Tokyo Express: The Guadalcanal Naval Campaign – 1942 (1988)

About this game

"Tokyo Express: The Guadalcanal Naval Campaign - 1942" is a solitaire and two-player wargame simulation of the night naval battles off Guadalcanal. In the solitaire version, you command the US Fleet, awaiting the emergence of the "Tokyo Express" from the darkness. You group your ships into formations, assigning them orders, and select the targets to attack with torpedoes and guns. Simple mechanisms control Japanese maneuvers and target assignments in a realistic manner. You never know when combat will occur until the explosion of torpedo salvos signals the presence of Japanese forces who detected you first and made their surprise attacks. The two-player version modifies the solitaire game and pits players against each other in an exciting recreation of World War II naval combat. Tokyo Express is graduated in complexity to help you learn the rules as you play.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 1 to 2. It has a designed solo mode.
• Rules load. At 4.0/5 this is a heavy game — read the rulebook before people arrive.
• Age. The publisher suggests 12 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.