Coral Sea: Designer's Preview
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
May 2010

After 10 years, eight boxed games and five add-on supplements, we're finally launching the piece of the Second World War at Sea series that probably should have been the first one.

Coral Sea is a low-cost entry point to our most popular game series. For just $19.99, you can re-fight the epic carrier battle off the northeast coast of Australia, the first battle in history where opposing warships never actually sighted one another. Aircraft dealt all the punishment instead.

The game includes a 22x17-inch map of the battle area, stretching from Kavieng in the north to the northern tip of New Caledonia in the south; from Cairns and Townsville in Australia to the west and Espiritu Santo and the New Hebrides Islands to the east. It's by Christopher West, who did the maps for our recent Infantry Attacks: August 1914, and it is absolutely stunning. As in other Second World War at Sea games, the map is divided into squares, called "sea zones," at a scale of 36 miles across each zone.

There are four scenarios, or separate game situations, included to assure repeated play value. The main event is the Battle of the Coral Sea, in which the Japanese launch multiple invasions in an effort to seize Australian bases at Tulagi in the Solomon Islands and Port Moresby in southern New Guinea. Supporting them is a powerful carrier task force built around Zuikaku and Shokaku, two of the carriers that ravaged Pearl Harbor. The Americans, aware of Japanese intentions, have brought two carriers of their own into the war zone, Lexington and Yorktown. Each wields a very powerful strike force, and is in turn very vulnerable to attack if the enemy finds them first.

There's also an expanded scenario exploring what might have happened had the Japanese mounted a sustained invasion of the region, and two battle scenarios allowing players to try out the Second World War at Sea tactical combat systems.

Coral Sea includes 45 double-sized pieces representing the major warships that took part in the battle, and 100 standard-sized 1/2-inch-square pieces representing aircraft, transports, small warships and a handful of game markers.

This is not the first time we've looked at the Battle of the Coral Sea in the Second World War at Sea system; the very first game in the series, SOPAC, included a Coral Sea scenario. SOPAC has been out of print for many years, and its Coral Sea scenario (created by an outside game designer) was badly flawed.

We crafted this game because our marketing genius, Lys Fulda, said we needed it. But I enjoyed the opportunity to design an accurate version of the battle. This is a fine little game, with a beautiful map. It's exactly the entry point Lys was looking for, and it offers fun play for both new players and veterans of the game system.

Have fun with our Second World War at Sea system! Order Coral Sea today!