Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

Turn 4

Turn 5

Turn 6

Turn 7

Turn 8

Turn 1

USN Comments: Wow! Those were quite the Uncert rolls! While it gives up the NE corner, I'll move all 5 CV to Aust.

IJN Comments: The Indonesia raid went well for the Allies as both British ships escape -- albeit the Prince of Wales has 4damage.  The Pearl Harbor raid was even better for the Allies with 3 BB, a CA, and the LBA escaping.  West Virginia has 4 damage while the Pennsylvania has 2, but all three BB have full firepower available.

The location uncertain rolls were a pair of twos and a pair of threes.  That's good an bad for the IJN.  It's good that the USN doesn't get the extra PoC in NPO, but it's bad to have the USN with so many CV basing options!  Andy decides to send all five CV to Australia.  That puts a ton of pressure on Indonesia but weakens the USN in the northeast corner considerably.

USN Comments: John and I are playing with options 1 and 2a with a bid of 4.5 POC. The IJN bottom 3 BB's on the first PH airraid with heavy damage on 2 more. On round 2, John's IJN sink both of the heavily damaged BB's as well as a CA. He also damages WV(4d) and PA(2d). The AZ and NO come out unharmed. A slightly subpar round for the IJN. In Indo, the 5th is shot down and the POW damaged for 4d.

Excitement comes in the form of the uncert rolls...all into Hawaii! I decide to base all five CV's in Aust to create maximum pressure on Indo for T3. The drawback is a wide open N.E. corner for the IJN on T3. This is a very rare occurence so it will be interesting to see what John does on T2. Heck, this is uncharted territory for me as I don't think I have ever had the chance to do it. I'll probably see what John does and go from there.

POC at normal +7 for the IJN since I did not roll a 1 into the NPO.

Sunk

553 Maryland
453 California
453 Tennessee
443 Oklahoma
443 Nevada
117 San Francisco
24* 5th A.F.

IJN gains the standard 7 PoC.

Turn 2

USN Post-LBA Comments: I'll try to keep open my options. I'll send in all the Brit BB's as I should get an IJN CVL to shoot at. With pressure on Indo and the Marshalls it should make for a game not of the "norm". We'll see!

Boy! My CV's got no respect from you with that move of yours! Perhaps my LBA will...

USN Post-Raiders Comments: I was a little concerned that you would bring more into the USM. Since it appears beatable, I'll take my Indo shot. War is hell!  I want night in all areas.

IJN Comments: The massive stack of USN CV in Australia means that it'll be harder than normal to flip Singapore, the Philippines, and Lae.  I can't afford to put so much in Indonesia that a win there is guaranteed -- because that would make the rest of the ocean to easy for the USN.  However, I do need to put enough material there so that the odds of a USN success are low enough that Andy won't take the risk.

I come up with two different plans.  One is a strong attack on the Hawaiians and U.S. Mandate with a weak thrust into the Coral Sea along with 4 LBA and 1 CV in Indonesia.  The other is what you see above -- 4 LBA and 2 CV in Indonesia with weak (but not inconsequential) attack in both Coral Sea and U.S. Mandate as well as a very strong attack in the Hawaiians.  I send a pair of CA raiding into the Bay of Bengal and North Pacific Ocean too -- to pick off PoC and control flags.  That'll make Andy wary of lone patrollers during the rest of the game and, if he responds to these cruisers, will bleed off significant forces from his other objectives.

Andy's response catches me off-guard -- as he goes head-long into Indonesia.  I should have realized that a surface-only solution would be viable for the USN in the Mandate.  That might have pushed me to stick with my first plan.  Normally, if the IJN loses Indonesia the only possible compensation is scoring all three Allied home areas.  That's not likely now, so I'll need the massive kind of attrition of Allied CV in Indonesia that cripples USN offensive options for future turns -- since the British will ruin my PoC gain on Turn 2 at the very least.

In the Aleutians, the first round is night against the flag.  Aack!  The IJN disables a CA.  In return the USN CA whiff -- allowing Sasebo to grab Dutch Harbor.  The following night action sees the IJN CA disabled to Dutch Harbor.  The USN saves Attu.  In the North Pacific, I ask for day and get it but then decide to stay anyway when my CA losses look low after the first round.  Aoba manages to disable New Orleans to deny the Allies a PoC and control flag.  In return she is also disabled to Dutch Harbor.

In the Marshalls, I sink one CA during day action while the other retreats to Samoa.  In the Central Pacific, Takao disables New Mexico while managing to avoid any enemy results in return.  Midway falls to my lone CA!  In the Coral Sea, day followed by night sees the Allied CA sunk before she can shoot.  In the Bay of Bengal, it takes two rounds.  The IJN CA whiffs both times.  The two Allied CA finally disable Furutaka to Truk.  It's interesting that the CA battle that should have been easiest is the one which goes worst for the IJN!

In the U.S. Mandate, the first round is day.  I perceive that I can't possibly win if I don't eliminate the Allied surface threat, so the two IJN CV shoot at USN BB.  Pennsylvania takes one more damage and is disabled to Samoa.  The other CV whiffs on the West Virginia (which has 4 damage from Pearl Harbor).  Yuck -- I didn't minimize the Allied surface threat or score any surface attrition.  The 10th AF disables Zuikaku which prompts the rest of the IJN to retreat to Truk.  If I'd managed to remove both BB while the 10th had whiffed, I might have stuck around and been a threat to take the area!

In Indonesia, we start with a day action (whew!).  Lexington, Saratoga, Enterprise, and Indomitable are sunk.  Yorktown takes 1 damage.  The I-Boat tries to finish off Yorktown but whiffs.  My hits and damage are excellent; however, with no disable results rolled at all, the number of targets removed is very average -- not enough when battling against the odds.  In return the Allies sink both Junyo and Shoho while shooting down an LBA.  The USN's slightly under average performance opens up a possible IJN victory.  It's nothing but daylight from here on now that the IJN CV are gone.

The second round sees Yorktown sunk and Hornet disabled.  At least the USN will only have one CV next turn.  That might be enough for me to recover from a loss in Indonesia this turn.  In return the USN shoots down another LBA.  Again the IJN shoot close to average while the USN shoots below average.  The IJN chances improve slightly.

The third round sees Formidable sunk while Hermes is disabled.  Perfect results for the IJN.  Alas, the USN's measly seven shots shoot down another LBA.  That leaves one IJN LBA against two USN LBA.  The next two rounds see the IJN whiff while the USN scores a hit each time to finally win the area.

Six Allied CV sunk.  If I'd managed to shoot down an LBA too, I'd feel pretty good about the results.  As it is, I'm sure I'm not out, but not certain I'm ahead either!  It will definitely be an usual game.

In the Hawaiians, I elect not to invade with Yokosuka since I won't have much LBA next turn anyway -- not to mention the critical need to invade the Philippines and Lae!  I'll need my LBA in Indonesia and my surface forces to fend of the roaming British fleet!

