WarPlan Pacific

WarPlan Pacific is an operational-level wargame covering the nations at war in the Pacific theatre from December 1941 to 1945. You command land, air and naval forces across a large hex-based map, manage production and supply, and fight through scenarios spanning the conflict.

Scale and map

The game includes 62 potential countries. Each hex represents 50 miles (80 km), with land forces scaled to 15,000–60,000 men, air forces to 300–400 aircraft, and naval forces to one capital ship plus support ships.

The map has 15 terrain types, each with different features, including motorized and non-motorized movement, airfield capacity and defensive bonuses. It also includes 12 resource types and five strategic resources. Fog of War and detection levels affect what you know about units, while five weather conditions shape play. Communications intelligence adds another element to naval operations.

Combat and forces

Land combat uses operation points for multi-hex attacks, allowing multiple moves and attacks that can break through front lines. Air forces can strike selected targets, support land attacks automatically, attack supply convoys and protect convoys. Naval combat includes fleet and raider modes that affect detection, as well as night action, surface, pursuit, submarine, sub-hunter and carrier combat. Zones of control restrict the movement of enemy land formations.

There are 22 unit types, 15 unit attributes, 17 technological advancements and 14 specialties. Each country has its own units and attributes. Land infantry units can split or reform; corps can detach a division, and armies can split. Small infantry formations can also be grouped into larger ones. Generals affect combat, mobile attacks and retreats, and 11 types of support units are available.

Naval units stack in fleets. Each hex can hold one land unit, one air unit and one fleet. Land units can receive a specialization, such as equipment, elite training or gear; combined with advancements, these create 120 possible land-unit configurations.

Managing a country

Production depends on oil, manpower, logistics, strategic resources, trade agreements and convoy zones. The 17 advancements offer at least two choices for each unit, and the game has 47 unit configurations. Supply depends on cities, railways, ports, headquarters and distance from railways, reflecting the challenges of supplying troops across the Pacific. The WarPlan engine's diplomatic mechanic is disabled for the Pacific scenarios.

Scenarios and multiplayer

The game includes five scenarios:

• Pacific 1941: Begins on December 7, 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor, and covers the war from beginning to end.
• Pacific 1942: Starts in May 1942, just before the Battle of Coral Sea, skipping the initial landings and moving into carrier combat.
• China 1937: Covers the invasion of China up to the start of the war in Europe and introduces the land war.
• Okinawa 1945: A short introduction to the land and naval systems.
• Solomons 1942: Covers a challenging part of the Pacific war, with opposing sides that have different strengths, weaknesses and goals.

WarPlan Pacific supports hotseat and play-by-email multiplayer.