Buy SGS Pacific D-Day PC key

SGS Pacific D-Day is an operational strategy game about five major US Marine Corps battles against Japanese forces in the Pacific between 1943 and 1945. You can play either side, commanding units and using cards dealt each turn to pursue your objectives. As the US commander, you aim to capture the island quickly and with few losses; as the Japanese commander, you try to hold out and inflict casualties at a cost the enemy cannot accept.

The five battles

The game covers these operations:

• Operation Galvanic: the Battle of Tarawa, 20–23 November 1943.
• Operation Forager, Part 1: the Battle of Saipan, 15 June–9 July 1944.
• Operation Forager, Part 2: the Battle of Tinian, 24 July–1 August 1944.
• Operation Stalemate II: the Battle of Peleliu, 15 September–27 November 1944.
• Operation Detachment: the Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February–26 March 1945.

Command and combat

Battles use units at battalion or company scale. Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian use battalion-sized units, while Iwo Jima and Peleliu use company-sized units. You command mobile infantry, tanks and aircraft, as well as fixed defenses such as bunkers, trenches, tunnels and mines. Fixed units represent a selection of assets or buildings, and air units generally represent the air component of a carrier: two units for a CV and one for a CVL.

Each scenario lasts 20 to 40 turns. A turn represents about six hours in the Tarawa scenario and usually a day in the others. Starting options let you change the historical setup with choices such as additional troops, replacements or air support, and different starting positions.

The opposing forces

Japanese forces have few mobile troops, tanks, artillery or aircraft, but their fixed defenses are well organized and difficult to break. Their cards and events reflect their defensive strength and the challenging terrain of each island. US forces have strong equipment, air power and naval gunfire support, but face tight schedules and objectives, along with Japanese traps and plans; their cards cover these constraints and other assets.

The historical outcome of each battle is fixed: US forces eventually clear the islands of Japanese forces. The challenge is to reduce the cost of victory compared with the heavy losses suffered in the historical battles. Each scenario tells a different story based on the battle it represents.