Fortunately, the attrition was very favorable to the IJN this turn.  4 USN CV, 2 British CVL, and two Allied CA for 2 IJN CV and 4 LBA.  That'll make turn three hard on the IJN, but when those 4 LBA come back this turn's trade will look every more impressive.

USN Post-Combat Comments: Those fights are tension filled as you see if a six appears on your hit dice. Fortunately, I came up with one to finally down the 21st from the skies. He was a tough bugger though! It was a brutal fight as the allies lost 6 carriers on excellent kill shooting from the IJN. I had figured on about 4 carriers (3 being USN), I just did not know which ones. So you came out to the good on that front, although I am not to concerned with the Brit CVL's since they tend to not do much before they are removed. In the end, I did come out of it the way I had expected, with both LBA still flying. I did not expect it to come down to the IJN even getting shots at the LBA. However, after your first round of fire, in which you almost doubled the expected hits (7 vs 4) and got great distribution, the outcome was a little less sure for the USN. So Singapore, Phil's and Lae stay in Allied hands. POC goes up to 16.

USN Summary: The big surprise for me this turn happened right away, with John's initial movement of IJN pats AND a whopping 5xLBA! That alone was a bit out of the ordinary but the fact that 2 of them went to the Marshalls and SPO, one each respectively, meant that the maximum for Indo would be only 4. IMO, a better move would have been to simply list 3xLBA (all Indo based) with his pats so as not to give me any info beforehand. With 5 CV's parked in Aust., this was not enough. So the question was, is this some kind of sneaky IJN trap? Well, if it was, I was going to explore the opportunity! I finally decide that if I place 2xLBA in Indo, I would almost surely be a stong favorite in the battle, even if John supports it with 2xCVL and the I-Boat. However, if John heads strong into the USM, as well as HI, I might have to abandon the thought. That would be bad as my LBA would be sorely missed on T3! However, John does not put overwhelming pressure on the USM so I decide to make the Indo attempt as it is often a game winner for the USN. The saving of Singapore, Lae and the Phil's is huge! So in charge my 5xCV along with Indom, Form and Hermes. I figured my odds as about 75/25 for the Allies if it is pure day, 80/20 if D/N, 85/15 if pure night (provided the I-Boat hits). So I am pretty pumped until John's first round of fire comes in...I lose 4 carriers (3xUSN) as John rolled almost twice the expected hit dice (7 vs 4) AND had very nice distribution. I, on the other hand, only sank Shoho, Junyo and one LBA (the only one I hit w/21 shots). At that point, I felt my odds dipped to about 70/30. Then his sub gets its shot...a miss! Had his I-Boat hit, it would have been 60/40. The attrition is already close to what I figured it would be for the entire battle! Ack!

Beforehand, I had figured the first round as such: 1st Rd-IJN remove 4 CV/CVL's (3xUSN+Brit)...USN remove both IJN CVL's (I would target each with one USN CV) and 1.75 IJN LBA (I had 21 shots so I should get 3.5 hits. It all depends on the distribution and the damage rolls after that) 2nd rd-I figure that I should be left with 2xUSN CV, a Brit 027, Hermes and both USN LBA's vs 2.25 IJN LBA which I should win 75/25 percent of the time. However, my attrition was for about 2.5 carriers sunk on an average 4 hits (John had 6 bonus, including the sub, and 12 non-bonus shots for the first round).

John then has 2 more great rds as he sinks another USN CV while disabling another CV on rd 2. Then sinks a Brit 027 while disabling Hermes on rd 3. That's 4 targets removed out of 5 chances, with LBA! I struggle with the bare minimum attrition on rds 2 and 3, to keep the edge in the battle. I flame a single LBA in rounds 2 and 3. I also get a 1d hit on John's last LBA on rd 3. So it came down to a 2 vs 1 LBA fight. Rd 4 sees a whiff from the 21st (1d) airflot while I hit it again...for another 1d! Rd 5 sees another whiff from John while my LBA's finally get enough damage to flame the 21st! I had figured going in that John had a decent shot at removing all the carriers but that he probably would not get any shots against my LBA. At least he went cold as he shot at them so I still have all my LBA's for T3. Indo is saved but at a cost of 6 carriers, 4 of which are USN. Normally, this game would be over but the incredible USN/Brit carrier attrition has left things very much in doubt.

In other battles I am pitiful with my shooting, I sent a lone BB (NM) up against a lone patrolling CA in the CPO, and lost (so I lose Midway). He rolled a 4 and I whiffed. I also whiffed, on 3 shots, at stopping the Sasebo NLF from invading DH. I also whiffed in the NPO with a BB (ID) and a CA against a raiding CA (which also rolled a 4 to save the POC). I also lost 2xCA in the Marsh and CS with no return fire.

I also fought in the USM with a large surface fleet and a single LBA vs Zuik, Shok and 4xCA. The only round featured a pure day and my LBA disabled Zuik while he only damaged a single BB. He then retreated.

IJN flags are in: JI, Mari's, SPO, Marsh, CS, CPO and HI. I have brought back Hornet and almost all of my fleet (18) to Samoa figuring that John might need a KO at this point. John countermanded the invasion order of Johnston after losing some Indo LBA so he has Yoko based at Truk. I feel that John only has one other option for T3. That would be the conversion of HI coupled with Indo (probably with the twin invasion of Phil's and Lae). If he chooses this option, there is little that I can do to stop him. The POC is at 16.

For T3, I would like to convert Saigon (while John is low on LBA) but can't afford to lose HI AND have the USM flagged (coupled with the invasion of NH). I don't think that I can stop John if he goes with the Indo option but if he does that, I should be able to hold Samoa. Of course, I also have 6xLBA at the ready! Their placement will be critical on the next turn. If I place all my LBA's in HI, and lose, I will also be giving up Indo as John would surely convert Singapore on T4. On T3, John would be a heavy favorite with 2xLBA vs Hermes and an 027`2. So I will need to find a mix that might allow me to help out in Indo while guarding the USM. The Singapore-based Brits should be able to patrol/raid into SPO, Mari's and JI to prevent any IJN POC gain. The USN can patrol/raid the CS, SPO, Marsh, USM and HI. I also have 2 CA's based at Attu and the 3xBB's at PH. I'll need to see John's pats to see if he plans to abandon POC and go all out for HI and USM (which with 32 surface and 10 CV he could). Troubles for T3 include not only the lack of carriers but limited movement options for the USN. Should have an interesting T3!

Sunk

124+3 Junyo
005+2 Shoho
34* 21 AirFlot
34* 22 AirFlot
34* 23 AirFlot
34* 24 AirFlot
033 Sasebo [Invades Dutch Harbor]
117 Australia.
117 De Ruyter.
137+4 Lexington
137+4 Saratoga
027+4 Enterprise
027+4 Yorktown
0272 Indomitable.
0272 Formidable.

IJN converts Dutch Harbor by invasion; Midway by isolation.

