Tarawa 1943

Tarawa 1943 is a solitaire, card-driven Pacific War wargame from Worthington Publishing. You command the U.S. Marine Corps assault on Japanese-held Tarawa in November 1943, while the game system controls the Japanese defenders through an AI card deck.

Each turn, the USMC player activates one battalion, using it to move, attack, or regroup. Marine tactic cards provide support such as naval fire, air support, engineers, tanks, and other battlefield resources, but each activation also reduces battalion cohesion, representing fatigue, losses, and the strain of pushing the attack inland.

After the Marine activation, the Japanese AI responds with its own card-driven actions, including fire attacks, banzai charges, bunkers, crossfire, infiltration, and other defensive reactions. Optional rules allow players to adjust difficulty or explore alternative landing sites, including the possibility of landing on the south side of the island rather than the historical Red Beaches.

This is a compact but punishing solitaire game about a brutal three-day battle. It is a good fit for solo players who enjoy tense card-driven systems, hard choices, and Pacific War assaults where every yard gained can cost cohesion and casualties.

Publisher: Worthington Publishing
Players: 1
Playing time: 30–60 minutes
Format: Standalone solitaire card-driven wargame
Setting: Battle of Tarawa, November 1943
Mechanisms: Solitaire AI, card-driven events, battalion activation, cohesion, amphibious assault, area control
Age: 14+

Contents include: game board of Betio/Tarawa, USMC tactic cards, Japanese AI activation cards, Marine battalion markers, Japanese formation markers, bunker and infiltration cubes, rules, and supporting game components.