The Island War Series game system is a simulation of ground combat in the Pacific during World War II. Each game in the system represents a battle between Allied and Imperial Japanese forces on one of the many Pacific Islands.

Two sets of rules are provided with each game. The first contains the Standard Rules that are common to all the games in the Island War Series. The second set contains the Exclusive Rules for each game in the system, which includes Special rules, the Initial Deployment and the Reinforcement Schedule. Generally the unit scale is battalion, but there are company and platoon formations represented. The time scale, unless noted in the Exclusive rules, is 1/2 day per turn.

Due to the nature of the battles covered in the series, all naval and air forces are abstract. This means the main focus of each game is ground combat. The games are designed for two players, but can accommodate multiple players. For example, one player can play the US Marines, one can play the US Army, and the third plays the Japanese.  The tactical situation for the defender can be described as "against the odds", which means it will be very difficult for the player playing the  defender to win the game tactically. The victory conditions are designed in such a way that the defender can win by performing better than his historical counterpart. This also puts a lot of pressure on the attacker because he cannot afford to make many mistakes.

Game features include - Limited Intelligence - Amphibious Landings - Night Rules - Banzai Attacks
Coastal Defense Units - Beachheads & Replacements - Fortifications - Weather - And More.

The Game  

Guam is a large island for a Pacific island battle. However, it has the fewest exclusive rules of the three games currently in the series (Saipan & Tinian and Attu & Kiska). This means that it should be the easiest and quickest to learn. The large size of the island allows both players to employ a wide variety of strategy options. As with most of the other games in the series, the victory conditions do not focus on geographic locations. The situation is simply a fight between both sides.

Planning is the first step, and quite possibly the most important one too. The US player has to examine the Japanese dispositions, by looking over the map and using the limited intelligence rules to try to figure out where the Japanese main defenses are. Next in the planning cycle is to pick landing locations and then select the composition and order of your beachheads and landing forces. Once the US player lands on the island he has to eliminate the Japanese units. That is a pretty simple goal, but it may not be as easy as it sounds! You have to do it within the game’s time limit. He will have to find that perfect balance between time, maneuver, and combat. Too slow, cautious, or methodical and you run out of time. Too impatient and aggressive and you will suffer too many casualty points to win.

In Guam the Japanese player has many options; the most of all the games in the series. You still have many of the same conditions as the other games, such as fortifications, being outnumbered, defending against an overwhelming invasion, and your opponent has air and naval superiority. However, you have a large enough force on a large enough island to allow far more opportunity for maneuvering. The Japanese player also has a variety of terrain types to incorporate into his defense. The clever use of dummy positions can fool the US player, making him attack unmanned positions or chasing scattered dummy units all over the map. But as in all the games, the Japanese player must have a well thought out plan with several courses of action in mind. Fortifications and dummies must be well placed in anticipation of US player moves.