War-in-the-Pacific Chess This is a war between navies loosely based on various open-sea battles in the Pacific Theater in WWII. The following pieces are used : Destroyer / Knight..................3 points Cruiser / Bishop..................4 " Battleship / Rook....................5 " Aircraft Squadron / Queen....10 " Aircraft Carrier / King......10 " Play takes place on four 8 X 8 boards arranged in a square (256 spaces). Each player starts with a basic fleet consisting of the following ships : 2 Aircraft Carriers 2 Squadrons of Aircraft 4 Battleships 4 Cruisers 7 Destroyers Combined point total = 100 points. In addition, each player has 25 points to use in any way desired to increase his or her fleet by ships which, in total, have a value of 25 points. In other words, there can be an additional aircraft carrier and squadron plus one more Battleship. Or there can be 7 additional Destroyers plus 1 Cruiser, or any combination of ships worth 25 points. If total expenditure is less than 25 that is up to the individual player but there is no "credit" for unspent points. Setup : A screen is placed between combatants before start of play. Each player can position his (or her) ships in any location desired in "friendly waters." At this time each player selects additional surface ships worth 25 points. When preparations are completed the screen is removed and the battle begins. Each Squadron must begin the game positioned one square in any direction next to an Aircraft Carrier. Action : Play is like chess but with these differences- A Cruiser (Bishop) is allowed to change its file -the color it moves on. To do this requires one turn during which the cruiser is allowed to move one space at right angles to any unoccupied adjoining space. "Capture," by the cruiser of an enemy ship, in effect sinking it, is not permitted during this move. Squadrons (Queens) can operate freely during play but there must be one Aircraft Carrier for each Squadron. If an Aircraft Carrier is "sunk" one Queen (Squadron) must exit the game. A Squadron does not need to be airborne when its assigned Aircraft Carrier moves. In that case, when an Aircraft Carrier moves, its Squadron moves along-side it in the exact relationship it had at the start of the game. It is presumed that once a Squadron has been launched it remains aloft for the duration of the game. The disadvantage of not launching a Squadron is that if an Aircraft Carrier is sunk, the Squadron is destroyed along with it. A Squadron (Queen) is also allowed one move like a Knight. Play continues until one fleet is defeated in battle; there is no checkmate. If one player thinks that his or her position is hopeless the game can be conceded. --------------------------------------------------- Option for Submarine Warfare If a greater level of realism is desired -and a longer game is not a problem- submarine warfare can be part of the game. Rules : Each side has 5 Submarines. Submarine movements are plotted separately from the game board on specially prepared sheets of graph paper showing 16 X 16 squares; or the same effect can be achieved with a Table created using MS Word or some equivalent. For each move of surface ships there is one separate move for Submarines. That is, a player will move a surface ship for one turn, the enemy will take a turn for his or her surface ships, and then each player will take one turn, in secret, plotting underwater Submarine movements. Although these are secret for the duration of the game, every movement is recorded and opened for inspection at the conclusion of the battle. For in-person play a referee would be ideal to serve as a record keeper; for computer play, time-stamped e-mails can be used to establish logs for Submarine movements. Submarines can move like a Queen but only 3 spaces for any one move. When a Submarine is positioned 2 spaces from a target, it sinks that ship. Sinking a ship -in effect, firing a spread of torpedoes- requires one move. ASW -Anti-Submarine Warfare- defenses may be used at any time in the game; a player does not need to wait for any ships to be sunk first. Deployment of ASW is from ships only and requires one move. This consists of picking one area of 4 squares, in effect using sonar, to search for Submarines. The requirement is that the 2 X 2 area must be within 2 spaces of a surface ship (in any direction, including diagonally) of the area to be hit with presumed depth charges. If an enemy Submarine is located within that 4 square area, a 2 X 2 square, it is sunk. If a submarine is next to that square, in any of the 12 squares shown, it has been located. However, all that ASW can tell a player is that the Submarine is someplace in this overall area. To sink the Submarine requires a "hit" within the 4-square 2 X 2 area.
A player has the option on the next turn to try and zero-in on the Submarine Each use of ASW requires one move, however. And the other player's Submarine will doubtless try and elude sonar and escape. If a "friendly" Submarine is near enough it can use sonar of its own to try and locate the enemy Submarine. In that case one alternative (underwater) turn is required. The same procedure as surface ASW is utilized, picking a 2 X 2 square for attacking. When this involves Submarine vs. Submarine, the attacking Sub must be within 2 squares of the 2 X 2 area -in any direction , including a diagonal direction. Obviously this also, to some extent, gives away the location of the attacking Submarine. Depending on the situation this might or might not be advisable. Two (2) Submarines per side can be positioned anyplace on the 16 X 16 board at the start of play; the remaining Submarines must start the game in their own waters. May the best Admiral win Billy R. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
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