IJN gains 9 PoC to increase the over-all IJN lead to 16 PoC.

Turn 3

USN Comments: I figured that was one on your 2 options this turn. Of the 2, I preferred that you go to Indo though. However, I always need to be careful of what I wish for because it could work! Both of my marines will stay in port.

USN Combat Comments: The BB's were going down if they were in port or not. Not likely to survive at sea since you were favored at day and I figured they should save both marines. Actually, I figured that one of them might survive the initial day action but that was not worth the life of a marine unit. In this case, it would have been both marines!

Had to let Hawaii go. Just did not have the resources...

The IJN attrition this turn should help the USN's chances as this game goes on. At least I hope so! And I'll have 2xCV to work with next turn along with, I hope, raiding lanes.

IJN Comments: I need three things at a minimum this turn: 1) To convert Pearl Harbor, 2) To control Indonesia and set up a conversion attempt next turn, and 3) the move the score upward.  In addition, it'd be nice to sink the remaining USN CV and to remove the British thorn from my side once and for all by sinking a lot of British ships.

With two LBA against two British CVL, I relay on my LBA to control Indonesia.  I patrol widely solely to score PoC wherever the USN allows.  I patrol areas where I only expect to see British surface ships with a pair of BB each -- in the hopes that that will be enough to land me a flag and sink some British ships.  I use only one CA per area in the NE corner -- figuring that could be enough to challenge both USN CA.  With USN LBA expected to defend Pearl Harbor, I patrol the Coral Sea and U.S. Mandate in case opportunities present themselves.

USN patrols are close to what I expect -- although I wish the British hadn't been so good at passing their speed rolls this turn!  I may face more Allied flags than I expected...

Too late I realize that the USN is likely to use LBA of its own in Indonesia -- such that my LBA are inadequate as patrollers.  Surprisingly, however, Andy commits four LBA to Indonesia -- far more than I'd have ever guessed -- while leaving Pearl Harbor undefended.

Knowing that I'm unlikely to flag Marianas or South Pacific this turn and that I'm going to need surface and carrier help, I send my NLF to Indonesia to take the Philippines and Lae.  No isolation freebies for me!  I can't afford to go after the easy-to-convert Attu.  The USN keeps his Marines in Pearl Harbor to dig trenches on the beaches.  No surprise there -- since Johnston is already Allied-controlled.  I'm definitely glad I didn't invade it last turn.

My raiders end up being fairly easy.  I send just enough surface and CV to the Hawaiians that it'll take everything the USN has to save Pearl Harbor -- and he'd be taking a huge risk doing it.  I send a small CVL to the SPO to either flag that area and sink the British (and block access to Indonesia from Samoa next turn) or to score CV attrition against the USN.  I send everything else to Indonesia.

My big problem?  If Andy shoots only at my LBA in Indonesia, he should easily shoot down both before his LBA and CVLs are gone.  Without the flag, the British will be able to patrol and raid forward again next turn AND I'll never be able to convert Singapore against all the Allied LBA.  I'll just have to get lucky.

In the Aleutians, I sink Quincy on the first round.  The Allies whiff as do both CA on the next round.  In the third round, Chester whiffs and is disabled to Attu.  The CA attrition is nice, but the flag could be very important if I can isolate Attu next turn (or if the flag provides cover for an NLF that wants to invade at night).

In the Japanese Islands, Ise and Revenge sink each other.  Yamato sends the patroller Ramillies packing with 3 damage.  In return Ramillies and the two CA put 2 damage on Yamato.  In the next round, Yamato sinks one CA while the British whiff.  The next round sees Yamato roll six dice for a single point of damage.  Fortunately, the CA whiffs.  Yamato finishes the job and sinks the CA on the fourth round and then hangs on for another whiff to control the area.  Whew -- that helps the PoC situation immensely!

In the Marianas, the first two actions are day.  On the second day action, the Hermes connects and disables Yamashiro to Truk.  Fuso makes a run for it.  The Warm Spit and Fuso trade volleys for two rounds before Fuso is disabled with 3 damage to Yokosuka Navy Yard.  Hermes air raids the Yamashiro in Truk but scores no results.  The flag here will be a big problem next turn as Saipan is threatened.  I still can't believe the Hermes made its speed roll!

In the South Pacific, the first round is day.  Zuiho scores a hit on Hornet!  One damage.  Aack!  The I-Boat whiffs.  So close and yet meaningless...  Hornet doesn't miss in the first or second round as Zuiho and Hyuga go down.  I don't mind losing the BB or the CV -- but I'd hoped to trade them for something...

In the Marshalls I choose to fight on the very slight chance that I'll be able to deny control to the Allies or, at the least, trade a CA for a CA.  I whiff and am sunk in return.  Oh well...

In the Hawaiians, my three CV make short work of all three Allied BB cowering in port.  In fact, they roll so many hits I wonder if I should have been shooting at the Marines!  The Marines escape untouched.  This has to be the easiest conversion of Pearl Harbor I've ever had in 28 years.

In the U.S. Mandate, I lose one CA before withdrawing.  In the Coral Sea, my CA escapes during daylight.

In Indonesia, the first round is day followed by night.  Not as good as pure night, but at least my CV and LBA don't have to shoot at Illustrious.  However, despite averaging six shots at each LBA, I shoot down only one while putting 3 damage (using two hits) on another.  The odds of a flag in Indo do not look promising...

In fact, I do so poorly that the USN concentrates on my NLF rather than LBA and even puts Illustrious on Shokaku.  Illustrious scores two hits and 8 damage to sink her.  That'll teach me to leave carriers unmolested!  The LBA whiff on one NLF and disable the other to Truk.

In the night action, the British disable one CA while the IJN don't do much better -- disabling Illustrious and Royal Sovereign while put one more damage on Prince of Wales (which cripples her).

Andy then elects to withdraw his forces.  Prince of Wales is sunk by a zillion hits from my carriers during pursuit.

I can't believe it.  I manage to accomplish all of my major objectives -- but only because of what I consider a pre-mature withdrawal on the Allied part in Indonesia.  I won't complain.  The game will still be very tough for the IJN -- given that huge block of US flags around Truk!  But it doesn't look as tough now as it did at the end of last turn.

As for my minor objectives, I score none of those.  I sink four British ships, but it's not enough in my mind to take the teeth out of the British fleet.  I have to base very carefully now that my central base is blocked off!  We may see a lot of ships based in Pearl Harbor and Saigon!

Additional IJN Comments: After reading Andy's comments for Turn 2 (which he just submitted), I see why he choose to leave Indonesia as he did.  After all, having preserved his LBA, he'll have a lot of options this turn -- including a huge attempt to save Indonesia.  If he'd lost his LBA this turn, next turn's conversion attempt in Indo would be a cinch (and even allow he to go on the offensive elsewhere).  It's a judgment call as to which turn will allow the USN a better chance at saving Singapore together with opening up more options elsewhere.  I would have gone all-out this turn, but I can see good reasons for going the other way too.

