From: Markus Stumptner Subject: PW Consolidated Q&A - again --------------------------------------------------------------- PACIFIC WAR CONSOLIDATED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS This includes answers (by VG and Mark Herman) to questions from Perry Andrus, Dave Casper, Russ Dumke, Wendell Martin and Markus Stumptner. I have moved questions which should be clear to experienced players to the end of the file. The official VG errata of April 1986 are not included. -mst Modification history: 97-12-19: 34R-6, Headquarters Placement. 98-07-07: 33R-1, Ground Unit Withdrawal; 38R-4, Penalty Time; 53L-6, Joint Activation/Deactivation. 99-09-02: 48L-4: Headquarters as Reinforcements. RULES Q&A --------- 7R-0: Can aircraft attack unactivated submarines in port? -- Yes, they're treated as naval targets. (They still cannot be attacked by surface ships.) 7R-5 Clarification: Do LRA units count against the launch capacity of airFIELDS? -- Only if they move, NOT if they search. 7R-9: Must CV-capable air units base on and operate from aircraft carriers only of their same nationality (e.g. U.S./British)? -- Yes. 10L-6: Task Forces can contain up to 4 non-capital ships. I assume this means up to 4 non-capital ship _units_, given that non-capital ship counters represent more than one ship. -- Yes, it means four counters of non-capital ships. 10L-4: Can Task Forces split apart like Force markers can? -- Yes, at the beginning of a movement before any pieces have moved.b 10L-7: Can capital ships be put in the screen of a task force? --Yes 10L-8: May a player split up a TF into new TFs during the movement or contact phases? -- Yes. I assume _only_ TFs which have just concluded Naval Combat may reorganize at the conclusion of Naval Combat. -- Yes. Task Forces may reorganize at the start of a friendly movement phase and at the end of Naval Combat. May they reorganize during a friendly Contact Phase as well? -- No. 12L-5: What happens if a game has one day left to play (-> Battle scenario. Battle cycle = 2 days.)? -- It's over. 20L-(4-6): Operation Player Contact Phase: I assume the Operation player moves _all_ TFs he wishes one hex before advancing the Naval Movement and Day markers on their respective tracks. (The wording in 20L-4 to 20L-6 could be taken to imply that these markers are advanced after each _individual_ TF moves 2 hexes. The comprehensive example of play has not helped here.) -- Correct. 20R-1: If the Operational Intelligence Condition is Intercept, can the Reaction player halt the Operation player's movement if he Detects a Task Force before the Naval Movement Marker has entered the 2 space? -- No. 20L-3 Operational Contact Phase Air Movement: Is airbase capacity used for air unit movement during a contact phase? According to the rules as written, a player could apparently move air units during the contact phase solely along a chain of aircraft carriers, as long as the final carrier had enough capacity. Is this legal? -- Airbase capacity isn't in effect during Contact phases since it takes place over a longer period of time in most cases and isn't time critical. However, you can't use CV's as airbases for non-CV aircraft and nationality rules viz a viz carriers must still be observed. 21L-2 & 8: If the Operation player has Detected a Reaction player's TF before the Reaction Player Contact Phase begins, can he halt the Reaction player's movement in the zero space of the Naval Movement Track? -- Yes. 22L-0 Clarification: May an AA disembark a ground unit and _then_ move? -- No, especially on amphibious assault. 22L-5: If a combat strength of "1" is to be halved, is it 'halved' to "0" or "0^4"? --"0." 23L-0 Search: Does a successful Search detect all TFs in a hex? -- Yes. 23L-9: How often can a submarine unit attack an enemy Task Force during a Contact Phase? -- A sub can attack a TF when its hex is entered and when the TF enters its hex. Conceivably this can happen more than once. A TF or hex can only be attacked once per Contact Phase. 23R-2: Submarines can attack without searching. When they attack, what information must be given about the targeted Task Force? -- Level 3. Also, what info is given if they're in the same hex, but don't attack? -- None. Is a submarine unit's Torpedo Strength reduced by Hits on the unit? Are submarines limited in the number of attacks they can make in an Operation? -- No to both. 24L-3: Is the Operation player's once-per-Operation option considered used if he chooses to advance the Lighting Condition Marker 2 spaces? -- Yes. 25L-2: Can 1E aircraft escort paradrop missions? -- Yes. 25R-2: Can airstrikes be launched from two different hexes and only meet over the target hex? -- Yes. 26L-4: Should the first line of the Interception Procedure read "Any time a DETECTED Air Mission enters a hex"? -- Yes. 26R-3: Should the first line of the CAP Procedure (26R-3) read "Any time a Detected Air Mission enters its MISSION TARGET hex and it contains at least one enemy air unit, ..."