I used the same table for my second Philippines 1941 Combat Patrol(TM) game at Cold Wars 2018. The scenario was the same as the first game. The Japanese were attacking, and the Americans were trying to stop their advance. The Japanese victory conditions were based on the number of figures they could get across the road.
This game featured the most successful Banzai charge I have seen in Combat Patrol(TM). There have been bigger ones, longer ones, and more costly ones, but this was probably the most effective. The way Banzai charges work in Combat Patrol is that before the turn begins, the Japanese player must declare the charge and choose the units that will participate. Then when the first unit’s card is drawn, the command dice of all the units in the charge are changed to that number, and the charge begins. All charging units move with two cards, not one. They get a +1 in melee. They also get no cover benefit. A “game master” card is shuffled into the Activation Deck on the next turn. When this card is drawn, which may take several turns if the “reshuffle card keeps appearing first,” the attack is over, and all participating Japanese are stunned. All accrued morale checks are immediately resolved.
In this case, there were just two Japanese teams in the charge. One ended the charge in the road in front of the two American water-cooled machine-guns. During the morale check, the Japanese team first recovered all stun markers and then conducted another Banzai charge, which overran both American machine-guns. The American line was broken; however, the game was an American victory. When time ran out, the Japanese were ready to cross the road on both flanks, but at the end of the game, there were only two Japanese figures across the road.
The game was quite fun, and I think that all the players had a good time.
