I. Dedication: Copyright 2001 Louis R. Coatney (17Dec01, rev. 15Jan02) LEYTE GULF NAVAL CHESS GAME is dedicated in remembrance and respect to: 1. Bob Coatney (USAAF), Homer Coatney (USN/CBs), Jack Burgett (USN/Subs), Bill Heerde (USMC), Perry Mason (USN), and all the other Allied soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who served to win our Asian-Pacific War against an evil Bushido empire, 2. our loyal allies, the Filipino peoples, and 3. the hope that the United Nations' Victory in the Pacific is remembered as a victory for the human rights and future of all Asian-Pacific peoples, including the Japanese. Indeed, the more we learn about the Second World War, the better our chances it will be the LAST world war. II. Introduction: LEYTE GULF NAVAL CHESS GAME is a relatively fast and simple combined operations game about the decisive Allied offensive in the Pacific: the liberation of the Filipino people from Japanese occupation in October 1944. This was a dramatic, decisive battle of annihilation, particularly at sea. Thanks to the Japanese Navy's brilliant plan tailored to Allied -- specifically, Admiral "Bull" Halsey's -- aggressiveness, the Imperial Japanese Navy was on the brink of massacring General Douglas MacArthur's Liberation forces ... until valor and determination (and superb training and equipment) prevailed over the skill and savage ruthlessness of our enemy ... which we were compelled to match ... to win and survive. This is an excellent 3-player game -- 2 Allied players (who are not allowed to communicate with each other after the game begins) and 1 Japanese player. III. Components and Definitions: A. Components: 1. Rulebook. 2. Designer's commentary and advice on play, with historical narrative. 3. 1 Mapsheet. 4. Charts and tables sheet, with Anti-Ship Attack Table, Detection Table, etc. 5. Calendar and Japanese movement plotter. 6. Japanese Task Force screen. 7. Battle board, with damage status sheet. 8. Units: 1 sheet, each, for Allies (light blue) and Japanese (goldenrod) and unit inventory sheet (for identifying/replacing lost/damaged pieces, etc.). 9. LEYTE GULF NAVAL CHESS GAME Tournament Certificate master, for you to photocopy. 10. LEYTE GULF NAVAL CHESS GAME Game Analysis and Results Form. As to dice, you must provide your own. B. Definitions: IJN = Imperial Japanese Navy; USN = United States Navy; All. = Allied Class: The specific class of individual ships is the one-to-four-letter code on their markers: SBB = Super Battleship; FBB = Fast Battleship; BB = Battleship; FB = Fast Old Battleship; CVB = Battleship-Carrier; B = Old Battleship; CA = Heavy Cruiser(s, Fast); TR = Transport; SS = Submarine; FCV = Fleet (or Fast) Carrier; CVE = Escort Carrier. IV. Victory Conditions: If the Allies get more than 40 points, they win a strategic victory. If they get 20-39 points, they win a tactical victory. If they get 0-19 points, the Japanese have won a tactical victory, and if the Allies get less than 0 points, the Japanese have won a strategic victory. Historically, the Allies won 72 points. Strategic victories count as 2 game wins. See the VICTORY POINT VALUES OF SHIPS AND OTHER UNITS (to opposing side) table and notes for victory point rewards. V. Initial Deployment--"Set-up"--of Forces and Special First Turn Rules: A. Allied: All Allied ship units begin the game already on the mapboard, on any of the hexagons from H5 to H9. PT boat begins the game loaded on a TR B. Japanese: At least 7 Japanese ship units must begin the game in Brunei or off the western (A3-9) edge of the mapboard. Others may begin the game in Hong Kong (B2), Manila (D5), or off the map in the north (above D1-H1). 3 Japanese land- based air units may start the game on the airfields on Okinawa, Taiwan, Luzon, or near Brunei or Hong Kong. Japanese ship units in or to be in the game must be represented by a task force marker while they are on the board or before entering it (but not after leaving it) -- or must be on the board themselves. Naval air units may be based at sea on their carriers or on land. After the game is over, the USN Player will receive 15 additional victory points, if the Japanese player uses the second/UNRYU carrier ship unit, with both the CV1 and CV2 naval air units at "Strong" strength, and 2 additional land-based Betty/air units. The CVB seaplane unit may be based in any harbor. It may be based at sea only on its CVBs and only if they are both Undamaged and operating together. C. Subs start the game on any sea area. VI. Rules According to Gameturn's Sequence of Play: A. Replacements: At the start of each daylight turn (beginning with the 3rd turn), the Japanese receive 1 land-based (Betty) air unit which may enter on any base, including Luzon. Lost