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Carrier: The Southwest Pacific Campaign – 1942-1943
- 1 player
- 180–360 min
- Complexity 4.0/5
- 1990
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- BGG #7,304
- BGG rating
- 8.6
Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea
2023
Rules assistance for Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1 player
- 30–300 min
- 13+
- Complexity 3.9/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea is a board game released in 2023 for 1 player, 30–300 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Jon Southard and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Variable Set-up, and Grid Movement.
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About the game
"Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea" is a solitaire simulation of the largest carrier battle in history, fought during the invasion of Saipan (June, 1944). As the U.S. commander, you maneuver your task forces and conduct air searches in a tension-packed contest to find the Japanese carriers before they locate and attack yours. Simple game mechanics control Japanese movement and determine the timing and strengths of their attacks. You will not know that a Japanese air strike is headed your way until it is detected by radar and you scramble your fighters to intercept. The game has a total of nine scenarios. Four learning scenarios take you through the rules by programmed instruction using slices of the real battle. The other five are full-scale, fully replayable games. These include one-day scenarios for each day of the action, a two-day scenario for the whole battle, a hypothetical scenario presuming different US plans, and a hypothetical scenario in which Midway was never fought and the Japanese come armed with the full Pearl Harbor striking force. Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea is based on Carrier: The Southwest Pacific Campaign – 1942-1943 (Victory Games, 1990) but is a new, standalone wargame. —description from the publisher
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Compass Games
Questions and answers
Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea supports 1 player according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea is 30–300 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea has a complexity rating of 3.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a heavy game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea belongs to these categories: Wargame, Nautical, and World War II. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Variable Set-up, and Grid Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea are: Jon Southard. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.