Pacific War - The Struggle Against Japan 1941-1945

[PresterJohn001]

The boardgame, 1985 Victory Games.

Just wondering how many of you have boardgame roots and have played this game? Whilst i'm just about old enough to have gotten it first time around I eventually purchased it via the magic of ebay last year. Played a couple of scenarios solo and it looks very interesting. Obvious inspiration for the computer game by Gary Grigsby.

I'm a frustrated boardgamer really oh yes and lack the space for these megagames, the wife was not especially impressed when i took over the living room table for a couple months for solo gaming World in Flames!! So witp ae suits just fine!

[Nomad]

I had and played the SPI version that came out in 1978. 10 large map panels and thousands of counters.

[JeffroK]

Thats not a mega fame, SPI's War in the Pacific is a megagame.

Played Pacific War a fair bit, had some good ideas and some small scenarios to lead you into the system..

If you look here http://www.grognard.com/titlep.html you will see some articles, replays, errata (now called patches)

[Schanilec]

VG Pacific War. One of my favorite prized games in my inventory of around 50 or so boardgames dating back to my first, Avalon Hills Midway back in 1972. Though I couldn't grasp to point system for Japanese combat readiness. Seemed like for example in the smaller scenarios that the Japanese could barely get enough points for a surface group to get to Guadalcanal and that would be it nothing left for a sortie out of Truk. So I'd just leave that part out of the game. Most likely I just misunderstood that aspect of the game.

[PresterJohn001]

War in the Pacific 1978 - republished in 2006. Truly a megagame, never played it. one day maybe.

[TommyG]

Bought the SPI game, set it up, read all the rules, but could never find anyone willing to play. Then in 1980, I got an apple II, and, well, the rest is war game history

[PresterJohn001]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

Thats not a mega fame, SPI's War in the Pacific is a megagame.

Played Pacific War a fair bit, had some good ideas and some small scenarios to lead you into the system..

If you look here http://www.grognard.com/titlep.html you will see some articles, replays, errata (now called patches)

With a quoted 2340 playing pieces (PW) probably squeaks as a megagame. World in flames runs to 3400 counters in the basic set. SPI's WITP is quoted as 3200 counters. They're all big [:D]

[PresterJohn001]

ORIGINAL: TommyG

Bought the SPI game, set it up, read all the rules, but could never find anyone willing to play. Then in 1980, I got an apple II, and, well, the rest is war game history

Yeah, i takes a special kind of person to want to play games that big. I've played a few over Vassal which works well for boardgames.

[DaveConn]

A friend and I left the SPI WITP game set up for over a year, and got through the first year of the war, before we had to call it. That was about 30 years ago; we both wrote down all our unit locations in case we ever got the chance to continue!

VG Pacific War: Played it; it was fun, but no WITP.

Anyone remember the SPI USN magazine game? That was one of the first SPI games I ever played.

But I have to say: AE is better overall than any of them!

[Schanilec]

I think USN 1941-43 was my first SPI game followed by Solomons Campaign. Or was it the other way around.

[Lameduck]

I had VG Pacific War. I never could get anyone to play it. Every time I pulled out the manual, people's eyes would glaze over and they would quickly find an excuse to leave.

[Canoerebel]

Prester, weird' you should post this today. Last night I dug through one of my closets and pulled out the game to show it to my son. Mine is still in nearly mint condition. I only played the tutorial. Thus most of the counters are still on the counter sheets. It's a beautiful looking game.

[JeffroK]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Prester, weird' you should post this today. Last night I dug through one of my closets and pulled out the game to show it to my son. Mine is still in nearly mint condition. I only played the tutorial. Thus most of the counters are still on the counter sheets. It's a beautiful looking game.

You want to see what offers you get on Ebay, big bucks for games in this condition.