USN Comments: Humm, saving Indo was fine but with the attrition that John got, this game is far from over. The plus side is that the Brits will get to fight and perhaps get some attrition of their own! A big problem for me will be that the board is split in half, Brits on one side and the USN on the other. This is due to the fact that John flagged both the SPO and CS last turn. However, I need to get the Brits in on the action where the USN can't! Hence, they will move out of Singapore and try to flag some areas, get in fights and try to keep the POC in check. My USN forces will try to keep the IJN honest in the HI and USM.

My patrollers go to BOB, INDO, JI, Mari's, SPO, CS, Marsh and AI. I hope to keep some of John's carriers busy while I either try to convert Saigon or save Hawaii. In the event that John covers both of those areas, I will at least have a plan B.

My LBA are torn as far as where to go this turn. They could all go to HI, and if successful, win the game for me. However, John still has 9 carriers left at Truk and another that could speed roll from JI. Meanwhile, on the other side of the board, John's 2 LBA will hold Indo all by themselves as only Illus and Hermes oppose them. There is also the matter of 2xSNLF's that can go to Indo to wrapup both the Phil's and Lae. Should my LBA lose in Hawaii, John will flip Pearl and have a lock on flipping Singapore on T4 as he will have all his LBA back! If the Phil's and Lae fall, John will be in excellent position come T5 and the saving of Indo on T2 may as well have not happened! While I might be a slight favorite in Hawaii, I decide to continue to work over in Indo. I place 4 LBA there and the last 2 in the USM. This should give me some shots at the IJN SNLF's should they go to Indo while I also guard the USM. The downside is that I pretty much giftwrap Pearl to John who will need very little to flip it. I could live to regret this!

John's SNLF's do the expected and go to Indo while mine stay in port in Hawaii. My figuring was that John would not send a bunch of carriers to Hawaii just to sink them. I also had decided that my 3xBB's would stay in port as well and that John would target them with whatever amount of carriers he took in there. Yes! John could take a bunch of carriers in there but then he would not be able to hold Indo. And he could not afford to have Saigon flip! I hope to be able to use my marines next turn to forward base next turn, hopefully at Lae. However, they may be need to invade Lae if my Indo forces miss his SNLF's.

Raiders: John places 3 carriers in Hawaii, one in the SPO and 6 in Indo. Indo and HI are backed by surface as well. With HI being out of the question to attack and Indo well fortified, I decide to try and deny POC while flagging areas around Truk. I hope to limit John's movement on T4 like he did to me on T3! Since the SPO is going to be key for T4, most of my forces will go there. I also expect to forward base them at the end of this turn. In the Jap Islands, I decide to add 2 more Brit CA's to give me the edge in that fight. In the CS, I will hope for attrition while being able to forward base at turns end. The Marshalls to backed up by NM and Vince to drive away John's lone CA and give me a block and a flag. I also manage to speed roll Hermes into the Mari's to give me a little air support!

Results:

JI-The Rev and Ise sink each other but the Yamato holds the area after it survives a total of 10 shots. It also sinks 2xCA's!

Mari's-Better news! I manage to get 2 day rds and Hermes gets a disable result on the Fuso! The Yamashiro then retreats with Warspite hot on her tail. Yamashiro gets hit for 3d and disabled back to YNY. Warspite is unharmed and I hold the area for the USN. The Hermes then airraids the Truk based Fuso...but for no result.

Marshalls-A night action allows me to sink Tone and hold the area.

SPO-A day action allows Zuiho to fire at my last CV. A hit! But for just 1d. Whew! Hornet then sinks Zuiho. After the I-Boat misses, the Hornet(1d) then sinks Hyuga to hold the area.

Truk is surrounded!!!

Indo-John's fire shoots down an LBA and puts 3d on another. My return fire from my 4xLBA does the bare minimum, a disable on just one of the SNLF's. So Lae is saved as John invades the Phil's.. However, the Illus shows her stuff and sinks the Shokaku!

Hawaii-John's 3 carriers blow up all 3xBB's cowering in port. The marines are safe but would have gone under had they been targeted. John's fire was just that good!

Misc-Pearl is lost and Indo is under siege by the IJN. John is doing a great job of pulling his position together. Overall, a good turn for both sides. The good things for the USN is that they did not lose a carrier and will get Wasp for next turn! Meanwhile, the IJN lost Zuiho and Shokaku! I have Truk surrounded so John's basing will be difficult. I also will have 7xLBA and relatively safe areas in the CS and USM. I also have both marines available in which to reinforce (Lae) or invade (Malo, Phil's or Johnston). The USN's flags in both Mari's and Marsh also threaten Malo/Kwaj and Saipan. The forward based ships can hit all the IJN areas except for the NPO. The POC ends at 18 which is around average.

Sunk

444 Hyuga
444 Ise
1+18 Tone
1+18 Chikuma
138+4 Shokaku
005+2 Zuiho
033 Kure [Invades the Philippines]
565 North Carolina
553 Colorado
456 Prince of Wales.
453 Mississippi
443 Revenge.
117 Quincy
117 Dorsetshire.
117 Cornwall.
117 Exeter. [Removal]
0272 Illustrious. [Removal]
24* 10th A.F.

IJN converts the Philippines by invasion; Pearl Harbor and Johnston Island by isolation.

IJN gains 2 PoC to increase the over-all IJN lead to 18 PoC.

Turn 4

End of Turn 3 Basing:

USN Comment: This is really an out of the box game that we have going on. Your basing for T3 was very good considering that Truk was surrounded. Almost a reversal of the last turn when I felt really penned in at Samoa. I look forward to what the rest of the game has in store for us!

IJN Comment: The flags all around Truk really hurt -- since they limit my flexibility in responding to anything unforeseen that the USN may have in mind.  I base heavily in Saigon and Pearl Harbor with the hope that I can reach the middle with enough while still threatening a solid attack.  In retrospect, since the South Pacific, Marshalls, and Marianas will be so critical this turn, I should have based two CV at Truk anyway -- one from each side.

USN Comments: My main goal for this turn will be to reinforce Lae. My LBA will be important again this turn as they will have several options but will mostly go to the SPO. John's LBA should be pinned down as he goes to convert Singapore. I feel that I am playing a very dangerous game as I will once again be gift wrapping a major port to John. A port that I tried so hard to save back on T2! However, I feel that if I can reinforce Lae, John will have a very difficult time of getting me out of there. Even with a maxed POC count, the Allies can come back and win the game under these circumstances. After I see John's patrollers, I make sure to leave just enough of a surface fleet to cover every available IJN SNLF's and CV/surface raiders during a night roll in the SPO. What I have left over allow me to patrol HI(CA), CS(2xCA), Marsh(2xCA) and Mari's(2xCA). The Mari's and Marshalls patrollers allow a decent chance to flip those bases depending on what John does. I hope that John will not even contest the SPO but he does patrol it with 4 ships.

