I recently made an ADC2 module for AH's Guadalcanal. The free module also contains OCR'd copies of the rules and the historical booklet. Also, two General variants are provided for use as well. One variant adds the additional Japanese units that were available in the area and suggests minor rule changes to give a more historical authenticity to the battle. The other variant adds naval and air components to the forces. I made a level 1 image of most of the board and posted in the game's image section. Even if you don't have ADC2, the download is worth getting for the added material.

I've still got an original copy of Guadalcanal. While the Basic Game heavily favors the Americans, the Hidden Unit capability of Japanese in the Tournament Game reduces that edge considerably.

While it lacks a lot as a simulation, this game was a milestone of sorts when it was published, in that it offered some new ideas, such as

1. Ranged artillery -- the first in an Avalon Hill WW2 game if I'm not mistaken.

2. Step Reduction -- In the Tournament Game, the CRT reflected steps lost, vice A Elim, D Elim, Exchange as in earlier AH fare. Unfortunately, the step status of individual combat units was recorded on a sheet similar to the Hit Record in Midway, rather than with admin counters or reduce strength units. This made for added bookkeeping with each combat resolution. Yet, for all the hassle, it was a good attempt to better reflect the true outcomes of combat.

As for the counters themselves, the Japanese are orange-red, the US Marines are green, and the US Army is blue --- and all the colors are rather stark. I thought they went well with the terrain on the gameboard.

You are right about the larger campaign. A true simulation really must include the synergism and mutual dependence of air, sea, and land fores and operations, because the battle for Guadalcanal was really the first of its kind in that regard.

The step reduction feature and the hidden units combined to reduce this game to being semi-playable. Only Japanese units were hidden and in Face-to-Face play the US player essentially had to leave the room while the Japanese moved. Then the Japanese player had to write down his hidden unit positions to refer to as the US player made his move. Altogether it was a pain. Recording losses was done by those check-off pads. A unit that appeared full strength at a glance could actually be but a skeleton when the pad was checked.

ADC2 does have hidden unit play, but like all PBeM games, there is a problem in that the units can move around detecting opponent's forces, and then re-start the turn knowing those locations. But with a trusted opponent, it works fine. The check-off pad is gone, units just flip to a lower level.

The variants address, to a degree, the naval and air aspects that were absent from the AH version.

Charles, I don't see a link to the ADC2 module, nor has it been added as a file. Could you possibly upload the file to BGG? That way, it's not dependent on outside web hosting.

Thanks!

OK, I've added a link. If the site administrators approve and if I did it correctly, it should be available in the "Links" section soon.

There is an image already posted.

Well, didn't do it correctly. Have to figure out what I did wrong. Be patient.

Posted a corrected link, but neither the good nor bad link has been posted. I guess they are either not blessed very fast or not at all.

So, OK, I'll post a couple here.

http://67.155.107.229/Game_Sets/Avalon%20Hill/AH_Guadalcanal...
is the download from Nick Bell's site.

http://www.knology.net/~cgmclellan/ is my site and it's listed as "Guadalcanal1.1.zip".

Haven't figured out how to "upload" files yet. I am rather new here.

It's pretty easy. On the Guadalcanal page, scroll down to "Files." (It's below the Marketplace and eBay sections, if you've got the same layout as I do.) Click "Add File" (It's in the dark blue band, below the title--Files--and to the right of "Browse.")

After that, just do the obvious.

OK, I tried that. It didn't work. Either the file was too large or the admin felt that it violated the "don't load it here if it is loaded elsewhere" rule or some other rule or I did things wrong -- your pick.

Anyway, the module can be downloaded from the links that I put in the above message. I tried to add the links with the same negative result.

The MyGeek thing shows no files or links pending and no response positive or negative from site admin/moderators.

Here is my critique of Guadalcanal from the ReadMe with the ADC2 module. The variants are touched on here, but covered in more detail in the Variant section of the Readme.

CRITIQUE:

This game suffered when published due to a number of factors.

First was the subject matter. The WWII conflict in the Pacific was not as dynamic as that in Europe. The Pacific island invasions and combat were more reminiscent of WWI frontal assaults and trench warfare than the fluid European battles. Further, the full scope of the Guadalcanal Campaign covered integrated land, sea, and air combat, yet the game focus was limited to just the land battle.

Second, the game playing aids were unsatisfactory. A casualty pad for off-map recording of step losses was provided; consequently, what appeared as a full strength unit on the map was perhaps a greatly re-duced unit – this was not an intentional deception. This game followed Avalon Hill's Blitzkrieg where substitute unit counters were provided. Due to the extensive number of counters that would have been necessary while retaining the battalion/regiment structure, a check-off casualty pad was included instead of substitute counters.

