WPP works in spite of these failings. A good opponent (the AI is predictable but not terrible) can find ways to mess up your well laid plan. It implements a couple of board game type rules that allow a player under pressure to get some breathing room. For example, if your homeland is attacked, you must keep some ships patrolling the home waters for the next couple of turns. This requirement is lifted for the Japanese if B-29s are in operation. Similarly, the Allies have to absorb Pearl Harbor and will sometimes have British ships pulled out of the Pacific to deal with the rest of the war. There are two alternate scenarios – one further into the war and another assuming the US was ready to fight – both of which provide additional challenges, especially for the Japanese player.

The game is a model of abstraction and simplicity. All you need to capture an island are enough transports to secure the territory. Repairs and reinforcements happen without you having to do a lot of planning or resource allocation. The only real “chrome” is the battle animation – planes zooming by or the occasional puff of gun smoke. You are given a few decisions to make in the battles, but it’s nowhere nearly as hands on intensive as you would find in a Total War game. The choice to engage is more important than what you do once the battle begins.

This is the light wargame that so many people have been waiting for. Still, light is not the same as casual. This is an appetizer for meatier fare, of course, but it has a flavor and value of its own, independent of its entry level status. When you choose to build up a base, you are deciding where your main fleet will make a stand. You may want to time a raid on the Japanese home islands to coincide with a push up the Marianas to Iwo Jima.

The manual is one of those throwbacks to the days when a manual was more than a list of commands. It has a brief history of the Pacific War, explanations for why certain ships are given certain designations in the game and a list of all the vessels and which turn they become available. It is a meaty 75 page booklet that goes into questions of design as well as instructions and strategy.

War Plan Pacific is simply the latest wargame to demonstrate that the genre has moved well beyond the grognard mainstays of hexes and combat resolution tables. It is a quick playing and transparent game with an elegance that puts a lot of larger budget games to shame.

Questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you .