Description

A miniatures wargame designed for classroom use by two to eight groups of players.

The game is designed to be played on two 7.5x5 foot tables. Print and play paper miniatures designed specifically for the game are available for download at the Junior General website. Ship units represent individual ships and aircraft units represent two to four aircraft.

From the rules:

"November 1941. War clouds are gathering in the Pacific. Tensions have been increasing between Japan and the US since Japan’s invasion of China in 1931."

"Anticipating hostilities, the Imperial Japanese Navy has planned a surprise attack against US forces at Pearl Harbor, HI. US intelligence has intercepted coded Japanese messages and has concluded that an attack is likely somewhere in the Pacific, most likely in the Philippines, between December 1st and 10th."

"As a precaution, the Alert Status on the Hawaiian island of Oahu has been raised from peacetime Alert Level 0 to Alert Level 1. Limited resources are available to selectively increase the Alert Level to 2 or 3, but extended increases in alert levels will unnecessarily tire men and consume limited supplies."

"Tora! Tora! Tora! is a game played in two parts - a strategic planning phase followed by a tactical attack phase. US players must decide how to employ limited forces in and around Pearl Harbor over the 10 day vulnerability period. Japanese players must select the timing, direction, and composition of the attack in order to inflict enough damage to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from interfering with future Japanese war plans in Southeast Asia."

The game map is an abstracted depiction of the battle area divided into four quadrants, allowing for simultaneous games to be played in each quadrant by different groups of players. The areas depicted on the map are divided into concentric zones - Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, and the Pacific Ocean. The map also specifies the position of naval installations, airfields, and anti-aircraft batteries.