would be great)
Still enjoying the tutorial, it is quite long and you get hands on. Lost my first carrier (tutorial) battle at Coral Sea. Recall a lot of good old memories back in the Carriers At War days. More later.
Thanks for imps Think I'll pick it up tonight It's funny my kindle has become my bookshelf & my iPad has become my board game shelf.
This certainly evokes memories of cardboard wargaming, but without all the set-up, calculating, and record keeping. Once familiar with the sequence of play it is all fairly straightforward, and I can concentrate on trying different strategies: Although I still go back to read some of the tutorials between games to remind myself of the smaller details. That in itself is enjoyable as the tutorials are so well written and illustrated. I'm learning that timing of attacks is important so as not to have aircraft returning to my carriers after dark, and thus increasing the risk of accidental landing damage.
Curry: Inevitably, review... Mutton: If you can't stand this format, please go outside, take a deep breath and come back and read Curry: I think @Stronsay has done a great job giving the great things regarding Carrier Battles for Guadalcanal (CB4G) Mutton: ...actually digital wargaming in general Curry: I cannot say for Android, irrc, digital implementation of old-school naval wargames like CB4G is rather rare. If anyone finds something close, please let me know. Mutton: The game is about naval battles taken place in Pacific year 1942 (with one in 1943), which marks the new ear of dominance of air power in naval battles. Before that, sea battles were mostly engaged using big guns where ships of each side could see each other. Curry: The game covers all the major battles taken place around the area around Eastern New Guinea to the Guadalcanal, starting with Battle of the Coral Sea which most consider this as the first real air-naval battle in history. Mutton: ...and the "bonus" scenario for Battle of Midway...yeah! Curry: This game appeals for all who wish to play naval commanders re-enacting tactical naval battles, not limited to WW2. The game is complex but automation frees the player from all the underlying, tedious micro-management, focusing on making the tactical decisions instead. Mutton: The developer has the mindset of broadening the appeal, so when you first start the game, it forces you going through a step-by-step tutorial. Each tutorial topic focuses on one particular element of the game. Another great arrangement is that you can practice in tutorial battles. Curry: And when you have done the tutorials, you can go into the big world of actually battles. There are six historical scenarios. For now, you can only play as US against the AI playing Japan. Mutton: Each scenario is provided with historical backgrounds plus scenario notes. Another nice touch is that the starting position for Japanese is varied and so is the size of forces available. The makes the game less repetitive. Curry: Another thing the developer adjusts is the length of the battle: most actual battles featured lasted over a week but the game reduced them to 3 days. Mutton: It is understandable and does not affect the enjoyment of game: nobody really wants to sit there, waiting for enemy to appear with nothing much to do for a couple of game "days". Curry: The heart of the game is air battle. You assign planes from airbase, or from aircraft carriers if they are available, to different missions: Combat Air Patrol (CAP) is defending friendly airbase/carrier against any air attacks. Search is locating enemy ships, this is important because the enemy ships are hidden by default. Mutton: and there is a term for that "fog of war" Curry: And even if you spot the presence, the details of the enemy ships are not immediately reveal to you. If you keep on "spotting", you grain more details about what the enemy force is made up of: how many ships are there? What classes are there? and so on Mutton: Of course the last mission type is air strikes. Each airbase or carriers can prepare for strikes at 2 different targets the same time. Curry: All the operations are done by drag-and-drop and buttons. And the UI is very clean and consistent, with major option buttons on the left and command buttons at the button. The buttons are responsive too. Mutton: Thank goodness it was not Tiler... Curry: As for the AI, it is very good, it knows how to use night cover to do landing when your air power is absent, and re-arrange its carriers to do multiple-axis strike. Mutton: ah, what Curry means making air strikes coming from more than one direction and at different time so the attacker can get tactical first strike advantages Curry: And move damaged ship away from your attack. Timing your attack is crucial: an carrier is most vulnerable when its flight deck is arming airplanes. A hit on the deck cause major fire and explosion and the game reflects this Mutton: As in Battle of Midway historically. Oh, please bear in mind the AI does not make the same mistakes as its historical counterpart! Curry: I run this on my iPad Mini 2 with latest iOS and it is very smooth Mutton: except there was once a hangup after submitted the turn and another time, a crash to Spring Board Curry: I also find a bug, in one game, my search plane suddenly changed from a US diver bomber icon to a Japanese dive bomber icon. It landed later back to my carrier and later participated an attack on Japanese ship... Mutton: The game also seems to either skipping/abstract the effects of cloud cover, "localized" foul weather. Not to mention omitting entirely New Caledonia base which is as important as bases in mainland Australia during that period Curry: I can't help but thinking Carriers At War was flashier and gives you more control over damage control, which is automated here. Mutton: I recall you yelling and leaning over the chair, back then, while watching the bombs and torpedoes running towards a ship... Curry: I think most people will complain about the lack of ability to play the Japanese side. Mutton: And single player only. Curry: But the developer says the above are noted and may be present in the future updates. Mutton: To sum up: CB4G captures the feeling and the essence of board wargaming. The presentation is minimal and very well done. Timing plays critical factor to winning the game which may not be aware by the player at first. Curry: That's it! Thanks for reading. Mutton: Over and out! (Edit Curry: One more thing! If you are learning the rope, try the "Bismark Sea" scenario first, the only 1943 one. Not only it is easy to manage with fewer units to deal with, the US force has superiority over the Japanese forces making it easy to win Mutton: should have use Allied instead of US, right? )
Thanks for your appreciation, when most find my style odd and TL;DR Omitted another point the rule book is accessible both in game and from Main Menu, which is very important for a complicated (mobile-wise) game like this.
