Luzon: Race for Bataan

2024 Charles Roberts Award Nominee for Best Operational Game.

Luzon: Race for Bataan covers the mobile campaign during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, from December 22, 1941, when the main Japanese forces landed in Lingayen Gulf, to January 7, 1942, when the U.S.-Philippine Army completed its retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. New designer Matsuura Yutaka has created a five-turn OCS mini-game that recreates this period of intense maneuvering. General Wainwright, commander of the North Luzon Force, conducted a brilliant retreat against the advancing Japanese blitzkrieg, and succeeded in getting a large number of troops to Bataan. In Luzon: Race for Bataan, the U.S.-Philippine Army must delay the Japanese advance and gather forces in the Bataan peninsula. As directed by Imperial General Headquarters, the Japanese priority is to capture Manila. However, if the U.S.-Philippine Army can be outmaneuvered, the Japanese could both occupy Manila and deal a devastating blow to the U.S.-Philippine Army. The game pits a small-but-elite Japanese force which must make fast progress against a larger, less-effective opponent.

Luzon: Race for Bataan has a single 22" x 34" map, fewer than 50 combat units, and is played at a scale of 5-miles per hex and 3.5 days per turn. There is only one scenario, with an option for random changes which alter play each time.

This is a magazine game included with Operational Matters #2

—description from the publisher

Game Scale: Game Turn: 1/2 week Hex: 5 miles / 8 kilometers Units: Battalion to Regiment

Game Inventory: One 22 x 34" full color map One dual-side printed countersheet (140 1/2" counters) One 16-page rulebook Six dual-side printed player aid cards

Solitaire Playability: Medium Complexity Level: Medium Players: 2 or more Playing Time: 1-2 hours

Note: Players will need to provide the following to play; Latest OCS rules and charts Two (or three) different color 6-sided die for game play.