War in the Pacific: A WW2 Roll & Write Game — Rules Manual

PAGE 2

The Timeline
Tracks the campaign's
eleven turns with a single
box being marked each turn.

The campaign map
The campaign map
displays the
progression paths
for each Pacific
command group
as they advance
and capture the
Japanese island
chains.

The Nuclear tracker
Tracks your nuclear
research and the number of
nuclear bombs developed.

TIMELINE
MID '42 LATE '42 EARLY '43 MID '43 LATE '43
(AMERICAN MILITARY BUILD-UP)
WAR IN THE
PACIFIC
6 3 6 6 6 5
TOKYO
6,6
356
KYUSHU
5
555
FORMOSA
534
OKINAWA
465
IWO JIMA
2554
LUZON
445
PELELIU
5
354
RABAUL
444
BOUGAINVILLE
254
GUADALCANAL
1

NUCLEAR TRACKER
NUCLEAR RESEARCH:
233
323
324
NUCLEAR BOMBS:
ROLLS OF DOUBLE 6'S GAIN A
OR ALLOCATE A ROLL OF 6 TO GAIN
MAY ATTACH A WHEN BOMBING:
IF ANY DIE ROLLS ARE 5'S (INSTEAD OF ONLY ONE)

CPS
CAMPAIGN EVENTS
JAPANESE NAVAL COUNTER-ATTACK
DISCARD TWO FROM YOUR
NAVAL ASSETS TRACKER (IF POSSIBLE)
EUROPEAN PRIORITIES
REDUCE YOUR DICE POOL BY
ONE THIS TURN ONLY.
JAPANESE AIR POWER
REPLACE A WITH
IN YOUR DICE POOL
THIS TURN ONLY.
NUCLEAR ADVANCEMENT
ROLL A DIE AND ALLOCATE IT
TO THE NUCLEAR TRACKER
IF ALREADY UNLOCKED, GAIN A
NAVAL ASSETS
= D3 X
-CANNOT ALLOCATE ANY 1'S
-USED FOR ATTACKING, BOXES
-OR USED TO GAIN +1 TO ANY DIE

AIR POWER
= 6 GAIN A BLUE CUBE
USED TO RE-ROLL A SINGLE DIE

BOMBING
PLACE A 6 HERE TO BOMB JAPAN.
ROLL A DIE FOR EACH MARKED OFF
IF ANY ROLLS OF 5'S MARK OFF A SINGLE

DICE POOL

The CPs tracker
Tracks capitulation
points to determine
when Japan surrenders.

The campaign
event chart
Determines a single
event each turn that
will help or hinder
your campaign.

The naval assets,
air power and
bombing trackers
The naval assets
tracker monitors your
supply and naval
resources (black
cubes), the air power
tracker tracks your air
resources (blue
cubes), and the
bombing tracker
tracks your bomber
bases.

The dice pool box
The dice pool is used
to keep track of your
available dice for the
turn.

GAME SETUP

1
Set the game sheet in front of you.

2 3
Place two black cubes inside the
"naval assets tracker" and one blue
cube inside the "air power tracker" of the
gamesheet.

4
Place the seven white dice, three red
dice and the extra black and blue cubes
at the very bottom of the gamesheet.

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PAGE 3

THE GAME TURN

Each game consists of a maximum of
11 turns, with each turn having the following
phases:

Campaign Phase:
-Prepare your dice pool.
-Mark off a box on the timeline.
-Roll on the campaign event chart.

American Phase:
-Roll your dice inside the dice pool
-Use your dice to attack islands on the campaign map,
conduct nuclear research, bomb Japan or add
naval assets.

THE CAMPAIGN PHASE

Preparing your dice pool
At the beggining of each campaign phase, place six white
dice inside your dice pool on the game sheet. Dice
quantities or types (red/white) may change due to timeline
or campaign event effects.

Mark off a box on the timeline
Starting with the left-most box, mark off a single empty box
on the timeline each campaign phase.

After marking off the last box (the 11th box) on the timeline
it means it is the last turn and the game ends at the end of
this turn.

During the American military build-up and D-Day, some
timeline boxes show red die symbols. When you cross off
one of these boxes, replace the indicated number of white
dice with red dice for that turn only.

Roll on the event chart
Finally, roll a single die and consult the campaign event
chart. Events will either reduce your naval assets, grant
you a free roll for nuclear research, add a nuclear bomb,
remove a die or modify the color of a die in your dice pool
for this turn only.

