The Fires of Midway: The Carrier Battles of 1942

The Battle of Midway was the climactic carrier engagement of the Pacific War. Nerve-wracking and intense, the battle was decided by timing, strategy and good fortune. In the span of only four minutes the war in the Pacific was changed forever. The chance convergence of the Enterprise and Yorktown Strike Groups between 10:22 and 10:26 AM on June 4th led to the devastation of the Japanese flattops and sparked the infernos which would engulf the Japanese Empire.

Like its predecessor, The Hell of Stalingrad, Midway drops you right into the seat of the action. You make the strategic decisions necessary to first locate the enemy fleet and then destroy it! Scramble your fighters and organize your Strike Groups for their deadly missions. Will they destroy the enemy and make it back? Your squadrons must contend not just with the enemy's anti-aircraft fire and fight vicious engagements with the enemy's CAP, but also navigate the wide and empty expanses of the ocean. Do the survivors have enough fuel for the return trip to your fleet? Or will they too be lost forever to the misfortunes of war?

The Fires of Midway explores in separate scenarios the four major carrier battles of 1942: Coral Sea, Midway Island, Eastern Solomons, and Santa Cruz. Also included is a campaign game linking them all together in which players must husband their resources not knowing which of these battles, if any, will yield the decisive result and turn the tide of war in their favor like the historical battle of Midway did.

The Coral Sea can be played in as little as 1 hr and up to 2.5 hrs for the Midway Battle.

Components:

200 playing cards