Allied naval air units take 2 days to rebuild if they are weak and 3 to rebuild if they are strong. Only one Allied naval air unit may be rebuilt at a time. If the Allies attempt landings on either Luzon or Taiwan or move into the D column of sea areas, the Japanese receive 2 land-based air units per replacement phase for the rest of the game and the second Kamikaze. Also at this time, each player declares whether all his submarines will attack "Actively" (in which case the combat results in brackets are used) or "Passively" (in which case they aren't), for both Day and Night turns. B. Full Day's Turn: 1. AM/Daytime Phase: a. Japanese/IJN Movement Plot: The Japanese player organizes and/or reorganizes his ship units onto the task force squares behind his screen. Japanese "Dummy" task forces (having no ships) can issue from any group of ships actually existing or from off the mapboard to the north or west and can be removed at any time. The Allies may not use "dummy" task forces. The task forces' destination hexes are written down on the LEYTE GULF NAVAL CHESS GAME Plotting Form. Movement potential is as follows: - Damaged ships may move only 1 hex during "Morning" movement. - Submarines may move only 1 hex during "After Midnight" movement. - Very Slow (VS) ships may move 1 hex in the turns "X"ed on the Plotting Form. - Slow (S) ships may move 1 hex in the Afternoon and 1 hex After Midnight. - Unmarked, standard speed ships may move 1 hex both in the Morning and Afternoon and 1 hex After Midnight. - Fast ships may move 1 hex in both impulses of each Day and Night turn (for a possible total of 4 hexes in a day. NOTE: Both hexes of IJN movement are plotted at this time, for any task forces containing only standard and/or Fast speed ships. And (obviously) a task force can only move as fast as its slowest ship unit. Japanese ships/task forces which have been held out of the game in the north or west may now be plotted to enter the game, with their entry hex their first hex of movement. Japanese or American ships in a harbor may leave it on their first hex of movement, unless an enemy submarine or task force is already in the hex. Japanese ships may flee the mapboard off the north or west edges. American ships may only flee the mapboard from hexes H5-9 and G10. However, any ships exiting the mapboard may not return to the game later. Individual ship units may be on the mapboard and plotted/moved (face- down). b. USN-then-IJN Movement and Combat: 1) "Morning" movement: Allied task forces/ships are moved their (first) daytime hex, if and as the Allied players choose. Then IJN ships are moved their first hex as plotted. 2) "Morning" battle: DAMAGE NOTE: While a "D" of any kind Damages a ship, it will not sink an already-Damaged ship. Only an "SD" (or "S," of course) can do that. "D1-3, DS4-6" means a D on a die roll of 1-3 and a DS on a die roll of 4-6. "G" means an land-based air unit is destroyed at its base, on the Ground. a) Submarines attack enemy surface ships (but not other submarines or PT boats) -- with the target determined by the attacked player. If the sub gets a die roll above 3 for the IJN or above 2 for the USN and if it survives the battle, it reports back to its owning player all the enemy ship units in its hex. The sub's attack die roll is raised by 1 if it is attacking a Damaged ship unit which is at sea. [In this game, the die roll is NEVER altered for ATTACKER losses.] It may not attack ships in harbor. The sub is permanently destroyed if the result of its unaltered die roll produces sufficient anti-sub X factors (to a maximum of two, "XX"). One factor is the intrinsic anti-sub capability of any task force's escorts, regardless of how many (Undamaged or Damaged) ship units are in it. The second can be an Undamaged carrier unit -- CVBs don't count -- in the task force during daytime. b) Naval air attacks may be launched against surface ships in the same hex as the launching carriers. If enemy carriers are in the same hex, the attacks will be simultaneous. All opposing surface ship units -- carriers or otherwise -- in the same hex automatically detect each other. NOTE: Once a task force or individual ship unit is detected, it remains so for the rest of that daytime turn. NOTE ALSO: Air units from land bases, escort carrier units, or Damaged fleet carrier units are automatically "weak." No carrier unit may carry more than 1 air unit. An air unit is considered permanently destroyed if the carrier it is on (which may not be the carrier it started the game on) is sunk and it is not at that time in the air. Air units' attack die rolls are raised by one against Damaged, Very Slow, or anchored ships for hit purposes but not increased for antiaircraft loss