Steve Jackson Games (1982, $3.00)
Designed by Dana Lombardy and John Rankin
Magazine Game: 31 (Dec. 1982)

Period World War II, Pacific
Scale Tactical
Turn abstract
Map N/A
Unit individual ships and aircraft

Components
4 pages of rules
4 pages containing six ship cards and four direction markers (to be cut out)
210 double-sided uncut counters printed on cardstock sheet

Counter Manifest

142 Japanese counters (red)
70 aircraft (34 Zero; 8 Judy; 8 Frances; 8 Betty/Baka; 4 Peggy; 4 Sabre; 4 Plum Blossom)
66 AA markers
6 group markers

68 USA counters (blue)
56 aircraft (32 Wildcat; 24 Hellcat)
6 hull damage
6 topside damage

Steve Jackson Games says:

“The kamikaze attacks — deliberate mass suicides that turned aircraft into devastatingly effective guided missiles — were a unique phenomenon of World War II. In the closing months of the Pacific conflict, the desperate but indomitable Japanese command formulated a last-ditch equation: one plane could equal one ship. Kamikaze is a two-player game simulating a kamikaze raid on two to six U.S. ships.”

The reviewer says:

“Instead of using a map, the players tape N, E, S and W direction markers on any surface. Ships are set up within the rectangle described by [the markers], and do not move (the rather large cut-out sheets of the ships may touch but not overlap).

The entire game has only one turn, consisting of aircraft movement, air-to-air combat, anti-aircraft fire, and Kamikaze attack ... This is an unpretentious, simple and fast little game, with some illusion of reality, but not for those who look for serious simulation.” Friedrich Helfferich in F&M 67.

Comments

The design approach is reminiscent of an earlier Lombardy title, the strategic nuclear bomber game NORAD. Both games contain enough historical flavor to appeal to grognards, but with a clear emphasis on B&P entertainment. A unique treatment of an infrequently covered (at this scale, at least) topic.

Collector’s Notes

Not hard to find in unplayed condition, and relatively cheap. Boone lists low, high and average prices of 2/7/4.40 at auction and 3/12/8.28 for sale.

Other games from Dana Lombardy

Alien Contact (Phoenix); Battle for the Factories (Nova); Cromwell (SDC); Dunkerque - 1940 (SDC); Fire on the Volga (Nova); Fourth Reich (TFG); Guerre a Outrance (SDC); Khalkhin-Gol (SDC); NORAD (SDC, Mishler); Streets of Stalingrad (Phoenix, L2 Design).

Capsule Profiles Games That Begin with "K"

Kriegspiel
Kamikaze
KampfPanzer
Kingmaker
Knights of Camelot
King of the Mountain
Khyber Rifles