Third, the hidden units rule made the game cumbersome to play. Japanese units in jungle hexes were kept off the map and only disclosed in the combat phase after a US unit attempted to enter the hex during movement. The US player needed to be away from the game while the Japanese player moved and the Japanese player needed to remember exactly where his units were located and watch closely while the US player moved.

Lastly, the game used "Victory Points" to determine a winner, and I do not think highly of "Victory Points" as a method for determining a victor.

SOLVING THE PROBLEMS:

To solve the second and third situations for the original game, I made a set of counters that provided the full range of steps. This was not as cumbersome as it seems because I used both sides of a counter – Avalon Hill did not introduce double-sided counters until later. For the hidden unit problem, I included dummy counters and counter covers, twenty I believe. The counter covers were used on all hidden units. Dummy counters were moved and covered, as where the actual counters, and only revealed by combat. The system worked pretty well. I have incorporated the system into this module as one of the variants. I have not attempted to correct the first situation and I no longer have my original Guadalcanal game -- only an eBay purchased product.

ADC2 goes a long way towards solving both the second and third situations. Once set up in a module, simply "flipping" a counter reduces or increases its strength – end of the check-off pad. ADC2 also sports hidden unit options that can closely approximate that provided in the game's optional rule. Of course, any PBeM game requires integrity on the part of opponents because a turn can be restarted after the location of hidden units has been revealed.

While the Pacific battles cannot be made flashier, the "Navy & Air Force in Guadalcanal" variant by Richard Giberson inserts some naval and air components into the game. I guess that is the most we can expect from a rather ancient game. I have not tried the variant, but I have included the components in the module so that others can.

Joel Davis provides a variant that provides additional resources for the Japanese. These were Japanese troops at Rabaul projected to go to Guadalcanal.

The Southern Pacific area was the territory of two Allied theaters – South Pacific under Admiral Ghormley and Southwest Pacific under General McArthur in Australia. Admiral Ghormley's mission was to protect the shipping lanes between the US and Australia. His invasion of Guadalcanal was a defensive measure to prevent the Japanese from operating a nearly completed air base on the island. Ghormley was not an enthusiastic proponent of the invasion; he was prodded into the attack by higher headquarters. Ghormley was apprehensive about the invasion and pessimistic about chances of holding Guadalcanal. The battle on Guadalcanal was vying for resources with the European Theater (Operation Torch in North Africa, Lend Lease to Russia, and the Operation Bolero build up in England) and with McArthur who was engaged in a battle against the Japanese in New Guinea. Ghormley had some additional assets available that he was slow to forward to Guadalcanal. Ghormley's pessimistic reports and defeatist attitude ultimately lead to his relief and replacement by Admiral William Halsey, a charismatic and dynamic leader. In addition, greater effort was capable of being made by the US and was made by the US after the struggle captured the attention of the American public. To account for this, I have provided some US Army units that could have been sent to Guadalcanal but were not. These forces are provided as variant units.

I don't think that this assessment gives full credit to the land battle. It certainly was no skirmish. The Japanese lost over 25,000 ground troops against 1,800 US. The land battle, coupled with those in New Guinea, stopped cold the Japanese advances in the Pacific. The key to the land battle was Henderson Field. If it could not have been held and maintained operational, the campaign and battle would have been lost. And, it was held by the land forces, not by the naval forces.

The US Navy was defeated badly and US Naval losses exceeded those of the Japanese. The nights belonged to the Japanese Navy. But in daylight, the air space around Guadalcanal belonged to the American Marine, Army, and Navy pilots. Japanese air bases were too far away to provide effect air support. If the Japanese land forces had captured Henderson Field, the situation would have been reversed and the US would have had to be withdrawn or they would have been lost.

Then why NOT combine either the 'Smithsonian' GAME of "Guadalcanal" or that "Ironbottom Sound" GAME with this? Sure that'll increase the "playing time" exponentially, but ONLY some "hard-core" type of "grognard" WOULD even 'dare' to do thusly eh?

I think Richard Giberson's "Navy & Air Force in Guadalcanal" variant in the General magazine goes a long way toward solving the absence of the naval and air forces. If you look at the image of the ADC2 Guadalcanal module, you can see US Transports and Destroyers along with a couple of SBD's. His variant adds day and night naval and air phases before and after each regular Guadalcanal land turn. All units, both US and Japanese have to be shipped to the island. Ammo and avgas must be shipped as well.