? -- Yes. 26R-6: If the CAP produces more hits than the escorts have steps, can the extra hits be taken against the strike units? -- Yes. 27L-3, 31L-4: When bombarding or air striking ground units, must you allocate all your units before any resolution dierolls, or can you allocate each unit determining the results of the preceding unit? -- All allocation happens before any resolution. 27L-5: Who determines losses to unalerted air units (on airBASES) caused by air/naval bombardment (or damage to aircraft carriers), ground combat, or demolition? -- Owning player. 28L-2: May 1E air units perform both strike combat and strafe combat during the same air mission? (The comprehensive Example of Play implies it may do one or the other but not both. The rules are mute on this point.) -- It may do one or the other, but not both. 28R-2, Air-Sea Rescue: Do rescued steps undergo training, or do they come back immediately (>Replacement Phase) as steps of the same status level? -- Air Sea rescue comes back as the same type literally. So whatever it was before it was shot down, type, level, nationality, whatever, is the same. 28R-4; Can an air unit be "split" for Ferry Missions? For example, could a CV sent 1 step to an island and keep the rest on board? -- No. It could do this if it had a one step air unit of a different level of training. 28R-7: May Players freely break down/recombine air units ("make change") prior to the mandatory Reorganization at the end of the Air Mission Phase? (Example: The Japanese strike against Pearl Harbor is Detected, Alerting the U.S. air based there. The U.S. can put 18 steps of air power in the air. However, in order to put 18 steps up, he must leave some units on the ground that he would rather put up because he cannot break down air units to make the steps work out right- he must go with the strengths given in the setup instructions.) -- No. Can CAP or alerted aircraft land on an alternate airbase when their carrier has been sunk? -- No. 29R-7, Naval Combat: Must all targets for firing vessels be designated before any combat is resolved, or are targets designated/combat resolved sequentially? -- The former - first all targets are designated, then fires are resolved. [The original Q&A's contained contradicting answers to this; I've rechecked with Mark Herman. -mst] Can submarines receive critical hits? -- No. 29R-8 & 9: Is range bid before naval units are placed on the Display? -- Yes. [This is the reply Wendell Martin got from VG. It is odd, because IMO it explicitly contradicts 29R-3. -mst] 30L-8: When a non-Withdrawing Task Force fires at a Withdrawing Task Force, is it limited to firing only at enemy units previously on the Naval Combat Display with friendly units previously on the Display? -- Yes. 31L-4: In bombardment versus ground units, does a 1 result also produce a T result? -- No. 31R-4: Can a cagey player place a Force marker on the map on a one-for-one basis for every ground unit in a hex, and only involve those Forces (units) he wishes when attacking & forcing the other player to attack every Force (unit) he has (when defending) if the other player wants to take the hex, concentrate against the defending Force(s) (unit)(s) of his choice? -- No. No matter how many force markers are in a hex, a combat involves all of them- not many individual battles. 31R-5, Chart Screen (size dieroll modifier in Ground Combat): If the *attacking* player in ground combat has both activated and not activated (i.e., unactivated or deactivated) units in a hex, do only the activated units count for determining combat size (i.e., the categories 1-5, 6-16, 17+) in that hex? -- Yes, deactivated units aren't part of the attack. 32L-1: Retreat Do you only roll one TQ check to determine retreat, or does each unit roll? -- One die roll, but the result is applied to all units. (I.e., if the testing unit breaks, all units break. If the testing unit retreats, all units retreat. Exception: attacking inactive units, below.) 32L: What is the fate of inactive units if the attacker's attacking active units must retreat or pursuit? -- If the attacking units retreat, the inactive units retreat with them. If the attacking units pursue, the attacker's inactive units do not join the pursuit. 