Next Playtest: Naval Thunder

For a very long time (dating back over 20 years to when I was in high school) I've wanted to play an operational level game showing naval warfare during the Guadalcanal campaign. I still have a mildewing notebook with extensive lists of planes, ships, and units that were intended for a design that I never had time to attempt. At this age, it probably makes more sense to find an existing game and create a scenario for it.

Why Guadalcanal? For a few reasons:

• This is the last time in history when the USA was facing off against an opponent of roughly equal technological capability, with roughly balanced forces.
• The personal confrontation between the doomed Japanese admiral Yamamoto and the tough-as-nails Bull Halsey created a sense of theatrical drama that is unusual for 20th century warfare, more akin to Grant and Lee in the Civil War. (Only Rommel might earn similar levels of sympathy and respect as a "noble foe".)
• The flagships of each fleet, the IJN Yamato and the USS Enterprise, continue to enjoy an iconic status in the national mythology of each nation - to the extent that extensive science-fiction franchises have been built around futuristic incarnations of each ship!

Legendary Fleet Carrier USS Enterprise

Massive Super-Battleship IJN Yamato

 The ultimate showdown of carrier versus battleship:

 versus

My first attempt at finding a system will be a playtest of the Naval Thunder rules, for a single historical scenario in the Guadalcanal campaign (probably the 1st battle on Nov 11-12). This was a brutal knife-fight that left an American cruiser force largely wrecked, but also resulted in the first sinking of a Japanese battleship and set up the decisive American victory a few days later, when the US Navy's own battleships arrived on scene.

Ultimately I'd like to create a week-long campaign with a strategic-level map of the Solomons, allowing each side to create custom task forces and missions that differ from the historical composition. Maybe the Yamato and the Enterprise will finally meet one another in an epic confrontation of battleship brawn versus carrier finesse!