A year ago I spent many great evenings playing Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942. This title simply fascinated me with straightforwardness of its rules as well as with the depth – and replayability – of its actual play. So it was a no brainier to get the sequel!

Manila: The Savage Streets, 1945 puts the player in charge of the attacking and far more mobile American side while the game system handles the defending and largely static Japanese side. Each turn presents new and unique challenges for the player in the form of random events, uncertain supply deliveries, and unknown Japanese area strengths and defensive strategies.

The primary game is a nine-turn campaign covering the American assault on the city during February and March 1945. The deeper American forces advance, from the city’s less developed periphery to its urban business district and fortress-like government buildings, the greater Japanese resistance becomes. The number of American units fought to exhaustion, effectively out of action, mounts. American determination to secure a rapid victory for Supreme Allied Commander General Douglas MacArthur, represented as “morale” in the game, gradually decreases. The player wins by equaling or exceeding historical American gains and loses if they fail to do so, or if morale falls too low.

The game has very quick set-up which is different each time you play; there are several optional rules which can really spice-up the game – but also, most probably, make it more challenging. And what is important for wargamer who loves history, there is a lot of background information!

Again, today this is more like a preview – a look into the box, at components, as well as some game mechanics. A full review and plat-though is on its way!