32L-0 to 32R-7: Is the following example a correct interpretation of the retreat procedure? Please point out illegal actions (if any). -- [Corrected example:] The Japanese player receives a mandatory retreat result, and the CRT shows 3 Steps lost. His force consists of two 6-3 units (both Broken), and two 2-10 units. One 6-3 was used to calculate combat. Since a broken 6-3 was used for TQ then all units automatically retreat. If the 6-3 was not broken but occupied the hex with other broken units then the result of the TQ check on the 6-3 would determine the fate of all units in the hex. 32L-5, 33R-3: Engagement and Battle Scenarios: A ground unit is Deactivated due to combat or withdrawal. Is it therefore Deactivated for the rest of the scenario? -- Yes. 32L-7 Pursuit: If the non-Retreating player Pursues, must he do so with _all_ of his involved units, or may he do so with some, but not all of them? -- Some is enough. 32L-7 If Pursuit is allowed, must the non-retreating player pursue with the unit whose TQ was used to adjudicate the combat? -- No, but its TQ is used to determine pursuit. 33R-1, Ground Unit Withdrawal: When a ground unit of the Operation Player Deactivates during the Ground Combat Phase to avoid having to attack, can it then retreat from the hex by Ground Unit Withdrawal? -- No; Ground Unit Withdrawal is only allowed during the Joint Activation/Deactivation phase. 34R-6, Headquarters Placement: To place a reinforcement HQ on the map, must it be placed in a Linked Port (i.e., one that can trace to a HQ already on the map), or can it be placed in any non-Interdicted port that can trace to an Ultimate Command Source (the way headquarters do)? --A non-Interdicted Port tracing to an Ultimate Command source is sufficient. Can units (in particular naval units) located at an interdicted Port be activated? (The rules do not prohibit it and if ships can be activated in a coastal hex, why not in an interdicted port? However, then there would be no reason ever to repair an interdicted port where there's no HQ present.) --As long as the unit is within range the interdicted port will not affect activation, but the port couldn't be used for an HQ. 34R-7: May an interdicted HQ be voluntarily disbanded? -- You may voluntarily disband from an interdicted port but it is treated as an involuntary disbandment for returning to play purposes. 36R-1, India: The Japanese must exit 80 steps per this rule. Must these steps be permanently kept off-map as a garrison? If so, may units there be "substituted" by moving units on and off the map, and finally, must some sort of a command link be established to these off-map units? -- There are no transfers for the exited steps and India cannot reenter the war, so you do not have to maintain a command link. 37L-9, Strategic Initiative: Do submarines count as naval unit losses for the purpose of determining ship points in Strategic Initiative shifts? -- Subs do not count for shifts Do individual hits on a sunk BB/CV also count for ship points apart from the point received for sinking the BB/CV? -- No. The rationale is the hits on the smaller units actually represent the loss of the ships within the counter but the BB/CV represents only one ship. 38R-4, Penalty Time: The amount of Penalty time that can be purchased by the Operation Player is limited to the same duration as the original operation. E.g., only 21 days of Penalty time can be purchased after a 21-day operation. [From Mark Herman's PW article in the General, 24/3. -mst] 39L-1: May the Reaction Player buy Penalty Time? If so, is he bound by the same restrictions as the Operation Player would be (e.g., can't initiate combat except for submarine combat)? [Interesting question that unfortunately appears to have slipped through the cracks. -mst] 45R-8, Emergency Command Links, Tokyo Express: must the 6+ DD steps be activated to establish the Tokyo Express? If so, may they be moved/used for another purpose, or must they remain in the Tokyo Express Start hex? -- The DD's are not activated and they cannot be used for any other purpose while the link exists. If they are eliminated or reduced the Japanese player must designate another DD in the hex or the link is broken. 45R-8, Blocked Command Links: I assume that Links between HQs and Ultimate Command Sources, as well as all Water Command Links, can be also be blocked per this rule. -- Yes, all links can be blocked, even Ultimate ones. 45R-8, Blocked Command Links, says that a command link can't be traced through a hex within two hexes of an enemy 1E unit, unless there is also a friendly air unit nearby. Does this hold for land links, too? The rule doesn't specifically restrict itself to sea links. -- Air units don't break land links, only naval/air links. 