Tarawa: Bloody Betio

Overview

"Tarawa: Bloody Betio" is a solitaire wargame that attempts to simulate the World War 2 battle over Tarawa Island between Japanese and US forces. In the historical battle, the US Second Marine Division had 3 days to clear the island of Japanese soldiers. The bloody battle inflicted nearly 3,000 casualties on the Marines; only 17 of 4,700 Japanese soldiers survived. The solitaire game places the player in command of the US forces to determine how he performs compared to the historical outcome. A map overlaid with a hexagonal grid forms the game's playing field. In the middle lies the isle of Tarawa, surrounded by water. The terrain and Japanese defenses are also printed out, as well as the US-designated landing beaches. Each turn, the player receives an amount of forces to deploy onto the beaches. He handles attacks between the two armies, rolling dice and checking tables to resolve their effects. When the Marines has defeated the Japanese in a hex, a cleared marker is placed on it (and removed if the US forces retreat from the hex due to a counterattack). If the Japanese attack is particularly effective, the Marines suffers casualties, which is reflected by moving a marker on the Casualty Track. The player also has to concern him with Booby-Traps, Snipers, Air Raids, Morale, and Supply. The game ends at the end of the third turn. The player wins if all hexes of the island are cleared and the Casualty Track reflects less than 5,000 casualties.