Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

Turn 4

Turn 5

Turn 6

Turn 7

Turn 1

IJN Report: I sink all ships but Repulse. I put max damage on her and can't get day when I would've sunk her. This is a sign of bad rolls to come.

USN Report: I watch as lots of ships go to the bottom. At least the LBA in Hawaii survives. With a 4 POC bid I’ll try to save bases but focus mostly on attrition.

Turn 2

IJN Report: The only ships I can sink are Australia and Hornet. Hits and damage concentrate on Australia. I see after game I call Hermes attack Hosho and never put 1 damage point on Hermes. I think about calling day in USM to avoid what happens. D/n costs me 2 more CAs as BBs hit but I can just damage ID 4 points. Sub misses. Jon gets near perfect rolls and kills 3x1+18s, Ryujo, Shoho, Junyo, and Sasebo. Disaster!

USN Report: Minimal patrols. Looking for attrition and to save a base or 2. The NE corner seems like my best chance for both. I try to avoid fighting LBA, as a general rule. I thought briefly about the CPO, but don’t want to spread myself too thin. I’ll deny POC and shoot for attrition in the Coral and USM.

Excellent results for the USN, 5CA and 3CVLs sunk. The IJN get a CA and CV in return. Hopefully, this will put the IJN on the defensive. I’ll be in good shape if I can keep sinking his CA with BB and CVs.

Turn 3

IJN Report: T3R1 I think about putting 4 LBA in HI. Later results show I should've. It's night in Mars, day in CS and NPO, and day/night in HI. LBA flees in Mars. CAs want to but can't. CAs miss in CS and USM. I use CVs against BBs. There's huge misallocation of hits and damage again as MS escapes with 3 damage and I put just 1 damage point on an LBA. Both marines die. Sub misses. Jon kills Oi and two more 1+18s. He also kills Hiryu, disables Shokaku, and hurts Kaga 2 points.

T3R2
I kill 2 LBA, but 2 hits only put 3 points on another. Jon kills Kaga and Akagi, capping another disastrous turn.

I realize after game that we miss U.S. control in CS so Jon should have 2 more POC.

USN Report: I’ll double up on patrollers in the USM and CS to try and keep POC down in the low 20’s this turn. I’ll likely get pushed out of the NE corner but there isn’t much to be done. Should get positive attrition again this turn with my LBA hopefully sinking CVLs and my CVs sinking CA. I don’t need to worry about raiding lanes, as Indo should be open.

Good results, the I-boat missed. Raiding lanes are open. I sunk 3CVs and 3CAs. The most difficult decision was leaving after round 2 in the HI. On a simulated battle I only had a 20% of saving Pearl. 4LBA vs. 3LBA and 2CVs, didn’t offer favorable attrition and I was concerned about defending Samoa on turn 4.

Turn 4

IJN Report: T4R1 I try to save game by threatening TKO in five. Both NLF go to USM. LBA and CA flee during night in SPO and AI. Unfortunately three rolls I win by >= 2 are not in crucial areas of CS and USM.

I get hope by killing CA in JI, Marianas, and CPO. But I kill two British CAs instead of De Ruyter and Chester in Mars and HI. I kill Wasp and 3 LBA. Unfortunately one LBA gets 5 and 4 damage. Not having that hit on another LBA will haunt me. Sub misses entirely again, where even a disable would be a big help! Jon kills Kitakami in Marianas, puts 2 damage on CA in CS. In USM Wasp disables a 138+4. His LBA max out the other 138+4, and disable Soryu, and Zuiho.

T4R2
Odds are with me in JI with one vs. two CAs and CPO with one vs. one. Jon wins day in USM. I get night in CS, but can only disable one of two patrollers. I ding undamaged LBA one point. Jon kills undamaged CA in CS.

T4R3
It's day in CS and USM. I kill damaged LBA from T2. Oh what might've been. That could've been last LBA in USM. Or if I had transposed order of Hosho and Hiyo I would've sunk both LBA. CV kills damaged CA in CS. LBA puts one point on Hiyo.

T4R4
Jon wants day in USM but I get day 6 - 4. Where was that R1? I miss everywhere. Jon kills CA in JI and CPO. So much for odds!

T4R5
I win day to my regret. I miss but Jon sinks Hiyo.

T4R6
I accept night in USM. Hits and damage spread badly again. I get too much damage on 453/4 ID but not enough on 453 NM. She escapes with 3 damage. I sink MS and WA, but only hurt IN 4 points and disable SD, thus not even removing bonus gunnery. Jon sinks 4 CAs and disables the last patroller. I've never had such carnage in CA force. There's just 2 left!

T4R7
We both miss in air.

T4R8
Hosho misses but LBA disables her.

T4R9
I kill damaged IN but she sinks 436. I don't break control in CS or USM so NLF have to retreat.