My LBA's go to SPO(4), USM(1) and AI(2). The AI LBA are there to try to ward off an isolation attempt to convert Attu. It also will score me a POC while preserving my last N.E. corner base. The SPO LBA should be able to win the area since my surface can cover anything during a possible night action. John's LBA went to Indo(4), SPO(1) and Mari's(1).

John's sends both of his SNLF's and all available west-based raiders into the SPO. My marines and all my surface raiders join him. I will have a 6 ship wrap on the surface. John's east-based raiders go to the Marshalls and HI. I elect to send my 2xCV's into the Mari's in the hope of keeping the POC in check with the possible bonus of flipping Saipan. Wasp will need to make a speed roll and does.

Results:

SPO-A night! I place a bonus BB on each of his SNLF's and 18 non-bonus shots over 4 carriers. My other 8 ships (6xCA, 2xBB) cover the balance of John's fleet. This could be the end of the IJN if I shoot very well! However, my shooting is dismal. I sink only a CA, Soryu and Yoko. I manage to disable a BB, Saesbo and the other 3 carriers (Hiryu is crippled in the process). John, on the other hand, sinks SD, AZ and 2xCA. He also disables 2xCA and 2xBB's. A hit attrition-wise but a successful mission as both marines land on Lae. John retreats leaving me with the flag.

Mari's-John hits the Wasp for 1d. Then I return the favor with 1d on the 25th. The sub then whiffs. On rd 2, I shoot down the 25th after it disabled Hornet(1d). So Wasp(1d) and my 2xCA are now facing off with John's 2xCA. My hope is that the flag will hold if John decides to stay.

HI, Indo, AI, IO, USM, BoB-I lose 2xCA and Resolution. John loses 2xCA.

Misc-John will flip Singapore but I save Attu and reinforce Lae. My 10xLBA will be able to fly in a number of spots next turn. I should lose no CV's and will gain Vicky for next turn while John lost Soryu and has a crippled Hiryu(1d). So the carrier situation continues to improve for the USN! Depending on what happens in the Mari's, the USN will have an open IJN interior for the next turn. I will have forward based ships at Guad. and Lae. Maybe even Saipan! The POC count will favor John for the turn as he currently holds an 11 to 7 edge with the Mari's still unresolved. Overall, a successful turn for the USN.

IJN Comments: My major goals this turn are to convert Singapore, prevent bases in the Marshalls and Marianas from converting, and take Lae and Guadalcanal.  In retrospect, my goals are too lofty.  The first two would have been challenging enough.  However, my original plan still presents a lot of risk to the Allies -- since they run the risk of losing one or more CV no matter where they attack the perimeter.

With my patrols I try to set up my objectives as well as create other threats (such as an attack in the Bay of Bengal or U.S. Mandate).  In retrospect, the British are more than capable of handling the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal patrollers by themselves -- and completely impotent against my LBA in Indonesia.  As a result, I should have saved those two CA for the key battle in the South Pacific (or even to free up a BB to help deny the Allies control of the Marianas).

Since I expected Allied LBA in Indonesia, I send my first four LBA there.  Since the Allied LBA don't go to Indo, however; my last two LBA are available for other missions -- I send one to the Marianas and one to the South Pacific.  In retrospect, both should have gone to one or the other.  But I was still trying to do too much.  The USN commits whole-hog to the South Pacific.

With my raiders I put as much into the South Pacific as I can to try and stop the Allied Marines and give my own NLF their best shot at Lae and Guadalcanal.  The other side of my forces -- in the Marshalls and the Hawaiians -- seems like plenty.  It'd be nice if some of that material could get to the SPO.  In retrospect, the Zuikaku should have gone to the Marianas, the Kaga to the Marshalls, and the Hiyo to the Hawaiians.  The USN reacts with his surface force to the SPO and his two carriers to the Marianas.  Alas, he makes his speed roll.  The I-Boat follows the USN CV although the SPO would have been good too.

The Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean see both IJN CA sunk.  Fortunately, I manage to finish off the damaged Royal Sovereign so that this adventure isn't a total loss.  In Indonesia, my LBA sink Resolution.  Together with the removals, that'll leave the British with just three ships next turn.  That could make my future in Indonesia a bit easier.

I escape from the Aleutians and U.S. Mandate without loss.  Meanwhile, I sink one CA in each of the Marshalls and Hawaiians.

In the South Pacific, the first round is night.  It's the worst case scenario.  I sink two BB (including one bonus baby) and one CA while disabling Pennsylvania and two CA.  In return, Andy sinks one NLF and one CV.  That's a decent trade, but Andy also disables my other three CV -- with Hiryu crippled -- along with one BB and one CA.  He lands both his Marines on Lae -- which makes it a 100% secure base for next turn.  Ye-ouch!  Fortunately, the result let me retreat without pursuit, but aside from a little attrition the battle is a total loss for the IJN and puts the game in serious jeopardy.

The first round in the Marianas sees my LBA put 1 damage on the Wasp.  Aack -- that's two turns in a row I've scored a key hit only to see it wasted with 1 damage.  I guess I should have hit the Hornet.  The I-Boat tries just that and misses.  The USN CV return the favor by inflicting only 1 damage on my LBA.  If either LBA or I-Boat had succeeded, I'd be in good shape.  In the next round, my LBA whiffs and is shot down.  I take a desperate chance and try for night again.  But it's not to be.  I continue to try for night actions rather than run away -- but it's pure day all the way as Atago is disabled and Kitakami is sunk.

The only thing good about the turn for the IJN is the surface attrition.  I hope that will be enough as we sail into the last turn that the IJN will dominate the waves.

Sunk

1+27 Haguro
1+27 Nachi
1+07 Kitakami
34* 25 AirFlot
033 Yokosuka
5+65 South Dakota
443 Arizona
444 Warspite. [Removal]
444 Valiant. [Removal]
443 Royal Sovereign. [Removal]
443 Resolution.
443 Ramillies.
117 Portland
117 Minneapolis
117 Canberra.
117 Shropshire. [Removal]

IJN converts Singapore by isolation.
USN converts Saipan by isolation.

IJN gains 3 PoC to increase the over-all IJN lead to 21 PoC.

Turn 5

IJN Comments: I'm definitely in very bad shape.  My only chance is to form some sort of perimeter, move up a few points, and win the attrition race at the same time.  I decide to control the Marshalls and Hawaiians with LBA only -- and to control the Japanese Islands with a CV patroller with an LBA.  I sure wish that CV were at Truk instead.

I patrol widely to threaten the USN -- in order to get him to spread his LBA.  My raiders will take advantage of whatever opening he creates.

The USN patrols weakly -- except for the Coral Sea (where he covers against my surface raiding CA in Saigon).  Interestingly, he uses four LBA in the Marianas and only one in the SPO.  My last LBA in Indo gets Andy to place another there.

