Coral Sea Solitaire Bookgame

The naval battle of Coral Sea in May of 1942 was the first carrier battle in naval history. Combat occurred with planes from aircraft carriers for the opposing sides. The involved ships never sighted each other.

At the time of the battle, the Americans were still reeling from Pearl Harbor and Japanese naval control of the Pacific. A Japanese invasion convoy steamed to Port Moresby to expand its control closer to Australia. The Japanese had 3 aircraft carriers against 2 for the Americans. The Japanese would sink the Lexington and damage the Yorktown, while the Americans would sink the Shoho and damage the Shokaku.

The battle was considered a tactical draw, but the Japanese were surprised by their losses and the American tenacity. As a result, the Japanese invasion convoy to Port Moresby was recalled, the first of the war to be stopped and a huge strategic victory for the Americans.

Now you are in command, and the decisions are yours…

Game Summary

Coral Sea Solitaire places you in command of American carriers in the Pacific in May 1942 against an opposing Japanese autonomous player side, referred to as the BOT side. The object of the game for the American player is to earn the victory points of the mission goal BEFORE the Japanese invasion convoy reaches Port Moresby.

You lead the aircraft carriers Lexington and Yorktown as they sortie into the Coral Sea to stop the Japanese invasion that threatens Australia. You must contend with 3 Japanese carriers roaming the Coral Sea determined to finish off the US Navy. The Bookgame contains 4 game sets, and each game set is against a different Japanese carrier strategy. There are 5 distinct missions within each game set for you to win and defeat the Japanese.

This Bookgame contains 4 game sets, and each game set is against a different Japanese carrier strategy. There are 5 distinct missions within each game set for you to win and defeat the Japanese. Making a total of 20 distinct game plays.

You will need to provide two 6-sided dice to play the game.

Coral Sea Solitaire can also be played cooperatively. For example, one player commands the Lexington, and the other commands the Yorktown.

About the System

When we launched our Bookgame Bismarck Solitaire, we wanted players to have a board game experience with a portable format that could be played anywhere. We were incredibly pleased when player feedback showed the goal was achieved and, with a bit of imagination, folks could have lots of fun playing a naval game. Player feedback indicated the next logical naval game should be World War 2 in the Pacific, with the Coral Sea and Midway being the most popular topics. Carrier battles would be different from battleships. Bombers (torpedo and dive) and fighters would do the fighting. Since the Coral Sea was the first carrier battle in history, we decided to do that one. Midway will follow.

Like Bismarck Solitaire, we designed Coral Sea Solitaire to be a historically based strategy game. You make the decisions on the best way to pursue your mission. Choose where to move your ships, how many fighters are assigned to carrier defense, and when to evade combat. Different from Bismarck Solitaire, your opponent, the Japanese Navy BOT, will make those same decisions. His carriers are on the search board constantly MOVING, every turn, in unpredictable patterns. In some games, his carriers are grouped together, in others, they are apart. The Japanese vary how many fighters they assign each turn for carrier defense. And like the battle of Coral Sea, Japanese fighters and bombers will gang up on a lone or weakened American carrier.