175:, Jack Greene liked the components, commenting, "the superb mapsheet is one of the most beautiful ever printed." He felt the game was "excellent at pointing out supply and movement problems in the jungles of New Guinea, the superb training for jungle warfare of the Japanese army, and the quality of Australian forces facing it Not only does it show the problems and careful planning needed for jungle warfare, but it is also an excellent fighting game." He warned that "Fighting withdrawals by either side are critical in slowing down the advances over the Owen Stanley mountains. Usually there follows a key battle at the edge of the mountains and then the final struggles for Buna or Port Moresby, with wild cards of sea and air landing operations." Greene concluded by giving the game an "Excitement" grade of 90%, saying, "Highly recommended."
196:, John Kula did not think that enough playtesting had been done before publication, noting, "The game is weak in development, marred by errata in the charts, the set up and the scenarios as well as the rules Frankly, trying to keep track of all the errata, corrections, exceptions and game clauses is not worth the bother for an evening of fun gaming. This is too bad, as the game map is a wonder to behold — it really puts you in the jungle mood." He warned that "Once off the trails, units tend to evaporate in effectiveness. Save the off-trail gambits for the few sure advances." Kula concluded that
84:. The only defence available was under-trained Australian militia, nicknamed "Chocos" because they were expected to melt like chocolate in the heat of battle against the jungle-trained Japanese forces. But unexpectedly, the Chocos managed to slow the Japanese advance to a crawl, making time for Australian Imperial forces to arrive. Slowly the Australians began to roll the Japanese forces back through the mountains. The Japanese tried a flanking maneuver near Milne Bay but were repulsed by a joint Australian-American force. Tropical diseases such as
22:
188:
is a rare beast. It's an obscure, well-designed game on an obscure, interesting battle." Van Rossum thought there was the germ of a good game here, but what was needed was a complete overhaul of the game system, concluding, "It's time to see this game revamped for the hardcore wargamer and reissued."
107:
is a two-player wargame where one player controls the
Japanese forces, and the other player controls the Australian and American forces. Critic John Kula noted that as of 2000, this was the only board wargame that focused on the jungle war in Papua New Guinea.
116:
The game system uses an alternating "I Go, You Go" series of turns in which one player moves and attacks, followed by the other player. This completes one game turn, which represents one day of game time. The game has 192 cardstock counters and a
200:
would not interest the average wargamer, saying, "For those interested in studying the New Guinea campaign beyond the historical commentaries, this game will be a valuable asset. As a game for enjoyment, it is not recommended.
79:
to use them as a forward air base against
Australia. In July 1942, Japanese amphibious forces landed on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. They moved inland towards Port Moresby, having to traverse the dense rainforest of the
127:
To simulate the dangers of forcing a path through the jungle, both sides face attritional losses if units leave the forest paths and try to cut through the jungle.
124:
In addition to rules for movement, combat and supply, there are also rules for air superiority, airlifts, off-board movement, sea movement and armored combat.
342:
254:
63:. The game is notable for being the only board wargame published in the 20th century that focused on the war in New Guinea.
347:
96:
plagued both sides, with one
Australian battalion losing a quarter of their strength to disease in one month.
155:
was designed by Bob Latter and published by 3W as a free pull-out game in Issue 9 of their house magazine
71:
In 1942, the
Japanese High Command decided that to isolate Australia, they would capture the airfields of
171:
157:
27:
81:
223:
8:
247:
A Bastard of a Place: The
Australians in Papua – Kokoda, Milne Bay, Gona, Buna, Sanananda
56:
48:
215:
130:
The game comes with three scenarios simulating each phase of the New Guinea
Campaign:
337:
250:
76:
21:
331:
52:
44:
85:
72:
60:
296:
316:
180:
93:
118:
89:
205:
is unique, but not recommended for the quick to please crowd."
137:
High Water Mark: Can the
Japanese reach the airfields?
144:
A campaign game links all three scenarios together.
140:
Bloody Buna: Allied forces converge on the
Japanese.
249:. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
134:Milne Bay: The initial landing by Japanese forces.
329:
184:, Guy Van Rossum found a lot to like, writing, "
161:. 3W also released a boxed version of the game.
208:
314:Van Rossum, Guy (May 1994). "Bloody Buna".
47:published by the British wargame publisher
313:
277:Kula, John (January 2000). "Bloody Buna".
59:between Japanese and Allied forces during
290:
288:
192:In a retrospective review in Issue 6 of
20:
295:Greene, Jack (1980). "Bloody Buna". In
330:
294:
285:
272:
270:
268:
266:
147:
244:
343:Board wargames set in Modern history
276:
307:
303:. London: Sphere Books. p. 78.
263:
13:
14:
359:
16:Board wargame published in 1986
238:
99:
1:
231:
66:
209:Other reviews and commentary
164:
7:
348:World War II board wargames
301:The Best of Board Wargaming
281:. No. 6. pp. 6–7.
172:The Best of Board Wargaming
111:
10:
364:
121:map of Papua New Guinea.
224:Strategy & Tactics
82:Owen Stanley Mountains
35:
245:Brune, Peter (2004).
24:
216:Fire & Movement
148:Publication history
57:New Guinea Campaign
55:that simulates the
49:World Wide Wargames
36:
31:No. 9, containing
256:978-1-74114-403-1
169:In the 1980 book
355:
322:
321:
311:
305:
304:
297:Palmer, Nicholas
292:
283:
282:
274:
261:
260:
242:
77:Papua New Guinea
363:
362:
358:
357:
356:
354:
353:
352:
328:
327:
326:
325:
312:
308:
293:
286:
275:
264:
257:
243:
239:
234:
211:
178:In Issue 15 of
167:
150:
114:
102:
69:
17:
12:
11:
5:
361:
351:
350:
345:
340:
324:
323:
320:. No. 15.
306:
284:
262:
255:
236:
235:
233:
230:
229:
228:
220:
210:
207:
166:
163:
149:
146:
142:
141:
138:
135:
113:
110:
101:
98:
68:
65:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
360:
349:
346:
344:
341:
339:
336:
335:
333:
319:
318:
310:
302:
298:
291:
289:
280:
273:
271:
269:
267:
258:
252:
248:
241:
237:
226:
225:
221:
218:
217:
213:
212:
206:
204:
199:
195:
190:
187:
183:
182:
176:
174:
173:
162:
160:
159:
154:
145:
139:
136:
133:
132:
131:
128:
125:
122:
120:
109:
106:
97:
95:
91:
87:
83:
78:
74:
64:
62:
58:
54:
50:
46:
45:board wargame
42:
41:
34:
30:
29:
23:
19:
315:
309:
300:
278:
246:
240:
222:
214:
202:
197:
193:
191:
185:
179:
177:
170:
168:
158:The Wargamer
156:
152:
151:
143:
129:
126:
123:
115:
104:
103:
86:dengue fever
73:Port Moresby
70:
61:World War II
39:
38:
37:
32:
28:The Wargamer
26:
18:
227:#29 and #65
203:Bloody Buna
198:Bloody Buna
186:Bloody Buna
153:Bloody Buna
105:Bloody Buna
100:Description
40:Bloody Buna
33:Bloody Buna
332:Categories
317:Paper Wars
279:Simulacrum
232:References
194:Simulacrum
181:Paper Wars
67:Background
165:Reception
94:dysentery
25:Cover of
338:3W games
119:hex grid
112:Gameplay
51:(3W) in
299:(ed.).
90:malaria
253:
43:is a
251:ISBN
92:and
53:1972
219:#71
75:in
334::
287:^
265:^
88:,
259:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