That really only leaves me with one option -- hit the SPO with everything I can muster in the hopes that I can flag the area or air raid Lae's Marines in order to take it (and, thereby, win in Indonesia).  Given my surface edge, I figure the USN will ignore the SPO and hope he gets lucky on Lae OR send in suicide units to deny me control.  Either should be good for me.  My only other raider can't get to SPO and, as such, heads to Hawaii -- where I figure it represents a threat to deny control.

Apparently, that worked since the USN ignores the Hawaiians and puts a very hefty force in SPO.  The USN takes a huge gamble that the first round won't be night -- since that would let me sink his CV freely.  Andy also moves to deny me control in CPO and make certain I don't flag Bay of Bengal.

The two crippled BB go into Indo only to keep them safe (and at advanced ports).  The BB with heavy armor are in SPO -- probably to increase their odds of being disabled.

USN Comments: First, I sure hope I have won the SPO roll! Even a day/night would be OK by me.

I did think about ignoring the SPO but thought that with a solid perimeter AND a decent shot at flipping Lae, I just couldn't give it up. And I didn't want a meat grinder with my CA's or my damaged BB's. While I should come out on the short end of the attrition (in the SPO...hope to gain in other area's), I hope to be able to prevent the Lae conversion and the block. I hope I have given you too many targets to shoot at before I can complete my mission. The BB's should be able to take some hits and live for another day.

While favored in Indo, it is no sure thing. However, if all goes as expected, the POC should stay about even for the turn.

Yes! The I-Boat had many options this turn! I was worried enough about BOB that I sent 2xCA as backup!

USN Post-First Round Comments: My CV's in all my current games are struggling. Five IJN carrier's(15 shots) and an LBA managed a single disable result in my game vs Jim's CV's to put me in a hole in that game on T2. I guess compared to that, this was decent...naw, this was still pretty bad!

Kaga, Fuso and Kinuagsa sunk

Kaga's sinking should be enough to save Lae but your patrollers are still there with many more IJN carriers than I expected. No chance of flagging the area for the USN. I want night in the next round please.

Attu falls as well to cap a less than stellar round of fire. Sure seems to me that I keep getting hammered in every firing round to the point that I am amazed that I am in this game. Actually, I think I have won more of the pref rolls to help me. Sure will be good to get the T6 guys!

IJN Combat Comments: In each of the Bay of Bengal, Marshalls, and Hawaiians, I manage to sink a CA without loss.  In CPO and U.S. Mandate, I get away without loss on either side.  In the Aleutians, it's day action.  However, the Allied LBA can only inflict two damage, so Sasebo takes Attu.  The NE corner will help if I can accomplish either SPO objective (flag or take Lae) or win in Indonesia.

The Marianas are not good news as Allied LBA sink a 444 and a CA -- chasing my biggest boys back to Japan.

In the South Pacific, Andy weather control continues total domination.  In fact, the only preference rolls I win during the turn are the Turkey shoots in Marshalls and Hawaiians!  The first round sees Hornet, Victorious, and the 3rd Marines sunk.  Wasp is lucky again and gets away from Kaga with a disable.  In return, the Allies roll very badly -- sinking Kaga alone and whiffing otherwise.  The air raid mission is looking nearly impossible.  The next round Andy gets the night action he asks for.  He easily sinks both of my patrollers.  One mission out-of-reach.  No perimeter for the IJN next time.  In return the IJN sinks Massachusetts and puts five damage on Washington and three damage on New Mexico and Idaho (while disabling all three to Samoa).  In the next round, the Allied LBA whiffs and is shot down.  That bring up the air raids.  Odds are that I'll inflict 7.33 hits.  I need ten, so I split my attack.  The first air raid puts 1 damage on the 1st Marines and 3 damage on the 2nd Marines.  I'm .33 above average.  The next round I put 5 shots on the 2nd Marines and six on the 1st.  I still have to try for both.  Miraculously, I get 4 hits and kill the 1st Marines.  Can 5 shots save Lae and win Indo for me?  No -- just one hit.  The 2nd Marines survive with 4 damage to prevent the conversion of Lae.  So close and yet so far.  That may be the end of my miraculous comeback.

Andy wins day action in Indonesia.  My LBA whiffs while the I-Boat puts 1 damage on Hermes (the only amount that wouldn't work).  However, the Allied forces also whiff.  My LBA whiffs again.  The dice are taunting me!  The Allies don't miss -- they shoot down my LBA with two hits.

The turn is a catastrophe for the Japanese.  The only objective accomplished was the securing of Attu.  The score is a disaster as is the flag/basing/mobility for next turn.  Surface attrition was OK, but definitely not enough to make up for a wasted turn.  With the massive USN reinforcements arriving, I won't get another chance to accomplish my objectives.  I'll fight on for another turn, but my only hope is an against-the-odds victory.  I'll try to set up such a game-changing event next turn.

USN Comments: The 23rd is shot down. The POC stays at IJN +21. Sure glad you did not get that final hit on the 2nd Marine (4d). You made it more exciting than I wanted!

US production hits high gear and the reinforcements will be most welcome! I finally feel good about my chances now that that turn is over.

Sunk

444 Fuso
1+18 Kumano
1+18 Mogami
1+17 Kinugasa
145+4 Kaga
34* 23 AirFlot
033 Sasebo [takes Attu]
5+65 Massachusetts
117 Vincennes
117 Wichita
117 Indianapolis
117 Devonshire. [Removal]
027+4 Hornet
0272 Victorious.
24* RNZAF
043 1st Marines
043 3rd Marines

IJN converts Attu by invasion.

The over-all IJN lead remains unchanged at 21 PoC.

Turn 6

IJN Comments: Odds are definitely against me at this point.  Chances for picking up stray PoC are few and getting fewer.

The USN can pick up a total of 51 PoC on the last three turns.  With my lead of 21, the bid of 4.5, and 0.5 in order to win, I need a PoC swing of 35.  I'll pick up 4 in the Aleutians (1), North Pacific (2), and Central Pacific (1) this turn.  A single LBA should win the Japanese Islands for 6.  I also plan to win the Hawaiian Islands for 5.  That leaves 20 more to pick up on the last two turns -- of which only 12 (for the Japanese Islands twice) and 3 (for the Aleutians and North Pacific next turn) will be remotely easy to pick up.  That leaves me needing to come up with five more some where, some how.

No doubt five PoC doesn't sound that tough a job over three turns, but it has to be achieved without giving up the PoC I'm already counting as in the bag!

During patrols I debate long and hard which strategy I'll attempt.  In the end, I elect to control the Hawaiians with my fleet because the flag there gives me excellent chances at night action.  I use Yamato and the CA in Japan to patrol the Central Pacific -- even though it is slightly insecure against the two CA that could raid from Guadalcanal.  Andy uses those CA to patrol the Marianas -- as a backup for his LBA should I succeed in invading Saipan.  That secures the NE corner PoC.

Andy also uses enough ships as patrollers that I feel comfortable in using two BB and a CV in the Marianas along with four LBA.  This is my bid at securing another swing of 3 PoC this turn.  Nothing else seems likely based on the heavy nature of the Allied patrols.  The USN doesn't take the risk in the Hawaiians and chooses to fight in the Marianas.

