Matrix Games Forums

79th anniversary of the battle (4–7 June 1942). I'll either play a game of HPS' Midway '42 or the original Complete Carriers at War [:)] You?

I don't have either of those games nor the movies. [:(]

My "Midway 1942" scenario can be played in one sitting:

https://crossrl1.wixsite.com/my-toaw-site/midway-1942

I was a playtester on Midway 42, very fun game. Although I have always loved the art in Matrix's Carriers at war.

Tomorrow I would like to play Midway scenario in Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal.

I played Midway '42 (historical scenario) and I lost all three carriers vs. 2 Japanese ones. I really like this game, even if some micromanagement because micromanaging what happens on your carriers' decks and hangars is the source of all the fun and tension of the game. I felt more like Nagumo than Spruance, because I constantly found myself with my scout planes returning just when a Catalina spotted the Japanese carriers, so the Yorktown couldn't spot her strike quickly enough... Then I was about to launch all my fighters in CAP over TF 16 and the two carriers found themselves... under a bank of clouds?? And of course they emerged from what was, after all, also a form of protection, just in time for the Japanese strike to arrive.

All my attacks were uncoordinated and the zeros made mincemeat of every small formation. Luckily a dive bombers strike from the Hornet (unprotected by fighters) found a gap in the enemy defenses and scratched the Kaga. My last strike was launched from the Enterprise while my two other carriers were burning and, to my great amazement, the ragtag circus of survivors was able to torpedo what turned out to be the Hiryu. I didn't even knew that American torpedos actually worked in 1942. She had already launched, I guess, because next thing I saw was a jumbo attack on the Enterprise and the game was basically over.

Midway was flattened by the first Japanese strike. The airplanes on the island were a no-show.

I'll replay this. Next time I'll pay more attention to the whole arming, spotting, recovering cycle - and the need to coordinate your carriers (good luck with that...) When a carrier-centric game makes you tense because your carriers are not turning into the wind fast enough I guess that the designer didhis job.

Beside all the Midway variants, BTW, I noticed that the scenario list includes the aborted Wake relief by the Saratoga, Coral Sea, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz, Philippine Sea, Pearl Harbor (!) and some hypotheticals - all with variants. I bought this a couple some years ago and I sat on it until today. What a pleasant surprise!

Check out the mod Welk-France did for the series. It gives the zoomed-in ships detail, and makes the zoomed-out ships identifiable by their ship type.
TheBlitz