[cantona2]

Never had the pleasure but has anyone got links to either an AAR or photos of the tabletop game in action would be great to see

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
Prester, weird' you should post this today. Last night I dug through one of my closets and pulled out the game to show it to my son. Mine is still in nearly mint condition. I only played the tutorial. Thus most of the counters are still on the counter sheets. It's a beautiful looking game.

You want to see what offers you get on Ebay, big bucks for games in this condition.

Man, I couldn't bear to part with my box games. I may never play them again, but they are beautiful! Sometimes it's just fun to take them out and gaze at them.

I have perhaps 20 of them including Stonewall Jackson's Way, Here come the Rebels, 1776, Midway, Panzer Leader, Panzer Blitz, Richtoffen's War, Submarine, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, Tobruk, Terrible Swift Sword, Third Reich, Advanced Third Reich, Empire of the Rising Sun, and Civil War.

I've only played a board game once in the past 15 years. My son and I played the D-Day Scenario in Panzer Blitz (or maybe it's Leader) several times about three years ago.

[anarchyintheuk]

As a young punk I learned a lot of geography from 1776 and Civil War. Great maps.

[fcharton]

VG's Pacific War is an excellent game, with a very interesting system (not the typical IGOUGO). I played most of the small scenarios (and actually was in the process of starting a campaign when I bought Admiral Edition, a couple of months ago). Interestingly, it plays very well solitaire.

One thing I especially like with this game is the small map. Most detailed boardgames on the pacific war feature very large maps, with low counter density, which are a bit complicated to manage over the long period of time the game requires. Monopolizing the whole basement (or attic) for several months or years, just for one game, is something few of us can arrange (and don't get me started on cats, toddlers and other wandering pets). It did have lots of counters, though.

Also, Victory Games published two very good solitaire games on the Pacific war. Tokyo Express is about night surface combat around Guadalcanal, and Carrier, unsurprisingly, is about CV engagements. Both are one map affairs, TE plays in an evening, Carrier is a bit longer. If you can find them, they really are worth a try.

Francois

[floydg]

ORIGINAL: PresterJohn

War in the Pacific 1978 - republished in 2006. Truly a megagame, never played it. one day maybe.

Yep, me and CoachZuck played this when in high school/college. We completed a few months (cycles) several times, but never got to finish a game.

I remember my mother went to the SPI office in NYC and bought the game for me. They warned her that it would be too complicated for a kid... [:D]

[wdolson]

I started in boardgames too.  My father gave me Luftwaffe for Christmas when I was 5.  I didn't have a prayer of understanding it then, but I eventually made up some simplified rules (a few years later) and the box got somewhat dog eared from frequent play.  When I was a teenager I discovered that Avalon Hill had a whole variety of games and I was hooked.

I never played Pacific War, but one of my favorites was Flat Tops.  I think Beyond Valor (which is the grand parent of AE) was inspired by this.  I remember back when the original IBM PC was the hottest thing on the market trying to come up with a way to computerize Flat Tops.  I could see then that all the secret movement stuff and searching could be done much better with a computer as referee.

The WitP family of games are really quite a bit more complicated than anything that was ever done in a board game.  Each turn in AE has a thousand or more of die rolls that would drive boardgamers insane, if they could follow it.  AE is the ultimate evolution of the Flat Tops game system.

Bill

[RJL5188]

i have the game from VG as well...loved it when i played it long ago...i liked how the production system worked...reinforcements arrive automatically...

played the full campaign game as japan against a friend of mine...the rules state that the japs have no chance of winning the big scenario...

the rules are correct...VERY hard to win as japan with the rules as is...

never played War in the Pacific from SPI or War in Europe...would love to...but now with WITP-AE and WITE available...why would u want to set up a board game that has THOUSANDS of counters?

But I do play Axis and Allies on a regular basis with my playgroup...always loved Axis and Allies...

i also have SPI's ETO and PTO, all the VG fleet games, A world at war from GMT...and update of advanced third reich and empire of the rising sun...as well as some others...all they do is take up space...wish i could sell some these[8|]