The I-Boat has three good options.  1) The Bay of Bengal to try and steal 1 PoC.  2) The Marshalls to take a 50% chance at stopping the Marine with 4 damage (thereby depriving Andy of Midway next turn and keeping Allied patrollers out of the Aleutians on the last turn for a 1 PoC swing).  3) Helping my Marianas forces -- possibly increasing Allied casualties or decreasing IJN losses.  I go with the latter although I liked option #2 a lot.

The Wasp misses its speed roll to the Japanese Islands -- a risky move I think Andy didn't need to make.  But the missed chance does lock up my "core" PoC for the turn.

I need a day action in the Marianas so that my NLF and CV can draw fire from my LBA and give me a chance to climb into the battle.  I'll look for a night action later when my BB can eliminate the Allied patrolling CA.

Andy's weather control continues, however.  The first round is night.  My BB sink both patrolling CA while Hiyo disables the mighty Alabama.  The Allied CA don't do anything to my ships, but one NLF is sunk while the other is disabled with 1 damage.  The miracle I needed didn't happen -- namely having one NLF with 3 damage get past the BB to take Saipan and get rid of the four Allied LBA.  The I-Boat manages a pathetic one-damage against CV-16 (but it would have been enough to save Maloelap in the Marshalls).

I stay nonetheless because I need to trade my LBA which will come back on Turn 8 for Allied CV which won't!  Andy wins another night action, however.  This time my BB sink both of the remaining Allied BB (which were heavily damaged before the fight).  The surface attrition looks good, but ultimately will not earn the PoC I need.  In return, the Allies miss Musashi and put one damage on Nagato but send Hiyo away with 2 damage.

Interestingly, with Musashi and Nagato in action and only two Allied CA left to escort all those CV, I'm now very interested in seeing a lot more night action!  But it's not to be...

The first day round sees my LBA disable CV-16 and Independence while putting 1 and 2 damage on his remaining 4-bangers.  Two LBA are shot down while another is damaged and Nagato is sunk.  The Allies didn't want to take any chances on night action, but they shoot well enough that the extra shots aren't missed on the LBA.  The next round sees another LBA shot down and the two damaged 4-bangers disabled.  The final day round sees my last LBA shot down, but I break a four-turn drought by sinking a CV (Princeton) with a single hit.

In pursuit, Musashi takes 5 damage and is disabled back to Japan.

I got everything I could have hoped for from the two BB in the Marianas.  Unfortunately, I got almost nothing from the other units I sent there -- only a single CVL kill for 2 NLF, 1 CV, and 4 LBA.  I'd have expected better from the LBA acting alone!  That's what happens when one rolls fives instead of sixes (and lousy damage rolls for those few sixes that I did get).

I didn't have to win the Marianas, but I believe that I needed 5-6 CV kills or a victory to put myself back into the game.  As it is, instead of increasing my ability to win an extra area in the future, my ability is decreased while the Allied strength is multiplied.  Nonetheless, I'll fight onward because I can still see one remote chance...  The odds of that chance are much less than my odds in the Marianas were this turn, but it'll have to do...

Sunk

554 Nagato
34* 22 AirFlot
34* 24 AirFlot
34* 25 AirFlot
34* 26 AirFlot
033 Yokosuka
1+0* I-Boat [Removal]
553 West Virginia
443 Pennsylvania
336 Repulse. [Removal]
117 Houston
117 Pensacola
027+2 Princeton
1241 Hermes. [Removal]
043 2nd Marines [Invades Maloelap]

USN converts Maloelap by invasion; Saigon, Singapore, and the Philippines by isolation.

USN gains 2 PoC to decrease the over-all IJN lead to 19 PoC.

Turn 7

IJN Comments: I'm certain I can control the Japanese Islands, Aleutian Islands, and North Pacific Ocean this turn.  Unfortunately, that's only a swing of 9 PoC which will let the Allies reduce the score by 8 this turn and leave me needing to find an 11 PoC swing next turn.  My hope is, with my returning LBA, to pull off victories in both the Japanese Islands and Hawaiian Islands next turn (which is worth exactly an 11 PoC swing).  It's exceeding unlikely, but it's the best I can come up with.  I hope my fleet is enough to pull of the Japanese Islands by themselves next turn while all six LBA head to the Hawaiians.  At least they should have the flag...

I send one patroller to the Aleutians even though it's unnecessary just to have the flag next turn if, by any chance, it might matter.  Two patrollers are needed in the North Pacific to fend off the F-Boat.  I don't expect a USN challenge in the Japanese Islands because the USN simply can't get enough surface ships into the area to protect his carriers.

Interestingly, Andy's patrols and LBA open another possibility -- the Central Pacific.  It's worth a total swing of 2 PoC (since a win there would keep the USN from patrolling the Aleutians next turn).  I can challenge the area while still having so huge a surface lap in the Japanese Islands that it'll make the USN think twice before attacking either.  So I commit an LBA there and then both of my NLF.  I back up that attack with all available CV and six surface ships.  The USN can get a lap -- but only by one ship.  Even so I put Yamato in the Japanese Islands to deter any attack (and guarantee a lap against every single USN CV that can make it to the area).  A single night action in the Japanese Islands would be a total disaster for the USN and turn the game around.

Andy decides to take up the gauntlet in the Central Pacific -- sending everything he's still got available (except the Wasp which is out-of-range).

Unfortunately, the Allies' domination of the weather continues -- with the worst case scenario for the IJN (day followed by night action).  I sink Essex, Intrepid, CV 12, and CV 16 but miss my shots on his damaged BB and the 4th Marines.  I also disable CV 10 to Australia which removes all of his big CV.  The USN targets my surface ships in preparation for the night action -- sinking three of my 436's, putting two damage on the other, and sinking Kako.  He also sinks the Kure NLF and wings Sasebo for 3 damage.  Sasebo will save Midway, but the loss of both NLF means that I'll have no way to remove Allied LBA from the Hawaiian Islands or Indonesia next turn.

In the night portion of the round, I use all of my CV gunnery and manage to finish off Washington, disable Indiana and New Mexico, and put 3 damage on Alabama.  The Allied return fire doesn't harm Hiei or Furutaka but sinks Hiryu, disables Akagi and Zuikaku (with 1 damage), and cripples Taiho.  The F-Boat adds insult to injury by crippling the Hosho.  The Allies don't sink much, but they remove almost all of my air power.  The crippled CV have no gunnery, so they're close to worthless except as extra patrollers next turn.

The next round is daylight.  My LBA sinks Belleau Wood, but Chitose and Ryuho can't do anything.  The 4 USN CVL gang up on my LBA but whiff anyway.  I'll need results from my baby CVL to have much hope of pulling this battle out.

