cult favorite in Japan ...
Simulating the Pacific Front of World War II has always been
one of the great wargame design challenges. The same distance
that planes could cover in a few hours took days for ships and
weeks for foot soldiers. Hostile jungles and great oceans combined
to make logistics and transport of paramount historical concerns.
These and other design puzzles are solvable by only the most
gifted designers.
Renown Japanese wargame designer Tetsuya Nakamura has successfully
met these challenges and MMP is to offer the elegant result -
Fire in the Sky. Fire in the Sky has, until now, only been available
in Japanese.
With only one map and 180 counters, Fire in the Sky packs
years of prior Pacific design attempts and experience into an
effort that beautifully distills the essence of the conflict
and serves as further proof that great things do indeed come
in small packages. Fire in the Sky provides players with the
same problems and perspectives faced by the historical combatants,
yet does so in a game that can be played in 5 hours or less.
The game is ingeniously balanced and so provides not only a look
into the minds of the actual commanders, but also a fun, competitive
and tense gaming experience.
The game includes glorious 1-inch counters,
a clever map that integrates hexes and areas, and rules that
cover all of the essential aspects of the Great Pacific War.
Oil convoys and troop transports are as vital to victory as the
massive Carrier fleets that steam over the vast Pacific. Mr.
Nakamura's intelligent and ingenious design also offers Western
players a fascinating glimpse into the Japanese perspective on
the war.
This was originally published in Old Games Journal #55 and
is considered a cult hit wargame in Japan with a very fanatical
following.
Version 1.1 of the rules (available at http://www.multimanpublishing.com/downloads/FITS-v1.1pdf)
will be used. A special tournament scenario will be provided
that takes about two hours to complete.
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