From: "Louis R. Coatney" Subject: SKY, SEA, AND JUNGLE *finished*! :-) Designer's notes. Well, my baby is FINALLY delivered! :-) ... and in time for the Springfield (IL) con, next weekend. Following, are the designer's notes, which may give you some insight into the game's philosophy and intent ... for your reactions/comments, of course. :-) (Alan, you can put this on Web Grognards, if you like.) Lou Coatney SKY, SEA, AND JUNGLE -- PART B.: COMMENTARY Copyright 1997 Louis R. Coatney VIII. Designer's Advice on Assembly and Play of the Game: A. Kit Assembly (if applicable): Glue the units onto posterboard--red for Japanese and blue for Allies--in two-row strips, being careful that there are no marks or stains on their backs which might identify them. Before cutting out the individual units, it might be wise to spray-coat the units' front and back with something, to waterproof them. B. Play of the Game: Those who are successful early in a battle are advised to withdraw if they can. Sticking around for additional rounds often equalizes losses in the end. Even just damaging an enemy ship can knock it out for critical periods ... or the whole game. While task force ship composition is obviously important for antiaircraft and antisubmarine defense, it is also important for the type of offense desired. Thus, you might want to have a "big gun" task force in one instance or a "torpedo surprise" group in another. The Japanese player is strongly advised to save up his strength for one or two big pushes, rather than frittering it away in piecemeal attacks--in, for example, "shuttle attacks" from Truk. He should strike early, rather than later, in carrier battles. The "Proximity Fuse" can be devastating. Exceptions to this call for "rocks, not pebbles" are early "Night Only" Tokyo Express raids and resupplys down the Slot from Rabaul, especially on the first turn. Long Lances can attrit American gunpower, which the Allied player must risk to protect transports and prevent catastrophic shore bombardments. Selection of which 5 battleships (in addition to the 4 KONGO class battlecruisers) to use is also important. YAMATO and MUSASHI can withstand heavy punishment, except (especially at night) once they do get hit they may go down quickly and at tremendous victory point cost. For sure, they should be committed in sea areas which will end the turn under Japanese control. The Allied player is strongly advised to land as many troops on Guadalcanal as possible on the first turn. He can try for Bougainville, too, but troops there are vulnerable to short-range Japanese land-based airstrikes ... among other things. An antidote to a certain, devastating Japanese surprise torpedo attack in the Slot on the first "night," might be exactly the kind of mini-task-forces Admiral Crutchley had broken his ships into ... which can use up the two Japanese torpedo attacks and increase the odds of them losing surprise in one of the two?, three?, four? battles they are then required to survive to get to the transports. (So maybe I'm wrong.) "Magic"/ULTRA can be used to allocate forces to maximum effect in selective battle ... or to know when not to put to sea, meanwhile remembering that the Japanese do have the capability to naval-air raid Espiritu Santo from the South Pacific, like the American carriers could raid Rabaul ... if the Allied player wishes to be that foolhardy. At least one B-17 should be allocated to "stage through" Port Moresby or Henderson Field to raid Rabaul's Simpson Harbor, if at all possible, if only to see what ships are there for use in the Slot or Coral Sea next turn and to knock out any transports or carriers with which the Japanese might be planning something outrageous. Other than the above, I really have no idea what to tell you. Despite its relatively simple mechanics, SKY, SEA, AND JUNGLE's composition is very much an air, sea, and land game and how all these mediums and variables can be best orchestrated and coordinated is left to a far better game player than I. I do know I can lose to my son, Robert, playing either side. Most wargame players are "wannabe" designers (and everyone should do their own game), but it is seldom realized that most of us designers are frustrated, wannabe winners! (THERE IS NO JUSTICE! for game designers. Frank Chadwick will tell you!) Any feedback on the game's realism and balance will be most appreciated. IX. Designer's Notes on the Design of the Game: When SPI came out with SOLOMONS CAMPAIGN, I ordered it with great anticipation, but SC proved to be disappointing, because of its unnecessary pre-move plotting on a large, abstract hex-grid and its unimaginative reliance on factors and combat odds, even when it tried to consolidate cruisers and destroyers into "historical" divisions (albeit, the destroyer units were said to represent 5 ships instead of the actual 4 ... probably because of SC's already crowded piece roster.) The Avalon Hill Game Company's VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC correctly solved the problem of geographically quantifying the Pacific campaign into sea areas bounded/garrisoned by continent and island masses, however its ship roster was "top heavy" and all of the WAR AT SEA system's dice- throwing slowed things down considerably ... and unnecessarily ... in the Pacific. Furthermore, it lacks a basic local detail of the Guadalcanal campaign: "The Slot" (up the Solomon Islands). I first drafted SKY, SEA, AND JUNGLE back in Alaska, calling it "Guadalcanal Gazoo"-- as in "up the old gazoo" (as in the forays "up the Slot"), you see. (It also evoked an image of simple playing, like that of a kazoo.) I had a number of good games with friends, but the rules were always in my head and the pieces borrowed from other game drafts of mine which necessitated a refinding and resorting for each different game system. It is one thing to be a designer/creator/artist ... and a game umpire in an almost "free Kriegspiel"/unwritten game system ... but finally having to follow through with intelligible, printed rules and graphics requires a lawyer's mind and has been anything but easy. When I finally resolved to finish it, this year, I progressed up to an "expansion draft" of the game with individual cruisers, destroyers, and transports, as well as capital ships/carriers. However, even with my streamlined combat system the game slowed and complexified drastically, let alone increasing the time required to mount/"assemble" the hundreds of ship pieces--as a kit or a finished copy (requiring *my* time)--and I returned to "The Gazoo's" original division format for cruisers, destroyers, transports, etc. Incidentally, the 1:12,000 scale of the ship outlines is the very same scale which is optimal for my "Naval Action" naval miniature rules, so maybe I can use all those individual ship icons for a miniatures alternative for ship combat resolution, as in the Avalon Hill Game Company's classic old game, JUTLAND. The Strategic/Daylight Detection/Surprise table reflects the geographical relationship of home bases to the sea areas and inherent flying boat searches--PBY "Catalinas" for the Allies and Kawanishis for the Japanese. Thus, the Allies have some inherent detection advantage in the Coral Sea (because it is bounded on one side by the Australian continent) and in the Slot (thanks to the Australian "coastwatchers"). The reason for the "2X" wrinkle in the destroyer column for shore bombardment is explained in my annotation for Eric Bergerud's book, below. Troop/"X" units also represent supplies, incidentally. The one simple little rule I am especially proud of is the automatic row-shift up on the Anti-Ship table, if a target ship unit has Heavy Damage in daytime or just Damage at night. This is not only an "equalizer," showing how dangerous to large ships night-time close- quarters fighting (against torpedo-armed lesser classes) can be, it also replicates how damaged ships at night could be more readily identified and targetted. I might add that surface ships' torpedoes are disregarded in the daytime, because of the problems long range caused torpedo use. Even the Japanese super-range Long Lances would often arrive in their target area only after their prey was long gone, as happened in the Battle of the Java Sea (Feb42), where the Japanese expended dozens and dozens of their expensive Long Lances, to sink only Dutch destroyer KORTENAER. Umm ... Comments, CONSIM-L?