You may use one or more black cube to add +1 to the roll
for each cube used or even use a blue cube to re-roll the
die when rolling on the event chart. Discard any used
cubes after modifying or re-rolling the die.
See the American phase on page 4 for more info.

THE TIMELINE

The timeline tracks the campaign from mid 1942 to late
1945. Mark off one box each turn during the
campaign phase. When the 11th box is marked (the last
box), the game ends at the conclusion of that turn.

American military buildup and D-Day
Several timeline boxes during the early American
military buildup and around D-Day in Europe contain
one or more red die symbols. When crossing off any of
these boxes, replace a white die in your dice pool with
a red die equal to the number in the box for this turn only.

TIMELINE
MID '42 LATE '42 EARLY '43 MID '43 LATE '43 EARLY '44 MID '44 LATE '44 EARLY '45 MID '45 LATE '45
(AMERICAN MILITARY BUILD-UP) (D-DAY) (D-DAY) (D-DAY)

DICE POOL

Place six white dice
inside your dice pool.
The number of dice or
colors may change each
turn depending on events
or the timeline.

Mark off the left-most empty box on the timeline. Once
marking off the very last box (late '45), the game ends at
the end of this turn. If for example, you mark a box on
the timeline that contains two red die symbols (for
example early '44), you must exchange two white dice in
your dice pool with red dice this turn only.

TIMELINE
MID '42 LATE '42 EARLY '43 MID '43 LATE '43 EARLY '44 MID '44 LATE '44 EARLY '45 MID '45 LATE '45
(AMERICAN MILITARY BUILD-UP) (D-DAY) (D-DAY) (D-DAY)

CAMPAIGN EVENTS
JAPANESE NAVAL COUNTER-ATTACK
DISCARD TWO FROM
YOUR NAVAL ASSETS TRACKER.

EUROPEAN PRIORITIES
REDUCE YOUR DICE POOL BY
ONE THIS TURN ONLY.

JAPANESE AIR POWER
REPLACE A WITH
IN YOUR DICE POOL.
THIS TURN ONLY.

NUCLEAR ADVANCEMENT
ROLL A D6 AND ALLOCATE IT
TO THE NUCLEAR TRACKER.
-OR-
IF ALREADY UNLOCKED, GAIN A

In this example, you rolled a '2'
on the event chart and get the
"Japanese naval counter-
attack" event. This event
reduces your naval assets by
two. Discard two black cubes.

The "nuclear advancement"
event allows you to roll an extra
D6 and immediately allocate it
to the nuclear tracker. If all
nuclear research is done (all
numbered boxes marked off),
instead gain a single nuclear
bomb. Add a green cube to the
nuclear bomb tracker.

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PAGE 4

THE AMERICAN PHASE

Rolling your dice
Roll all the dice in your dice pool. You may use the
abilities below, in any order, to modify your dice
either before or after allocating them to attack, for
nuclear research or adding naval assets.

Red dice (D3s)
Red dice always act as D3s when rolled (see page
1 for details).

Rolling sixes (Air power and Nuclear bombs)
For each white die that rolled a natural six in the
American phase, you may add one blue cube to the
air power tracker.

If nuclear bombs have been unlocked through
research, you can instead use two natural rolls of '6'
to add a nuclear bomb (green cube) to the nuclear
tracker.

Using command cubes to re-roll dice
Discard one blue cube from the command tracker to
re-roll a single die (white or red). This can be done
at any time, including for rolls on the event chart.
Re-rolls that roll a 6, also count as a natural 6 when
using them to gain blue or green cubes.

Naval bombardment
(Using naval assets to modify dice)
Discard one or more black cubes from the supply
tracker to increase the value of a single die by +1
per cube discarded.
*This ability cannot be used to gain a blue or green
cube by modifying a die to a '6' (not a natural 6).

NAVAL ASSETS

You may allocate any die roll of 2 or higher to
the naval assets tracker to gain black cubes.
The number of black cubes gained is the die
value's D3 result (see page 1). The supply
tracker can hold a maximum of five black cubes
and any that cannot fit, must be discarded.

Example: If you allocate a white die roll of 5,
you gain 3 black cubes. Red die rolls of 1 or 2
cannot be allocated because they count as 1
after being converted to a D3.

