A Brilliant Combat: The Battle of Manila Bay

“Our fleet engaged the enemy in brilliant combat, protected by the Cavite and Manila forts. They obliged the enemy, with heavy loss, to maneuver repeatedly. At 9 o’clock the American Squadron took refuge behind the foreign shipping, on the east side of the bay. Our fleet, considering the enemy’s superiority, naturally suffered severe loss…. There was considerable loss of life.” –Spanish Admiral Montojo’s telegraph to Madrid during the battle.

A Brilliant Combat is the “sister” title of Death Before Dishonor: The Battle of Santiago that was the 2013 CSW Gold Level Donation reward. Like its counterpart the game uses a very simple and fun to play design that models the history well without a lot of record-keeping, and is also very solitaire play friendly. The game features the historical battle, several what-ifs, as well as scenarios that posit the Spanish Reserve Fleet sailing to take back the Philippines, or the German Asiatic Squadron challenging Admiral Dewey’s for control of the archipelago.

Each copy of A Brilliant Combat has one 11 by 17 inch map, one sheet of 77 single-sided, un-mounted counters, one players’ aide sheet and a 4 page rule book. Graphics are by Bruce Yearian. A Brilliant Combat sells for $11.95 plus shipping. Mounted counters can be had for an additional $5.00.