Across the Pacific

Across the Pacific portrays the entire Pacific War in 5-month turns with units ranging from armies to regiments, air fleets to destroyer flotillas. The game system is interactive so that each player is involved at every moment of play. The heart of the game system is a series of strategic and tactical phases - 5 of each per player per turn - that are sequenced by a chit draw so that each player will know his and his opponent's operational actions every turn, but will not know the order in which they will be undertaken. This makes for continual strategic and operational opportunity as players adjust their actions in light of the lifting fog of war.

Across the Pacific's map is 36 inches by 48 inches - 3 by 4 feet - 91.5 cm by 122 cm. Hexes are .75 inch [1.90 cm] across to accommodate the 5/8 inch [1.60 cm] size counters. As stacking can often become an issue in particularly intense combat areas, stack substitution markers are provided.

The Sequence of Play is:

• Deployment Phase
• Strategic Phase
• Tactical Phase
• Ground Unit Combat Phase
• End Phase

One of the design intentions has been to break away from the long and rigid sequences of play found in other Pacific War games. Thus, the heart of the turn - the Strategic and Tactical Phases - are driven by a chit pull method rather than a predetermined sequence. The chit pull allows for some surprising outcomes - Kurita's gambit through the San Bernardino Straits during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, for example, could occur.

Some details from the Sequence of Play:

Deployment Phase: during this phase, players introduce new units to the board, form task forces, and redeploy air units.

The range of hexes of an air unit forms a radius or "umbrella" and a series of contiguous or overlapping air umbrellas provides a line of supply. During the Deployment Phase, players may deploy and redeploy air units throughout the net of air umbrellas. This models the historical case where large numbers of aircraft would be deployed over a five-month period theater-wide to a certain hot spot or in anticipation of a coming battle.

Across the Pacific models capital ship deployment with its vast expenditure of effort and its limitations based on oil iby providing players with POL markers [Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants]. To move a battleship or carrier, the capital ship must be in an amphibious, bombardment, or carrier task force. During the Deployment Phase, players decide what task forces they wish to deploy for the ensuing turn and must expend a POL marker for each task force created. Smaller naval units may move as task groups without the expenditure of a POL marker. Japanese POL supply is tied to securing the resource areas in Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Allied POL supply is greater, but not unlimited. Beginning in 1944, the Allied player make choose to make use of the organizational capabilities of the United States Navy Fleet Train to add an additional operation dimension to the strategic play of the conflict.

Strategic Phase: during this phase, each player will be able to undertake five types of strategic actions in a random sequence determined by the chit draw:

• Sortie Task Forces
  
• Rebase Task Groups
  
• Fly Defensive Combat Air Patrol Missions
  
• Fly Ground Support Air Missions
  
• Move Ground Units

Note that there are ten Strategic Phase chits: one of each of those actions for each player. A player may draw "Move Ground Units" before "Fly Ground Support Air Missions," or one player may rebase Task Groups before the other player sorties Task Forces.

A design intention of Across the Pacific is to break the tracing of strategic naval movement through hexes because a task force could move anywhere on the map in a five month period. When the "Sortie Task Force" chit is drawn, the Task Force markers are placed on the map rather than moved around.

Tactical Phase: this