DICE POOL

AIR POWER
ROLLS OF '6' GAIN A BLUE CUBE.
USED TO RE-ROLL A SINGLE DIE

NAVAL ASSETS
= D3 X
-CANNOT ALLOCATE ANY 1'S
-USED FOR ATTACKING CERTAIN BOXES
-USED TO GAIN +1 TO ANY DIE

This turn, your dice pool
contains six dice,
including one red die due
to the "Japanese air
power" event.

You roll: 6, 5, 4, 2, 3, and
a red 6. Since the red die
is a D3, it becomes a 3
(halved and rounded up).

The roll of 6 allows you to
add a blue cube to your
air power tracker.
However, since you
already have the
maximum of three, you
spend one blue cube to
re-roll the 2, resulting in a
4. By adjusting the order
of your actions, you make
a smart play and maintain
three blue cubes in your
tracker.

To perform a major
breakthrough action
requiring a roll of 6, you
discard two black cubes
from the naval assets
tracker to modify the 4 by
+2 to a 6.

You do not however, gain
a blue cube from this, as
only natural rolls of '6' can
be used to gain blue or
green cubes.

Before allocating more
dice to attacks, you use
your two 3s (one white
and one red) to resupply
your armies.

Each 3 die provides two
black cubes, adding a
total of four to your supply
tracker, which now has
almost reached its
maximum of five cubes.

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PAGE 5

Each turn, you may assign a maximum of one die from
your dice pool to advance nuclear research.

If the die value is equal to or higher than the number in
the current research box, mark it off.
Progress through the tracker left to right, top to bottom.

Critical Research Advances
If the die value is at least double the number in the current box,
mark off that box and the next one over.

Unlocking Nuclear Bombs
Once all research boxes are marked off, nuclear bombs
are unlocked and can now be built.

Building a Nuclear Bomb
After unlocking, you may build a nuclear bomb by either:
Rolling two 6's (instead of gaining blue Air Power cubes),
allocate a 6 to the nuclear tracker or rolling the "Nuclear
Advancement" event. Each nuclear bomb built adds 1 green
cube to the Nuclear Tracker.

Using Nuclear Bombs
When bombing (see "strategic bombing"), before rolling, you
may decide to attach a green cube (nuclear bomb) to the
Bombing Tracker from the Nuclear Tracker.

STRATEGIC BOMBING

Capturing Bomber Bases
Each time you capture an island with a bomber icon, mark one
box on the Bombing Tracker.

Launching a Bombing Raid (Once per turn)
Once at least one bombing box is marked, you may assign a
single die roll of 4+ per turn, to launch a strategic bombing raid
on Japan.

Roll one die per marked box on the Bombing Tracker.
If any die rolls a 5+, mark 1 CP on the CP Tracker.
Even with multiple successes, only 1 CP is marked per raid
(unless using nuclear bombs.)

Using Nuclear Bombs
Before rolling, you may decide to attach a green cube (nuclear
bomb) to the Bombing Tracker from the Nuclear Tracker.

If any of these dice rolls a 5+ when using a nuclear bomb,
mark 2 CPs instead of 1. Even with multiple successes, only 2
CPs are marked per nuclear bombing raid. Discard the green
cube after using it in a bombing raid.

NUCLEAR TRACKER

NUCLEAR RESEARCH:
2 3
3 2 4
NUCLEAR BOMBS:
-ROLLS OF DOUBLE 6'S GAINS A
OR ALLOCATE A ROLL OF 6 TO GAIN
MAY ATTACH A WHEN BOMBING.
-IF ANY DIE ROLLS ARE 5, +
(INSTEAD OF ONLY ONE)

3 2 4
UNLOCKED

NUCLEAR BOMBS:
-ROLLS OF DOUBLE 6'S GAINS A
OR ALLOCATE A ROLL OF 6 TO GAIN
MAY ATTACH A WHEN BOMBING.
-IF ANY DIE ROLLS ARE 5, +
(INSTEAD OF ONLY ONE)

This turn, you decide
to allocate a '5' from
your dice pool to the
nuclear tracker. Place
the die in the large
traced box at the top
of the tracker.

The current nuclear
research box has a '2'
inside and your '5'
allocated here is
more than double and
so a "critical research
advance" is achieved.

Mark off the '2' box on the
nuclear research track and
the next box, a '4', as well.

Several turns later, after
finally finishing the nuclear
research by marking off the
last box and unlocking the
nuclear bomb, you decide to
allocate a '6' to the nuclear
tracker to build a nuclear
bomb. Add a green cube to
the nuclear bomb tracker to
show that you now have a
nuclear bomb available for
future use.

