Fast Play Rules for the Battle of Midway.
Background: The Japanese hoped that World War II would make them the masters of the Pacific. They recognized the industrial might of the United States. Their strategy was therefore to destroy the American Navy with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The plan almost worked. The Japanese ran wild in the Pacific and seemed invincible. The most devastating weapons in their navy were their aircraft carriers. In 1942 the Americans had been driven from the Philippines and Australia was in peril. The next step in their campaign was to seize control of the American controlled island of Midway. The Japanese admiral, Yamamoto, also hoped the attack would bring the remnants of the American Navy out to fight so that he could finish it off.
The Americans had different ideas. They had cracked the Japanese code and were routinely reading their secret messages. They uncovered the Japanese plan to attack Midway and decided to gamble everything on ambushing the Japanese carriers. The Yorktown was rapidly repaired and sent to join the Enterprise and Hornet. The Japanese air strike hit Midway Island hard. But then the Americans located the enemy carriers and attacked. The shocked Japanese retaliated but lost all four of their carriers. Pearl Harbor had been avenged (The Japanese carriers had participated in the surprise attack). The Americans lost just one carrier, the Yorktown. In one battle the tide of the war in the Pacific had turned. The Japanese would never regain the initiative. Yamamoto had once said that he was afraid that the United States was a sleeping giant, which would awaken with a terrible resolve. He was right.
Version 2: The main change made was to the sequence of play. The turns were subdivided to eliminate confusion created by having the kids try to do several different things at once. Fighter escort rules were also changed, and some notes about 1/700 and 1/1200 models were added. Improved carrier and plane counters were created. New battle reports and pictures are included.