Carrier Battle Philippine Sea Reprint

• Publisher: Compass Games
• Designer: Jon Southard
• Artwork: Bruce Yearian
• Language: English
• Players: 1
• Playing Time: from training sessions to multi-hour campaigns
• Scale: Operational
• Complexity: Progressive learning curve.

Overview

Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea is a solitaire operational simulation of the largest carrier battle in history during the invasion of Saipan in June 1944.

As the U.S. commander, players manage task forces, conduct reconnaissance, coordinate fighter interception and launch carrier strikes while attempting to locate Japanese forces before being discovered themselves. The design emphasizes uncertainty, timing and operational command decisions.

Although inspired by the 1990 Carrier system, this edition stands as a fully independent design with dedicated scenarios and streamlined learning progression.

Box Contents

• 1 mounted map
• 2 counter sheets (528 counters)
• 1 rulebook
• 1 charts & tables booklet
• multiple player aids
• 1 ten-sided die
• box and lid.

Game System

• Time Scale: 80 minutes per turn
• Turn Structure: 4 action phases of 20 minutes
• Map Scale: 33 nautical miles per hex
• Unit Scale: individual capital ships, grouped escorts and air units of roughly 8–12 aircraft.

Scenarios

The game includes 9 scenarios:

• 4 tutorial/learning scenarios
• 5 complete replayable scenarios:
  • each historical day,
  • full two-day battle,
  • alternate U.S. planning scenario,
  • hypothetical no-Midway scenario.