Orange Swan - Pacific 1941 - 45

From Vento Nuovo Games:

ORANGE SWAN is the new block wargame covering WWII in the Pacific from 1941 to 1945.

Its name reflects that of its predecessor Black Swan, a game that covers WWII in Europe, but also that of the United States’ plan for defeating Japan, developed long before Pearl Harbor, called War Plan Orange.

ORANGE SWAN is a game for 2-4 players with great solitaire suitability.

ORANGE SWAN uses many of the same game mechanics as Black Swan but with greater focus on the innovative, and mechanically simple, naval system that was universally praised. 

One revision that entirely changes the feel of the game is the new Oceanic Blitz phase. Like Black Swan’s land-based Blitz double turns that made the Eastern Front so dynamic, ORANGE SWAN’s Oceanic Blitz translates that idea to a double naval turn.

And the two games can be played together for a massive WW2 experience!

Similar to other block games, the “fog of war” is a core element in Orange Swan, as a player cannot know the identity or the strength of an enemy unit until it is revealed in combat. ORANGE SWAN is a game for 2-4 players with great solitaire suitability.

ORANGE SWAN is an historical game with some fixed starting points, but the outcome is completely unpredictable, and despite the historical result, Japan can defeat the Allies (China, Great Britain and US).

SCENARIOS and CAMPAIGNS

With over 220 unit counters, players can enjoy hours of fun by playing the full Orange Swan Campaign from 1941 to 1945, the shorter 1942-1945 Campaign, or by playing one of the other scenarios. Each scenario has a different difficulty level, rated in brackets from 1 (Very Easy) to 10 (Very Hard):

Scenarios:

- Pearl Harbor Tournament Scenario, Fall 1941 (3)

- Midway to Guadalcanal, Spring - Fall 1942 (3)

Campaigns:

- The Rising Swan, Fall 1941 - Fall 1945 (8)

- The Orange Swan, Fall 1941 - Fall 1945 (9)

- Turning the Tide, Spring 1942 - Fall 1945 (7)

Global Campaigns (Black Swan + Orange Swan):

- Danzig to Hiroshima, Summer 1939 - Fall 1945 (10)

- Waking the Giants, Spring 1942 - Fall 1945 (9)

Every scenario has different victory conditions and length, with a different playing time of 1 to 3 hours. The Campaigns are much longer, up to 50 hours of fun. For playing the Global Campaigns you need both games.

The game components are first class, made in Italy with German concrete wood.  The game includes more than 500 game pieces, a 124x86cm heavy cardboard map, players' aid, rule book, three Campaigns and several Scenarios.