Thanks to both Curry and Mutton for the entertaining and informative review . Thanks also for replying to my question about fighter escorts in the game forum. I've now found the relevant section in the advanced rules covering this. I've also had a couple if crashes to desktop; but not too inconvenient as the game state was saved. I've been defeated in the Coral Sea scenario yet again and have restarted. This time I'm transferring some spare long range bombers from Townsville on the Australian coast to Port Moresby to assist in defence against invasion. Will also try keeping Yorktown and Lexington carriers closer together so that if one is damaged or sunk, then airborne planes can return to the other. I note your comments regarding the Bismark Sea scenario so may try that next.
Thanks for the review - I had just read over on PT. They are never TL/DR material! I had bought straight after PT article, but have had busy eves so not had a chance to get stuck in yet past tutorials. Looking forward to it!
Thank you for all your kind words! A couple of remarks: About searching and spotting: it is vital to locate Japanese vessels before they spot you. If you send out enough planes, say 6 or more, the larger the search circle will be. But if the plane you choose does not endure enough, it will return to the airbase/carrier before sunset and unlike CAP, they do not seem to relaunch. Most of the time, the dive bomber will be your obvious choice as scout planes, but I find the P-40 (of endurance 22) and Beaufighter (endurance 26) are alright choices. Also occasionally there are watch towers reporting back enemy sighting. IIRC, their locations are not shown on map, very much unlike the game Flat Top. They are nice additional source, but you cannot entirely rely on them to watch things out for you. After you are done with Bismark Sea, I suggest you try Midway, not because it is famous, it also has less thing to manage: just 1 base plus 3 flat tops. Note that Midway has oil limit so use it wisely. The most important thing to watch out for, especially for you history bluffs, the AI does not quite make the same historical mistakes and quits after you blown its flat tops out of water, not only it will try to sneak in the TRS at night, it also try to mix its big-gun capital ships with your flat tops -- just bear in mind that even those WWI-refitted dreadnoughts are extremely deadly to your, well, just everything... May write more after digging more other scenarios.
Awesome imps - thanks everyone for the insight. I always love the curry mutton dialog. Makes me laugh. Stronsay you nailed it with the old school cardboard war game feel without the hassles. Bought this last night & started tutorials. I figured this is a great game to learn on a 3 day weekend.
It's a recurring decision - how many aircraft to send on search and how many to keep ready for an effective attack. I presently send 4 on search from each carrier; with some spacing between them this gives a fairly large search area. I should experiment with larger numbers. An interesting point is raised regarding comparison with the historical events. I have only scant knowledge in this regard so I really need to download a book on the subject, and this will surely add much to my experience of the game. If anyone has book suggestions please let me know, and I'll start reading right after I finish my current book - Four Days at Waterloo - (Napoleonic tactics not being much help in Pacific fleet battles).
More mania: 1. I need to recheck how the "life point" (exact wording form rulebook iirc) is deducted, but you see here one tough TRS with life point = 2: ate 4 torpedoes and 9 bombs before being a permanent display on the ocean floor... 2. One of the devastating moment: during the Battle of Midway, the Soryu was the last standing CVA while one of her sisters was sunk and the 2 others were knocked out of action, she had 2+ planes arming on deck when my air group from Yorktown (which was also my last flat top with considerable strike power) arrived (not shown). She took considerable hit before sleeping at the bottom of the ocean 3. I got lucky and won the battle even though Midway took considerable damage (-23 life points) and with both Hornet and Enterprise down to last life point -- the final strikes from IJN did score hits but none was fatal. Thank for all of your tips that getting both of the TFs close together works. One thing to note that if the original mission of the flight group is to bomb a land-based target, it will not perform any attack if you switch during in-flight to enemy vessels, or vice versa. I am not sure if it is mentioned in the rule book but it is reasonable. Bombing vessels (armored targets) requires the use of armor-piecing (AP) bombs (well, soft-skinned transports are treated the same) and land targets employs high explosive ammunition (HE). Torpedo bombers hit ships with torpedo and makes bomb runs on land targets using HE bombs (sorry for being a nerd here). It is modeled as such here as well as in Flat Top. This is also one of the factors leading to the fateful decision made by the IJN commander during the Battle of Midway. I notice there is no submarine action. Also the "ship/land" attack mode is fixed. i.e., if your B-17 always does medium level bombing only, you do not have a choice to perform high level bombing, skip bombing or mast level bombing, which Allied used the last two in the Battle of Bismark Sea. May be I post them to the developer. May be next time, I post a full AAR (after action report) for your comments. In the meantime, may be, may be I should go back briefly to PACG or CoMKL for a change.