My top 3 Wargames… with Pacific!

When I think about the Second World War, my mind usually travels first to Europe – to the German attack on Poland in September 1939, to the vast plains of the Eastern Front, the hedgerows of Normandy, or the deserts of North Africa. Yet there is another theater of this conflict, equally dramatic, important, and in many ways even more unique and interesting from a wargamers perspective – the Pacific.

Here we have a war fought across the greatest ocean on Earth. A war of carrier task forces clashing at distances where the ships never saw each other. A war of amphibious landings on tiny coral atolls, island-hopping campaigns, jungle warfare and submarine commerce raiding. A war where logistics, range of aircraft, and oil supply were often more important than the number of divisions on the map.

As a wargamer, this theater gives us enormous variety – from strategic card-driven giants, through detailed operational simulations, down to squad-level skirmishes in the jungle. Today I would like to share my favorite wargames dedicated to the War in the Pacific (1941–1945). And yes – I know, the title says top 3, but as some of you already noticed in previous articles of this series, I have a habit of usually expanding above this number. There will be six titles this time, because the topic is simply too rich to cover with only three. I hope you will forgive me!

As always – I am very eager to hear your own recommendations. Please share them in the comments!

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Other articles in the series:

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1) Empire of The Sun by GMT Games

If there is one single game I would call the definitive strategic wargame on the War in the Pacific – it must be Mark Herman’s Empire of the Sun. This is a card-driven giant which covers the whole conflict, from Pearl Harbor to the final advance on the Japanese Home Islands, at the grand-strategic level. You command entire fleets, army groups and air forces; you decide when to launch carrier strikes, where to concentrate for an offensive, and – most importantly – when to press and when to rebuild.

The beauty of this design lies in its Strategy Cards and the Offensive mechanic. Each card can be played for events or for operation points, but to execute an offensive you need the right HQ in range, with enough capability to activate the units you want. It sounds simple, but it creates a wonderfully thematic tension – the Japanese player must ride the wave of initial advantage before the industrial leviathan of the United States wakes up.

The system is not light – there is a learning curve, and the Intelligence rules, EZOCs, and the interaction between cards and HQs require some time to master. But once you get there, Empire of the Sun becomes one of the most rewarding wargaming experiences on the market. It is, simply put, a masterpiece.

More about game:

• BGG page
• REVIEW
• Session Reports and Playtests

2) Pacific War by GMT Games

If Empire of the Sun is the strategic masterpiece, then Mark Herman’s other great design – Pacific War (the 2022 reimplementation of the classic Victory Games title from 1985) – is its operational counterpart. This is a game of task forces, engagements, naval and air battles, amphibious operations, and logistics – and it does all this while remaining eminently playable both solo and two-player.

The game is built around the concept of Battle Cycles – each scenario, whether a small engagement, a larger battle, a campaign or a full mini-campaign, runs through a clear sequence of intelligence, movement, reaction, combat and resolution. What I find particularly elegant is the way it separates strategic decisions (where to move your forces, which bases to develop, what to put on the board) from tactical resolution (the actual engagement, resolved with a dedicated Battle Display).

The game ships with an impressive number of scenarios of growing complexity – from simple Engagements, through Battle Scenarios, up to full Campaigns. This gradual ramp-up is in my opinion the best onboarding any complex wargame can offer – you learn the rules by playing, in bite-sized chunks.

For a solitaire wargamer interested in the Pacific Theater operations, this is probably the single best title available. The Japanese and Allied sides are both playable two-hands, the system is balanced, and the historical flavor seeps through every turn. GMT really did a great job reimplementing and upgrading this classic.

More about game:

• BGG page
• REVIEW
• Video Review
• Training Materials
• Session Reports

3) Task Force: Carrier Battles in the Pacific by VUCA Simulations

Where Pacific War gives us the operational big picture, Task Force: Carrier Battles in the Pacific drills down on one of the most dramatic aspects of the theater – the carrier duel. Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz, Philippine Sea – all the great carrier engagements are here, in a single, compact, highly playable package.

What makes Task Force so special is how beautifully it captures the fog of war that dominated these battles. You rarely know exactly where the enemy carriers are. You launch search missions, you track contacts, you gamble with your strike groups – is this report reliable enough to commit my torpedo bombers? Do I wait one more turn for better intel and risk losing the window? This is exactly the dilemma Nagumo faced at Midway, and the game puts you right in his shoes.

The game scales really nicely. Smaller scenarios can be resolved in under two hours – perfect for a solo evening – while the larger engagements give you a proper afternoon of gaming. For anyone who ever read Shattered Sword, watched Midway, or simply loves the idea of carrier-vs-carrier combat, this game is worth checking. Highly Recommended!

More about game:

• BGG page
• First Look
• Training Materials

4) Combat Commander: Pacific by GMT Games

So far we have flown over the Pacific from 30,000 feet and sailed across it with task forces. Time to land on the beach, drop to squad level, and experience what Pacific infantry combat was actually like. Combat Commander: Pacific – Chad Jensen’s addition to the beloved Combat Commander series – takes us into the jungles of Guadalcanal, the beaches of Tarawa, the caves of Peleliu, and many more.