purposes: e.g. while a 5/- would become a 6/DS, a 1/X would remain that. Air units may attack any ships they wish in any sequence they wish. They do not have to be allocated against targets before they are resolved (as in the case for surface naval gunfire. An air unit is destroyed if the result of its unaltered die roll produces sufficient anti-air X factors. One factor is any the intrinsic anti-air of any task force's one or more ship units, Undamaged or Damaged. Further, each Undamaged or Damaged FCV, CV, or CVE (but not CVB) unit -- whether or not it has its own naval air units -- adds an additional anti-air factor (to any friendly task force or independent ship unit in the hex if it is USN or to only its own task force if it's IJN). An air attack at extended range adds 1 more anti-air factor. For example, a single carrier unit alone would have an anti-air factor of 2 -- "XX": 1 for its ships' antiaircraft gunfire and 1 for it being a carrier. Carriers in Surigao Strait cannot conduct air operations, and they lose all detection, airstrike, anti-sub, and anti-air powers while there. c) Surface ship battles and withdrawals: Surface ship battles are now resolved in rounds, on the Battle Board, using the Anti-Ship Firing/Bombing Results Table, until one side decides to Flee (or, if the victor decides to pursue, until all enemy ships in the hex are destroyed or the victor decides to stop pursuing and the vanquished is allowed to withdraw to an adjacent hex -- which might contain another enemy task force to be fought, but a task force may withdraw only 1 hex per battle. Unlike in my game SKY, SEA, AND JUNGLE, the class of ship is the firing ship/group, not the target. The firing ship's die roll is raised by 1 if it is Fleeing, if (on the 1st round only of a night battle) it is a Surprisor, if it is in harbor but not surprised, or if the Target is Damaged or Very Slow. Unlike for a night battle with one side possibly having the advantage of surprise, daytime firing and effects are simultaneous. A ship unit fires at only one target ship unit per battle round. For each battle round, Japanese ships shoot first (even if the effects will be simultaneous) and all the firing ships are pre-allocated to their targets. That is, if a surface ship unit's target is sunk before it gets its own chance to attack, it may not be reallocated to a different target during that battle round. If a player has more than one task force in a hex, he must choose which will fight first. Weak, valuable ship( unit)s such as carriers (CVs) and transports (TRs) can be "Screened" from being attacked by gunfire by being placed on the "Screened" rank. Actively fighting ships are put on the Undamaged or Damaged rank as appropriate. After the second battle round, Undamaged enemy ships may attack "Screened" ships as well as (or instead of) the fighting ones. Screened ships may fire (defensively) at the ships actually attacking them. If the combatants are advancing into each other's hexes, the battle is considered to take place on the hex-side, until a loser is determined, at which time it is considered to have taken place in the loser's hex. Withdrawals: At the conclusion of each surface battle round, either side may choose to withdraw/flee -- the Japanese player decides first. The fleeing player withdraws across any one of the 3 hex-sides away from the hex- side across which the victorious player advanced into the hex. If the loser had advanced into the hex to join battle, he must withdraw across that hex-side or a hex-side adjacent to it. Pursuit: The winning side may pursue fleeing ships with its own ships of superior speed. Fast ships may pursue normal-speed ships, both may pursue Very Slow ships, and all Undamaged ships may pursue Damaged ships. Fleeing ships receive a +1 on their firing die roll -- better torpedoing. At the end of a surface battle like this, only one side's surface ships may remain in a hex. (The only case of opposing surface ships being allowed to remain in the same hex at the end of movement and combat is when ships at sea are passing through a hex containing a harbor but do not attack it.) Subs of either side, after having duly fought any battles as described in a) above, may remain in a hex with enemy surface ships (or subs) and vice versa. d) Naval air scouting/detection (using the appropriate hex-range column of the NAVAL AIR SCOUTING DETECTION table) and long (and extended) range airstrikes. Air units which have already flown same-hex air strikes -- see b), above -- may make second same-hex air strikes, but not ranged strikes. USN naval air units' longrange air attacks are 1 hex in range -- extended range 2 hexes. For IJN naval air units they are 1-2 and 3 hexes. A (Undamaged