Hit The Beach
World War II GameMilton Bradley Company, 1965
Players 2, 3 or 4
Playing Time variable
Era WWII in the Pacific
Scale abstract strategic
Time abstract
Distance abstract
Units "divisions"
Components box 13¼"x20"x1½" cardboard accordion, with rules printed on the inside box top
1 19½"x24" tri-fold mounted map 38 1" tall 3D plastic pieces
1 32-page 5"x7" historical booklet
1 6-sided die
Unit Manifest 8 Army divisions (2 each red, green, blue and black)
8 Marine divisions (2 each red, green, blue and black)
4 Naval Landing Support (1 each red, green, blue and black
4 Strategic Air Support (1 each red, green, blue and black
14 Japanese Defenders (yellow)
The Game
Sid Sackson was right ... there are a limited number of different types of game mechanisms, and Hit The Beach shares its basic mechanism with Don Benge’s Conquest, Snakes and Ladders, and (arguably) backgammon. About HtB, Sid Sackson had this to say: “Each player controls his own amphibious landing onto a Pacific island occupied by the Japanese. Japanese pieces, when captured, can be replaced to hinder an opponent’s campaign.”HtB is an abstract game with a thin veneer of history. The players, whether there be two, three or four, each play the USA, competing against each other with identical forces over identical terrain to see who can reach the center objective first. The Japanese pieces are nothing more than moveable obstacles. All else being equal, then, good luck is paramount and the player who has the best rolls will have the best opportunity to win.
The die is used to determine how far a unit may move, and any unit that moves must use its exact die roll. Naval and air support are available only on rolls of “6”. Furthermore, movement occurs along well-defined pathways, with very little opportunity to improvise or change. I suppose the island-hopping land warfare characteristic of the Pacific theater was appropriate for this game mechanism, and was also very patriotic. Unfortunately, it has never been a very popular theater to simulate.
Collector’s Value
Boone lists low, high and average prices of 8/83/34.53 at auction and 15/ 125/46.80 for sale. Of the four games in the series, HtB was the last to be published, and yet the most valuable to collectors. Perhaps MB printed fewer of this game, reflecting a time when gamers who were interested in board wargames also began to demand greater sophistication.Games Reviewed
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