USN Report: Decided to leave only 5LBA in the USM. This allowed me to score the extra point in AI and save Attu, which was at risk. I felt I had good odds even if he sent his whole fleet in. He had only 5 patrollers so I had a 50/50 shot of decontrolling the area with BBs.

After a long battle my LBA control the area. The BBs sunk/disabled all his patrollers so I wasn’t going to get knocked out. But by controlling CS and USM, I was able to keep his LBA out of New Hebrides.

Turn 5

USN Report: Here's the map after round 1 turn 5. Awaiting IJN I boat shot in Indo. POC will probably be 24 with USN bases in Phillipenes, Guadl, Kwaj, Attu.

IJN Report: T5R1 Jon gets only one out of 3 d/n rolls to beat +2. I delay Indo a turn to see what happens in SPO. I kill just CA in NPO. My CVs whiff against LBA. CAs kill Kako in CPO. LBA kill NLF in AI and SPO and disable last one in SPO. I should've flipped Attu and Guadalcanal. There goes 4 POC, my SPO block, and my chance to retake the Phillipines.

T5R2
As it turns out I wouldn't have done anything to marine in Mars as LBA can't even disable CV. Indo gives me dilemma of shooting at CVs to keep control or marines to save Phillipines. They kill both U.S. CVs. It would've been enough to sink one marine and disable the other with 4 points. Soryu and Zuikaku put 5 and 3 damage on 2 LBAs. Too bad it wasn't 4 and 4. Sub shoots at Indo marine and finally does something other than miss! But it only hits for 2 points. LBA damage Soryu 1 point. U.S. CVs kill an LBA in Indo but miss in Mars.

T5R3
With Kwajelein gone I try meager chance of holding Mars or at least killing CV. LBA can damage Lex just one point while dying. I disable Formidable while British miss.

T5R4
I sink Hermes with 4 damage while she misses.

USN Report: Sent CVs into the Marshalls to support my marine. I sent 2CVs and 2 marines to Indo. This left Al with the difficult choice of conceding the area and POC or letting me take the Philippines. In SPO, Al had a large fleet and I had 4 LBA defending. I didn’t feel that adding CVs to the SPO added much to my odds of saving the area. Worst case was 28 POC with good bases, best case 20 POC.

Al elects to shoot at my CVs in Indo sinking them both. The Hermes goes down as well trying to sink the last LBA. My marines take the Philippines. My LBA save AI and SPO for me. POC hits 24. In retrospect I should have patrolled the Marshalls.

Turn 6

IJN Report: The only combat is sub shot. Lexington stays based to avoid being target with its 1 damage. It doesn't matter as sub can put just 1 point on Saratoga.

USN Report: Conservative patrols, trying to protect bases and set up for conversions of Saigon and Truk. I only need 4 points this turn to set me up to score 8 and 9 on turns 7 and 8 respectively. Control of CPO is important to inhibit raids to and from the HI. There was no significant combat. Al controlled only HI, JI, and NPO.

Turn 7

IJN Report: T7R1 My only hope is to hold HI. It's d/n in AI and day in NPO. I kill Naval/3 and CA in AI. Soryu can't even disable. LBA barely kill Lex, max out and disable a CV, and put just 1 point on a CV, and disable one CV. No where close to what I need. Once again hits concentrate in wrong area, though damage is below par everywhere. CVLs disable Soryu. CVs kill 3 LBA and damage another 3 points.

T7R2
It's pure day again in NPO on even odds. LBA finally shoot well, killing 2 CVs and disabling third. CVLs sink 1+17 and max out 1+27. CVs kill 2 more LBA

T7R3
I finally get night in NPO! CA disables patroller while all 4 CAs hit and atomize her. CVs do the same to last LBA. Jon's sub maintains subs' ineptitude by missing.

I would've quit long ago, but it was for the championship. Also, by playing this far I saw that the module has the error of bringing San Jacinto in on T7 instead of T8. This was perhaps my most frustrating game. Virtually nothing worked for me, while almost everything worked for Jon. I couldn't win enough or the right d/n rolls. I got too few hits/disables and they spread badly, while the opposite was true for Jon. My LBA shot worse than his. Sub was totally useless.

This meant I couldn't make Jon pay where he chose to fought while he systematically killed me. I couldn't kill his original CVs which is always a bad sign. He took advantage of his opportunities and built on his edge with proper play. This led to a resounding and well deserved victory.

USN Report: Al is based in the JI leaving him access to Indo, Mari, CPO and Aleutians. So I spread my LBA across my perimeter and patrol heavily in the HI. I left the AI as the most lightly defended, as I wanted to be sure of converting Singapore and Truk. This allows the British surface a chance to shine on turn8 and guarantees access to HI and JI for my slow BB.

I chose to concentrate on sinking the Japanese LBA in the HI, with a small foray into the NPO to try and score a POC and block raids into the HI next turn. Al concedes when the last of his LBA are sunk.