Players familiar with the previous three games in the system will be able to quickly set up and play this latest version. The no-dice combat system highlights the unknown enemy deployments and coordination of the right weapon systems and tactics. The player controls three US Marine divisions against a determined Japanese defense. In D-Day at Iwo Jima, designer Joe Youst builds on John Butterfield’s award winning solitaire game system. Understanding that his forces were insufficient to defeat the massive American invasion force, he had decided to defend the island in-depth. In addition, the lack of a vigorous response led the Marines to believe that the bombardment had completely suppressed the defenses. Instead, the Marines were faced with 15-foot-high slopes of soft black volcanic ash that brought the normally rapidly moving Marines down to a slow plod. The beaches had been described as excellent and the advance inland was expected to be easy. In one of the costliest intelligence failures of the war, the planners had completely misjudged the situation that would face the Marines. The five-week battle was some of the bloodiest fighting in the Pacific. D-Day at Iwo Jima is a solitaire game simulating the amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima.

D day game