In this example, after capturing
the island of Kwajalein by marking off
both boxes above the island, mark
off a box on the bombing tracker
due to a bomber icon being
present. Next mark off the brown
island box to show that the island
has been captured.

BOMBING
-PLACE A 4+ HERE TO BOMB JAPAN
-ROLL A DIE FOR EACH MARKED OFF
-IF ANY ROLLS OF 5+, MARK OFF A SINGLE

This turn you decide to bomb Japan by
allocating a '5' to the bombing tracker. You
have four boxes already marked off and so
will roll four dice for the bombing raid.

You decide to use a nuclear bomb on
Japan by attaching a green cube to the
bombing tracker from the Nuclear Tracker.
You roll a 1, 3, 4 and 6.
Luckily a '6' was rolled and the bombing
was successful, and because you have a
nuclear bomb attached, you mark off two
boxes from the CP tracker and discard the
green cube.

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PAGE 6

Attacking Islands

Campaign map and command group paths
The campaign map features two command groups-Central,
and Southern, each with arrows and dotted lines indicating
their progression paths. To advance along a path, you must
capture Islands by marking off all the numbered boxes
them and unlocking the next island in that path. Guadalcanal,
and Tarawa are considered unlocked at the start of the game.

Attacking islands
To attack an island, assign one die from your dice pool at a time
to an island on the map that is already unlocked. If the die value
matches or exceeds the number in the current box (starting with
the top row, left to right), above the island, mark the box off. You
may attack the same island several times during a turn or divide
your dice to attack along both command group's paths.

Major breakthroughs
When allocating a die to attack an insland: If the die value is at
least double the number in an island's current box, mark off
that box and the next box over in line, no matter the value.)

Capturing islands and gaining CPs
Once all numbered boxes above an island are marked off, the
island is captured. Mark off the large beige island box and
mark off one box on the CP tracker for each rising sun icon in
the captured island box. In addition, if a bomber icon is present,
also mark off a box on the bombing tracker. The next island in
the command group's path is now considered unlocked.

Sea transport, logistics and escort duties
Before marking off a box with a naval icon ( ), discard one
black cube. If you cannot discard a black cube, the box cannot
be marked off and the attack is cancelled. *This rule also
applies to major breakthroughs (see above).

ENDING THE GAME

After marking off the 11th and final box on the timeline, the game
ends at the conclusion of this turn.

Winning the game
Count up all your marked off CPs on the CP tracker. If you have at
least 13 capitulation points (CPs), you win the game with a
historical outcome. Achieve 17-20 CPs for an unconditional
surrender, in which case the Japanese emperor is deposed, put on
trial and Japanese aggression is curbed for the next 150 years.

Losing the game
You lose if you finish the game with 12 or fewer capitulation points
(CPs) and fail to force a surrender on the Japanese. The Japanese
hang on to eventually sign a conditional surrender with the allies
and gain some concessions such as captured islands in the Pacific.

At the start of the
game, Southern
command begins with
the island of
Guadalcanal
unlocked. To advance,
attack and mark off all
four boxes above
Guadalcanal. Once
completed, mark off
the island itself to
unlock Bougainville.
Meanwhile, Central
command starts at
Tarawa. After
capturing Tarawa, you
can progress to the
island of Kwajalein.

DICE POOL

You roll your dice pool:
6, 5, 3, 2, and a red 6
(converted to 3).

This turn you decide to
allocate a '2' and '5' to
Guadalcanal:
Use the 2 to mark off the
value of the 2 in the first
box, which costs you 1 black
cube. Next you allocate the
5 to the next box allowing
you to conduct a major
breakthrough and mark off
the 5 box as well which
costs no black cubes.
Finally, you decide to use a
black cube to add +1 to your
3 die, which becomes a 4.
You allocate this die to
Guadalcanal to match and
mark off the final 4 box in
Guadalcanal which costs
another black cube.

Guadalcanal is now fully marked
off and is thus
captured and grants you one CP to mark off on the CP
tracker. Capturing Guadalcanal also unlocks the next
island along Southern command's path, which is
Bougainville.

HARD & EASY MODES

Hard Mode: In case you wish to have
a much more difficult challenge, start
the game with no blue cubes in the air
power tracker and no black cubes in
the naval assets tracker.

Easy Mode: to make the game less
challenging and easier, start the game
with three black cubes and two blue
cubes in the respective naval assets
and air power trackers.

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