The third round is pure night -- aack!  Hiei sinks Alabama while Furutaka disables Idaho.  My surface success draws a BB to attack Hiei (disabling her to Japan).  Two CA attack Furutaka and put 1 damage on her.  The sinking Alabama takes Chitose with her.  The odds against me continue to mount.  All of the USN disabled ships return to Saigon.

The fourth round is daylight (whew!).  My LBA sinks her target again -- this time it's Independence.  My baby CVL have yet to produce a result, however.  Thankfully, the Allied CVL whiff once more.  (I guess I won't complain about my CVL missing as long as the USN CVL do likewise!)  The 4th Marines finally commit and land at Midway to remove Sasebo.  That ends my chance to eliminate LBA anywhere next turn as both Marines in the Hawaiians land at Johnston Island.  That makes the CPO PoC for this turn more critical as I'll need more options next turn.

The fifth round is night!?!?!  #@&^%!  Three out of five against the flag?  Sheesh.  My now bonus-less cruiser (escorting one baby CVL and two crippled CV) whiffs.  Here's the one case where I wish Hosho had a gunnery like the Hermes!  The Allied CA miss Ryuho but disable Furutaka back to Japan.

The sixth round is day (am I sensing a pattern here?).  My LBA disables Monterey.  Just one Allied CVL left after this round.  Can my LBA hold out?  The two USN CVL whiff again (rolling nothing but twos).  That's enough to get the Allies to call it quits and retreat.

The sunk list that appears below isn't quite indicative of the attrition since Taiho and Hosho were also crippled; however, the CV attrition is probably my biggest success of the turn.  I trade two tiny CVL and two CV for 4 CV and two CVL.  The USN does come out ahead on the surface hulls -- sinking four to two.  I also have damage on Hiei and Furutaka.  However, at least the two that I sank were big ones.

Sunk

436 Kirishima
436 Haruna
436 Kongo
1+17 Kako
118+3 Hiryu
0161 Chitose
033 Sasebo
033 Kure
5+65 Alabama
565 Washington
137+4 Essex
137+4 Intrepid
137+4 CV 12
137+4 CV 16
027+2 Belleau Wood
027+2 Independence
043 1st Marines
043 4th Marines

USN converts Johnston Island by invasion; Truk and Kwajalein by isolation.

USN gains 7 PoC to decrease the over-all IJN lead to 12 PoC.

Turn 8

IJN Comments: I achieved a PoC swing of 10 last turn.  I'll need to achieve another 10 PoC swing this turn to pull out a half-PoC win.  I can get a surface lap in the Japanese Islands this turn and the USN can't patrol the Aleutians.  I can bring enough CV to the Japanese Islands that the surface superiority should enable me to win that area -- even against an all-out USN attack.  But that's still only a swing of 7 PoC.  I'll need to find 3 more in areas the USN leaves too weak.  I hold back six CA, 4 CV, and 1 CVL from my patrols in order to try and force the USN into a setup that'll allow me to find the other three points.

Andy's patrols and LBA are solid and leave no openings -- but make it clear he doesn't plan to challenge the Japanese Islands.  I concentrate all LBA except one in the Hawaiians.  This has the effect of drawing all of Andy's surplus LBA into the Hawaiians as expected.  My lone remaining LBA goes to the North Pacific to threaten a two PoC swing there.  I raid a lone CVL into Indonesia and a CV into the Marshalls to threatened to take away another PoC each.  More than anything else, this simply ensures that Andy cannot ignore the LBA in the North Pacific.  My hope is that I either win NPO or draw enough away from the Hawaiians to have a chance there.

I raid the rest of my CV to the Hawaiians where I hope they can take down 4-5 USN CV themselves as well as drawing fire away from the LBA.  The NPO ploy works reasonably well as 3 big CV react.  I hope that enough to pull off the Hawaiians.

The first round is a disaster -- with night action in both the Hawaiians and Marshalls.  Akagi is sunk while Zuikaku takes maximum damage.  I'm left with only one CV in the Hawaiians.  In Indonesia, I get the day result but whiff while being disabled.  In the NPO, my LBA disables Ticonderoga but is instantly shot down.  That leaves me no hope but to win the Hawaiian Islands (since it seems easier to win it all than to remove the LBA alone).

The second round in the Hawaiians is day.  Even though I can win the game by denying the Allies control, that means removing six LBA and two ships (one of which is Wisconsin).  I don't want to waste any fives I may roll, so I target only USN CV and CVL.  I disable both CV and four CVL.  I don't roll a single six!  I can only hope my opponent will roll the same!

Andy does roll two sixes -- with which he sinks Unryu and shoots down the 24th AirFlot.  Still, the IJN got the better part of the round.  I'll try for night now in the hopes that Zuikaku's gunnery can remove Louisville (leaving only one ship as a patroller).

The third round is day followed by night.  If that persuades an LBA or CVL to shoot at Zuikaku, even better!

The IJN disables both remaining CVL but can't come up with a single six for the second straight round.  In return, the USN rolls 6 sixes to shoot down three LBA and put three damage on the other.  At night Zuikaku is blown to smithereens but manages to disable Louisville.

That leaves a six to one LBA battle with the USN winning ties -- all but impossible.  My LBA rolls three fives.  I have not rolled a six this turn (even including the preference dice)!  I've rolled fives like they were going out of style.  However, Andy whiffs as well.  In the next round, I manage my first hit of the entire turn -- for 3 meaningless damage on the 5th AF.  In return, the six USN LBA shoot down my last to end the game.

Ultimately, I couldn't come up with any of 3 PoC swing that weren't guaranteed.  The USN played it well and rolled the dice even better.  It's a pity because I came so close to turning this game around even though it's looked grim since Turn Two!

The sunk pile tells the story -- not a single USN ship or LBA in it.  I had some luck with disable results this turn, but not enough when it counted.  It's hard for the IJN to attack an area with USN bases on the final move.

Andy played a solid game -- and never let up once he gained the edge.  The dice almost turned it around but not quite.  Congratulations, Andy!

USN Comments: What a wide ride this game was! Not a normal game in many ways. I never got comfortable with my position until after the first round on T8. Then you whacked my carriers on rd 2 with perfect 6 for 6 shooting and I was right back to feeling uncomfortable again! An extremely lopsided game for the USN in the weather department. Great shooting by your guys and fairly dismal (until that third HI rd on T8) from the USN. The save of Indo, then the IJN conversion on T4 followed by the USN reconversion on T6. And the fall of Truk on T7. Best of luck the rest of the way!

Sunk

146+4 Akagi
138+4 Zuikaku
1273 Amagi
1273 Unryu
34* 21 AirFlot
34* 22 AirFlot
34* 23 AirFlot
34* 24 AirFlot
34* 25 AirFlot
34* 26 AirFlot
033 Yokosuka
043 3rd Marines

USN converts Pearl Harbor by isolation.

USN gains 10 PoC to decrease the over-all IJN lead to 2 PoC.
After the bid of 4.5, the USN wins by 2.5!

Congratulations, Andy!