47L-4: Command Link Example: the Allied unit in 1121 is 12 MPs from the OSB in 0922, not more than 12 MPs, and is Linked to that OSB. -- Yes. 48L-4, Headquarters as Reinforcements. Addition: When a HQ (new or previously disbanded) is received as a reinforcement, it can be placed in any friendly, non-Interdicted Port that can trace to an Ultimate Command Source. The Port does not need to be Linked to an existing HQ on the map. [From Mark Herman. -mst] 48R-1: I assume the reference to the North edge should be to the West edge (for location of Allied yards). -- Yes. 50L-8, Jap. Flight Instructors/Sqdrn. Ldrs. I assume the reference to eliminating L2 air _replacement_ steps is supposed to refer to eliminating L2 air steps already on the map instead. Must the L2 steps removed from the map be removed from a Linked location? -- Yes, the reference to "replacement steps" is incorrect, it should only be "steps". The Japanese L2 instructors must leave from linked airbases. Except for Involuntarily disbanding HQ's (voluntarily) most things in the game require a linked precondition. 52R-1, Activation: The rules say that if a carrier is activated, its air unit is "automatically" activated as well. Does that mean that no additional CPs must be expended on the air unit? (Example: Activating Yorktown with a 6-step 1E-L1 unit aboard is activated for 2 CP, not 3 CP. With a 3-step 1E-L1 unit and a 3-step 1E-L2 aboard, it is still only 2 CP.) -- Yes, 2 CPs in all cases. 53L-6, Activation in the Joint Activation/Deactivation Phase: Can you use *any* HQ to activate units? Or only the HQs used to initiate the Operation/Reaction? -- Any HQ can be used during an act/deact phase, not just the initial HQ, but no more than one HQ can be used per act/deact phase. 54R-6: LRA night attack (optional rule): Is search rolled for this attack to determine whether flak is fired before or after the attack? (The rule is unclear, and implies otherwise.) -- No->flak occurs always. Map A: are hexes 1901 and 1902 Coastal Water or Open Water? -- 1901 and 1902 are Coastal hexes, what the hell are you doing down there. SCREENS AND TABLES Air/Naval Combat Results Table, Modifications: Should the anti-air strength of an Escort be modified by other 1E units on a Strike Mission? An Air Supremacy mission? -- Yes to both, remember there are no escorts per se. Each 1E air unit is a composite. Map Screen: The best possible Force detection result states that the owning player of a detected Force must state types and number of ground and air steps present. We take this to mean he must state the number of steps per type, e.g., 3 1E-CV, 4 2E air steps, 7 Marine and 12 infantry steps. Is that correct, or must he state (show) the individual units? Followup question: The result also does not mention TQ rating or morale status. We conclude that the owning player never needs to tell the TQ ratings of the units in a Force (except for the TQ rating chosen for combat), nor does the opposing player ever have to be told if a Force includes Broken units. In particular, the TQ checks for retreat can be taken in secret, so that the opposing player has no chance to know whether a retreat was voluntary. Is that correct? Followup question: If the answer to the above two questions is yes, the opposing player will virtually never actually see an enemy ground unit counter unless the owning player permits it or voluntarily places it on the map. Is that correct? -- Correct on the what do I tell the other player. Its hard to imagine an air unit observing unit morale from a photo. SCENARIOS --------- Battle scenario #3, special rule 2: Shouldn't this rule apply to the contact phase as well (and apply at the beginning, end, and during the contact phase)? -- Yes-there is nothing in the wording to suggest otherwise. The 1 April Errata states that, in the Strategic scenarios, the British should place a 2E-L1 instead of a 2E-L0 at any British controlled airfield. Does this change also apply to Campaign scenarios 1 & 3? -- Yes. Campaign Scenarios 1 and 2: Should the Operational Intelligence condition for the first operation always be "Surprise Attack" (as it is in the Strategic Scenario?) -- Yes. Pearl Harbor scenario, both Strategic scenarios: The special rules call for doubled hits against naval units. a) Does this apply to critical hits as well (are they doubled)? -- Yes. b) Are hits against submarines doubled? -- Yes. Both Strategic scenarios, Re Special Rule #7: Is this one _total_ step for the first 6 months or 1 step _per month_ for the first 6 months? -- The latter. Special Rule #1, Strategic scenarios: The errata refer to Command Points available in December 1941, not December 1942, I assume. -- Correct. I'll get it right one of these days. OTHER QUESTIONS AND PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES ---------------------------------------- I've put these into a separate section because they are either explicitly mentioned in the rules, are pretty obvious, or appear to be due to matters of taste. 