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Raid on St. Nazaire
- 1 player
- 180 min
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- 1987
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Tarawa: Bloody Betio
1992
Rules assistance for Tarawa: Bloody Betio
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1 player
- 360 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.3/5
Rules assistant for Tarawa: Bloody Betio
For 1 player
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Tarawa: Bloody Betio is a board game released in 1992 for 1 player, 360 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Mark Seaman and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, and Hexagon Grid.
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About the game
"Tarawa: Bloody Betio" is a solitaire wargame that attempts to simulate the World War 2 battle over Tarawa Island between Japanese and US forces. In the historical battle, the US Second Marine Division had 3 days to clear the island of Japanese soldiers. The bloody battle inflicted nearly 3,000 casualties on the Marines; only 17 of 4,700 Japanese soldiers survived. The solitaire game places the player in command of the US forces to determine how he performs compared to the historical outcome. A map overlaid with a hexagonal grid forms the game's playing field. In the middle lies the isle of Tarawa, surrounded by water. The terrain and Japanese defenses are also printed out, as well as the US-designated landing beaches. Each turn, the player receives an amount of forces to deploy onto the beaches. He handles attacks between the two armies, rolling dice and checking tables to resolve their effects. When the Marines has defeated the Japanese in a hex, a cleared marker is placed on it (and removed if the US forces retreat from the hex due to a counterattack). If the Japanese attack is particularly effective, the Marines suffers casualties, which is reflected by moving a marker on the Casualty Track. The player also has to concern him with Booby-Traps, Snipers, Air Raids, Morale, and Supply. The game ends at the end of the third turn. The player wins if all hexes of the island are cleared and the Casualty Track reflects less than 5,000 casualties.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- 3W (World Wide Wargames)
Questions and answers
Tarawa: Bloody Betio 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 Tarawa: Bloody Betio is 360 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 Tarawa: Bloody Betio for ages 12 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.
Tarawa: Bloody Betio has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light 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.
Tarawa: Bloody Betio belongs to these categories: Wargame and World War II. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, and Hexagon Grid. 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 Tarawa: Bloody Betio are: Mark Seaman. 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 Tarawa: Bloody Betio 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.