The engine is the same great Combat Commander system we know and love – Fate deck, orders, events, triggers – but with a lot of new theater-specific flavor. We have Banzai charges, treetop snipers, caves and hidden movement, new terrain types like dense jungle and beaches, and brand-new factions: Imperial Japan facing the Pacific US (with a strong Marine emphasis) and the Pacific Commonwealth (covering Indian and ANZAC forces). Each nationality comes with its own 72-card Fate deck, giving every match-up a completely different feel.

What I really appreciate about this version is how thematic it feels. The firefight in a Pacific jungle is not the same as an infantry clash in Normandy – and the game captures that. The uncertainty is cranked up another notch, ambushes are deadly, and Japanese units in caves or fortifications are genuinely hard to approach. The Fate deck keeps delivering these perfect little narrative moments we all love in the CC series.

It is chaotic, it is narrative, it is fun – exactly what Combat Commander is supposed to be, but now with a Pacific flavor. For me, this game is easily in the top tier of the whole series.

More about game:

• BGG page
• First Look
• Session Reports

5) Memoir ’44 – Pacific Theater by Days of Wonder

We continue with a lighter proposition, but one I have a huge soft spot for (as this is part of Commands & Colors system). When you want to bring the Pacific to the table for a quick, family-friendly, yet still tactically interesting experience, there is almost nothing better than the Memoir ’44 – Pacific Theater expansion for Richard Borg’s famous system.

This expansion opens up a whole new set of possibilities for Memoir ’44 players. We get US Marines and Imperial Japanese forces, along with the dedicated Pacific scenarios covering the full arc of the theater. The rules additions are pretty thematic : Banzai charges, Night Attacks, Close Assaults, improved fortifications, and the famous Japanese last-ditch resistance in caves and bunkers.

What I love about this expansion is that it provides a great entry point to Pacific gaming for people who might be intimidated by the bigger titles on this list. My boys absolutely loved it – we could set up a scenario in 10 minutes, play it in under an hour, and still have a real sense of the historical situation and tactical choices involved.

If you already own base Memoir ’44, adding the Pacific Theater expansion is a no-brainer. And if you do not – this expansion is a strong argument to consider the base game as a gateway for the whole family into the theme.

More about game:

• BGG page
• Scenarios Part 1

6) D-Day at Tarawa by Decision Games

Last but not least, a solitaire title. As you probably can observe from my blog, I am devoted fan of John H. Butterfield creations. I focus on couple of titles like D-Day series or SpaceCorp. All those games are pretty procedural, with clear actions designed for the Artificial Intelligence (Bots). I really like the way cards drive the Competition / Germans / Japanese behaviors – you do not have to look up the possible actions in pretty complicated flowcharts.

Still, be advised that – especially in case of D-Day – you will face enormously difficult task to deal with. Those titles and its scenarios really try to depict the hardships, misfortunes and difficulties of the landings. But believe me, the joy of achieving even smallest successes is great.

In D-Day at Tarawa you command the invading American forces against dug-in Japanese defenders, which are controlled by the game system. Tarawa covers the landings on Betio Island in November 1943, and the operations of the US 2nd Marine and 27th Infantry Divisions to clear it – the first heavily contested landing of the Pacific War. The battle for the tiny Island raged for four days and, when it was finally over, fewer than 200 of the 5,000 Japanese defenders remained alive.

Playing D-Dat at Tarawa is very enjoyable experience although do not expect easy wins. The game is tough, you need to be prepared to get a lot of casualties but in the end – once you are more familiar with the map – you see the path and possible axis of attack. The learning curve is painful but satisfaction even greater once you manage to achieve your goals!

What I find especially worth mentioning – and the reason why I put this before Omaha Beach – is Close Combat. This is very brutal but also thematic element of the Pacific Warfare and changes the whole dynamics of the series. Sometimes you even wish to sacrifice some units in order to crack otherwise un-penetrable defenses.

I can strongly recommend this as one of my favorite solo games, where Pacific Theater theme is additional bonus. Strongly Recommended!

More about game:

• BGG page
• Review
• “The First Waves” scenario
• “The 20 November 1943” scenario
• “The 21 November 1943” scenario

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Summary

The Pacific War is a theater that cannot be captured by a single game. Its scale – from tiny jungle patrols to fleet actions sprawling across hundreds of miles of ocean – is simply too vast and too large. That is why I ended up with several titles instead of three, and honestly I could easily add another handful (Tarawa 1943 or Iwo Jima Hell on Earth to just name a few)

What I find most beautiful about this list is how these games complement each other. Play Empire of the Sun for a grand-strategic campaign. Zoom in with Pacific War for the operational level. Dive into a specific carrier battle with Task Force. Land on the beach with Combat Commander: Pacific or D-Day at Tarawa. And pull out Memoir ’44: Pacific Theater when you have one hour and a non-wargaming friend. Every level of the war is covered – and every one of them is worth experiencing.

As always – I would love to hear your recommendations. What is your favorite Pacific wargame? Are there any hidden gems I should know about? Please share in the comments! Thank you!