8L-1: Do CVS, ST, & KRS submarine units carry intrinsic LRA units (1 each?) which deploy on the map when they establish seaplane bases, or do they merely establish bases for other LRAs in the OB? -- They only establish bases. Are Seaplane bases established during the contact phases and/or the first battle phase? (In the example of play, the Japanese seaplane base is active during the contact phase.) -- If the seaplane base exists at the scenario start, as in the example, it is available during the contact phase. Bases established during the scenario are available during the Battle cycle following establishment. 12L-1, Airfield repair: Does the airfield repair rule mean what it says? (All hits and interdiction markers are removed in the Airfield Repair Phase.) If so, then the only time Interdiction has an effect is when an Airfield is hit 5 (or 10) times during the Disadvantaged Air Mission phase. -- Correct. It was very rare for an airbase to be interdicted for any significant length of time. Only a double pulse gets you a closed airbase. 20R-1: Intercept (operational intelligence condition): May the Reaction Player halt the Operation Player's Naval Movement the instant _one_ TF moves 2 hexes, or must he wait until the Operation Player has finished moving _all_ TFs he wishes 2 hexes? (The Comprehensive Example of Play implies the latter, but the matter is not clear.) -- The latter. [This follows from the clarification to 20L-4 that the Naval Movement marker is moved after all desired task forces have moved, since Intercept is specified in terms of the Movement marker having been moved two spaces. -mst] 19R-9, ground combat chart: Can armor units use the Kokoda track into Port Moresby and get the armor effect? -- Yes. 26L-7, 26R-4: What happens when an escort engages more than one alerted air unit in air combat (the same problems are present when an interceptor engages more than one mission air unit). a) Does the escort/interceptor get to make a separate attack against _each_ enemy air unit, or does he just make a single attack? -- The latter. [Actually, the rules explicitly specify that only one selected unit from each side engages in combat with the selected unit of the other side. -mst] b) If it is the case that the escort/interceptor makes a single attack, which player determines which unit(s) take losses? -- Attacker (escort). 28R-7: Can an unlimited amount of air steps land at an airbase? -- Yes. 31R-0, Ground combat: May a ground combat unit fight more than one ground combat in the same hex in the same ground combat phase if it is still stacked with an enemy ground combat unit/units? Similarly, if a ground combat unit pursues, may it continue to conduct ground combat as long as it pursues into a hex or hexes occupied by one or more enemy ground combat units? -- NO, a given combat unit cannot participate in or be attacked more than once per individual combat phase, and the ground combat procedure doesn't make any mention of the possibility. Pursuit does not allow for a second combat either. Multiple combat always occurs over the course of multiple turns only. An attacker enters an enemy hex and conducts combat. If the attacker were to avoid combat then he deactivates and the offensive is over, if he attacks then you conduct the Ground combat procedure. Now there is a retreat, for example and a pursuit. The original attacker is still activated and during the next combat phase he does it again. He wins, and still has steps, he can continue attacking throughout the operation. He loses once and the offensive is over. I have conquered Malaya and most of Luzon in one operation in most of my games. The main reason you pursue by the way is to prevent demolition which cannot occur when the hex is enemy occupied. [I think the original question is clear from the rules, but the comments on why to use pursuit are interesting. -mst] 36L-5: I trust Allied units entering the USSR be means other than crossing the Sino-Soviet border (like an amphib assault near Petropavlovsk) would also be interned... -- Yes. 39R-7: May the Operation player spend _more_ Command Points during an Operation than he bid? -- You may not spend more CP's than the bid. [As written in 39R-7: the player must spend _exactly_ the points he bid. -mst] 41R-7, Random Air Mission Cancellation: the last two sentences of this rule seem to conflict. There's just one die roll per hex, right? -- There is one die roll per hex per mission. [I think the rule is clear as written. -mst] 44R-1: If the Japanese have no escorts on merchant shipping, do they still use the escort to sub ratio of .25? -- Yes (explicitly stated in 44R-1). 