or Damaged) carrier unit may always make scouting/detection die rolls, whether or not it has an actual naval air unit based upon it. If there is more than 1 enemy task force in the same hex, each must be scouted/detected separately. Anchored transports are automatically detected. One (and only 1) air search may be made against each enemy task force within range from each hex containing one or more carriers. Air units may return to a different base from with they started. If they attacked, they may fly to any other friendly airbase (or carrier, if they are naval air) up to 2 hexes from the target. e) Land-based air -- including land-based naval air units -- detection (if target not detected already in the day) and attacks. The Kamikaze unit(s) may be used any time after Oct. 24, and may be introduced to the game at any time. The airfield on Leyte may be used by the Allies the third day they're there. All air attacks from land bases are "weak." 3) "Afternoon" Movement: Any Allied ship units now eligible to move may do so, as the Allied player chooses, and then Japanese ships are moved as plotted, unless such a move might be impossible due to dislocation after a "Morning" battle, in which case they don't move at all. 4) "Afternoon" Combat, as for "Morning" combat. Additional air strikes may be made. (Theoretically, any carrier could launch as many as 4 same-hex airstrikes, or 2 same-hex and 1 longranged air strikes (or vice versa), or 2 longranged airstrikese, or one overextended-range air strike ... per Daytime turn. If they don't attack during this day (turn), air units may instead fly to any other friendly airbase (or carrier) on the mapboard. 5) U.S. 5th Air Force air detection and airstrikes -- C9-F7-H8 and south: On a die roll of 5-6, IJN task forces -- roll separately for each task force in a hex -- are detected. If an IJN task force is detected by U.S. land-based hair, any one ship unit in that task force may be attacked and is hit (with a "DS" result) on a die roll of 1 (or 1-2 if the target is already Damaged). 2. Night/PM Phase: a. Japanese/IJN submarines as well as surface task forces are plotted in the same manner as for daytime. Subs but not aircraft may attack at night. b. USN-then-IJN Night Movement and Combat: 1) "Before Midnight" movement, as in the movement phases above. 2) "Before Midnight combat: Same as for daytime, except that players roll for surprise advantage (using the Night Surface Battle Detection/Surprise table). If any of one side's ships had already been/remained in the hex during the immediately previous daytime phase and thus had not moved from it during the night, that side receives a favorable shift of 1 for its surprise die roll. (EXAMPLE: If USN ships had moved into the Surigao Strait/E7 hex during the day and were staying there during the night, they would receive the advantage of surprise on a 4-6 and no advantage on 2-3, while the Japanese would receive it only on a die roll of 1.) A player having the advantage of surprise shoots first and firing alternates thereafter. Otherwise, the firing is simultaneous as in daytime. PT Boats may only be used in coastal waters. In daytime, they may "hide" (and not be attacked). If they themselves do attack in daytime, any gunfire roll against them can sinks them on a result of 3-6. Aircraft and subs cannot sink them or be destroyed by them. A task force which includes an unscreened damaged ship in its battleline can have no surprise advantage against enemy task forces it attacks, and the "Surprise" die roll of its enemy is raised by 1. 3) "After Midnight" movement, same as in 1) above. 4) "After Midnight" combat, same as in 2) above. C. Supply Determination/Effects and Victory Point Accounting: Land-based Japanese air units on land are always in supply. Surface ship units are in supply if they are in their home bases or can trace a line of sea hexes free of enemy ships back to their home bases (or friendly mapboard edges described in V. above. Submarines are automatically in supply anywhere. Ship units out of supply may not move faster than Slow speed -- again, only 1 hex during the "Morning" and 1 hex "After Midnight." At this time also, after a Night turn is over, victory points are tallied, including awards each turn for the Allies having any transports -- Damaged or undamaged -- anchored in Leyte Gulf(, Lingayen Gulf, and/or between mainland China and Formosa/Taiwan). See VICTORY POINT VALUES OF SHIPS AND OTHER UNITS (to opposing sides) table. NOTE: Victory points against ships are awarded only for ships SUNK, not just damaged. The IJN TR/CA unit may unload as soon as it reaches/survives E6, E7, or Leyte Gulf. PT boats may be unloaded (in coastal waters) from their TRansport, now.