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Guadalcanal Diary

Guadalcanal Diary 2025

Design James Stier Art Kim Kanger Publisher Compass Games
1–2
Players
120–600
Minutes
13
Age

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About the Game

Japan attacked the Allied powers on 7 December 1941 and ran rampant across the Pacific Ocean and Asia for six months. But in August of 1942, the Allies would finally strike back. On 7 August, ships appeared off the coast of a small island in the Solomons called Guadalcanal to disgorge troops of the United States Marine Corps. Guadalcanal Diary: The Battle for Henderson Field allows you to recreate the Guadalcanal campaign from the initial landings in August 1942 until the end of November, when the Japanese were all but finished.

You have command of all the major units that fought in the campaign across ground, sea, and air. As the Allied player, you have everything that can be cobbled together to take the airfield on Guadalcanal and hold it. You need to maximize force but be cautious enough to withhold forces to fend off the Japanese counterattacks. As the Japanese player, you must use what forces you have to defeat the Allies before they become too powerful.

Guadalcanal Diary is the first in a series of games that will cover at a tactical and operational level the fight for the Southwest Pacific Area. This game covers the initial Allied landings on Guadalcanal until the end of November 1942, when effective resistance by the Japanese ended. Tactical combat on the ground can be combined with operational-level combat in the air and on the seas to make a comprehensive simulation of the Guadalcanal campaign.

Product Information:

Complexity: High Solitaire Suitability: Medium Players: 2 Playing Time: 2-40+ Hours Map Scale: 300 yards per hex (Abstract on Operational Map) Time Scale: Variable, 1 turn = 4 hours or 1 day Unit Scale: Platoons and Companies

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refreshed Sep 6, 2026