Bob-Bill Game #1

[wga8888]

Bob and I played a bunch of boardgames in the 1980s, including a campaign game of SPI War in the Pacific that consumed a year of Saturdays in 1985. Each of our lives got complicated, I moved out of state, then we reconnected and both starting playing UCV this year, with this as our first game. UCV will serve as the precursor to a campaign game of WITP/WITP-AE. The latter is expected to take many actual years as we both play other things; the first to die loses all games in progress.
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This was Scenario 16 with Bob as IJN; using 3day turns, and computer controlled subs. Game was stopped at 02Sep1942 to apply lessons learned to a new
game. IJN captured Gili-Gili, landing next to Buna, taking Tulagi and GC. Main traits were strafing at airbases never destroyed/damage on the ground as expected, although continuous battles with PM CAP occurred. My strikes vs Lae did not accomplish much other than hopefully raising my B25/B26 experience. My B17s suffered a lot of operational losses with little effect. The IJN offloaded the CV airgroups to land bases and moved the empty carriers back to Truk. This allowed the US CVs to continuously raid the IJN shipping at GC sinking 2xBB, 2xCA, 3xCLs and score of transports. Oddity is the IJA bombers at GC supplemented with Kates, Vals, Zeros from one CV, continuously spotted the USN CVs but never launched a strike. Perhaps deterred by large CAP assignments when two 2 CV TFs were operating together
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Although the 3day turns did speed up the calendar, we were both unsure if weather was defined for the 3 day turn or just for the first day of same. Hence planes were flying taking operational losses. The zeros operation from Rabaul vs PM suffered few combat losses but high operational losses. This may be due to low durability and the need of damaged planes to fly a long way home. IJ lost 120+ zeros and were not denting the Allied PM air force. The other downside of multiday turns is the inability to change orders mid-turn. A bad idea is made very bad and costly.
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Lessons learned, expectation may have been too high (strafing, LBAs attacking CV TF). Both Bob and I have greater affinity to play Union, Russia, Allies, US as in the 1980s, there was a adequate supply of German, Axis, Roman, Confederate, Japanese minded players. Hence both of us tend to be more conservative and play the long game, neither of our natural affinity and out of character to play the initial aggressor.
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Onto the next game.