48R-3, Naval Repairs: may naval repairs be done at an unlinked yard? -- No, it must be linked. [Stated explicitly in 48R-3. -mst] 52L-2, Spending Command Points: The rule states that the Operation Player must spend the Command Points he bid on unit activation, time multiples, and HQs. I assume the Operation Player can also spend bid Command Points on OSBs, Emergency Command Links, and Engineering. -- No- those other functions such as OSB's occur earlier in the turn. The bid must be spent on activating units for the operation. You do get a free OSB as per 34L-7. 52R-3, HQ Operations costs: Are time multiples paid on HQ operation costs? (i.e., with a 6 point HQ, does a 28-day Level 2 operation cost 12, or 36?) -- The cost of the HQ is based on the activation level. The time multiple is applied against the unit activation costs. In your example the level 2 requires 12 points be spent on the HQ. The time multiple is applied against the units activated. For example if you were activating 30 unit activation points for a 28 day operation, the cost would be: 30 x 3 + 12 = 102 Activation points. Engagement Scenarios 3, 4, and 5: How is Lighting determined in these scenarios? -- Lighting is determined by die roll at all times during engagement scenarios. Engagement scenario #3: Is Lighting rolled for the 3 Japanese pre-game airstrikes? If so, is it rolled separately for each airstrike? -- Yes. Engagement scenario #3: I assume that, regardless of the above, Lighting will be rolled again after the airstrikes (-> first step of the Battle Cycle). -- No- all daylight. Battle Scenario #4, Victory conditions: Must the Japanese still land at least one battalion of ground units on Guadalcanal to win if they have eliminated all U.S. air units on Guadalcanal at the end of the battle cycle? -- Yes. Guadalcanal campaign scenario: Is there any penalty for the US player if the 1st Marine cannot be replaced by the 2nd? -- No, except he doesn't get the fresh unit. Strategic scenarios: Can the BB's sunk at Pearl Harbor be repaired? -- No. Can the BB's not sunk at Pearl Harbor have their AA strengths increased later in the war (as happened historically)? -- No. Can a crippled BB at Pearl Harbor be transferred to the West coast? -- Yes. Can the Japanese rebuild Ise and Hyuga into carriers? --No. Does Corregidor have any effect on the Manila port or resource center? -- No. Can the Americans do the Doolittle Raid after April, 1942? -- Yes. Can the Americans leave the Doolittle raid counter sitting at Hawaii waiting for a chance use it, with the American carriers undertaking missions with normal 1E-CV air units in the meantime? -- Yes. I had a bit of trouble understanding how the war in China is supposed to play out. The Chinese have no HQs, and so apparently can't ever activate units. I guess the idea is that you can have an air emergency link which would allow them to spend command points - is this right? So an air link to the OSB in Chunking would allow Chinese units which are linked to the OSB to be activated? Would the same also allow the US to bomb Japan with strategic bombers from a base in China? If this link is disrupted, do all Chinese units suffer isolation and are they prevented from receiving replacements? While the Allied aid to the Chinese was certainly important, it seems to me this puts a bit too much emphasis on it - the Chinese would seem to be totally dependent on Allied aid, with no way to fight the war on their own. I suppose the Japanese can't win the war by spending command points in China, but still it seems wrong. -- On the issue of China, the idea is that the emergency link is key. Without it China effectively was a punching bag. This is as much the perception of isolation than just the isolation itself. The Allied player must pay attention to China or suffer the consequences. Why is the screen allowed more ships for AA fire than the core, when the screen represents a ring around the core and is not likely to have all its ships engaged? -- The screen represents multiple groups of picket ships and screens associated with a core naval unit, not just a ring. Why is there no torpedo penalty for US submarines in a fleet role early in the war? -- If not all US submarines are used for merchant shipping attrition, that is penalty enough.