Coral Sea was the first of the Pacific War’s great carrier versus carrier battles. It was the result of an Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) offensive into the South Pacific, with their South Seas Fleet transporting invasion forces to Port Moresby (at New Guinea) and Tulagi (off Guadalcanal). Their strategic objective was to cut Allied lines of communication to Australia. The US Navy (USN) moved to counter and inflict a defeat on the Japanese fleet. The ensuing actions saw each side launch aircraft carrier strikes against opposing task forces. While the battle ended in an IJN tactical victory, the USN won strategically as the New Guinea invasion force broke off and returned to its base. Coral Sea set the stage for carrier battles which would pay off at Midway a month later.
The Coral Sea Deluxe Edition design is based on the system used in World at War magazine #2’s Solomons Campaign; however, there are significant differences owing to the different scale of the Coral Sea operation and the rules required for a solitaire design. The game system controls IJN forces via naval and air doctrine tables which initiate a range of strategies.
The player controls various Allied forces, collectively called the USN, through an operational system based on US military staff organization which provides a wide range of actions that can be conducted on the game map. The player can react to various threats and launch counterattacks to exploit opportunities as they occur. This is your chance to fight and win one of the decisive battles of World War II in the Pacific.
Game Contents:
• 22×25.5-inch mounted game board
• 228 9/16-inch die-cut counters
• 3 player aid cards
• Rules / campaign analysis booklet
• 1 six-sided die
• Storage bags
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