'CA': Tactical Naval Warfare in the Pacific 1941-43

'CA': Tactical Naval Warfare in the Pacific, 1941-45 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates surface naval battles during the Pacific Campaign of the Second World War.

Cover of Strategy & Tactics #38, containing the pull-out game 'CA'

Description

In the U.S. Navy, "CA" means "cruiser", one of the various ships employed in this two-player game, as well as battleships, battlecruisers, and destroyers. It is a game of surface combat only, and there are no aircraft carriers, aircraft or submarines. Depending on the scenario, combat can involve maneuvering, momentum, torpedoes, night combat, and various aspects of naval gunnery.[1]

Components

The game includes:

  • 22" x 35" paper hex grid map scaled at 0.5 nautical miles (927 m) per hex
  • 400 die-cut counters
  • rules sheet

Gameplay

Turns are divided into an "I Go, You Go" sequence subdivided into four phases:

  • Gunnery Attack Phase
  • Torpedo Attack Phase
  • Movement Phase
  • Acceleration/Deceleration Phase

Scenarios

The game comes with seven historical scenarios:

  1. Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942 (15 turns)
  2. Battle of Cape Esperance, 11-12 October 1942 (15 turns)
  3. First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942 (12 turns)
  4. Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 14–15 November 1942 (20 turns)
  5. Battle of Tassafaronga, 30 November – 1 December 1942 (20 turns)
  6. Battle of Kolombangara, 13 July 1943 (15 turns)
  7. Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, 2 November 1943 (20 turns)

The game also includes three "what-if" scenarios:

  1. Possible encounter in the South China Sea 3 days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 10 December 1941 (20 turns)
  2. Possible encounter near Samar, 25 October 1944 (20 turns)
  3. Possible encounter near Okinawa in 1945 (30 turns)

Publication history

'CA' was designed by Jim Dunnigan, and was published as a pull-put game in Strategy & Tactics #38 in 1973. It was also published as a boxed set the same year.[1]

Reception

In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Nicholas Palmer commented that the 4-year-old game was "popular with naval fans, but [is] an older design than the relatively recent successes in this theatre: Dreadnought [SPI 1975], Frigate [SPI 1974], and Wooden Ships and Iron Men [Battleline 1974]."[2]

In issue 14 of Moves, although Pete Lomoe liked the game, calling it "fast, clean and certainly one of the best", he thought changes were needed in several areas, including gunnery and torpedo action, and hidden movement during night actions, [3]

Other reviews and commentary

References
  1. "Frigate: Sea War in the Age of Sail (1974)". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  2. Palmer, Nicholas (1977). The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming. London: Sphere Books. p. 137.
  3. Lomoe, Pete (April–May 1974). "'CA': Points of Argument". Moves. No. 14. pp. 15–17.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
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