You may occasionally be assigned a special mission, such as picking up a downed allied airman, dropping off supplies to a Coastwatcher, or even shelling an enemy supply dump. But beware: hidden enemy machine-gun nests and shore guns may await as your boats approach the shoreline.
dEVi L BoAtS
Other hazards you and your squadron will likely face are bad weather with heavy seas, reef collisions, plus a multitude of random events.
Designer Deep Dive: Devil Boats
Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons was designed to be detailed, yet accessible to even new players with no prior gaming experience. Gameplay has been greatly streamlined. The need to memorize a bunch of complicated rules has been bypassed, as most of the rules have been integrated into the tables as notes, yet the game still retains a certain level of complexity and unpredictability, which adds to replayability. The option to play short and Medium
Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons covers the months from July to september 1943 — the most active months of the campaign in the northward advance against Japanese forces. as PT Boat commander, you will lead up to four PT boats on nightly patrols in and around the New Georgia Islands from your base on rendova. Your primary goal is to sink as many IJN barges as possible in an attempt to prevent them from transporting troops and supplies to the surrounding islands. But that’s easier said than done, as enemy air patrols and the occasional IJN destroyer will do their best to sink you and your squadron. and don’t think that sinking those barges will be easy. They were armored and very tough, requiring hundreds or even thousands of PT gun shell hits to sink. More often than not, they escaped into the night.
Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons models twelve individual PT boat crewmen, sailors who may be injured, killed, or even come down with Malaria during your campaign games. But if they do survive long enough, their skills will improve. The game also models individual PT boat equipment and components, such as radio, radar, engines, guns, bilge pumps, etc. These components may be damaged or destroyed, perhaps forcing your PT squadron to break off the patrol early, or maybe even disabling one of your boats. also modeled is PT squadron management, allowing you to conduct PT boat assignments and repairs at rendova. as a PT boat squadron commander, your ultimate goal is to survive the three months and destroy as many IJN enemy forces as possible without suffering too many squadron losses yourself. But be careful — play recklessly and lose too many PT boats and you may find yourself relieved of command and sent back to the United states, or even court-martialed! Do well, on the other hand, and you will earn well-deserved medals.
sleek, fast, and heavily-armed, Us Navy PT boats were soon given the nickname ‘Devil Boats’ by Imperial Japanese forces for their ability to suddenly show up out of nowhere, inflict heavy damage and then quickly disappear again under the cover of night. In General Douglas Mc arthur’s evacuation from the Philippines in 1942, and throughout numerous bloody south Pacific island naval battles, and finally upon the eventual return of Us forces to the Philippines in 1945, Us Navy PT boats played a small but important role in the south Pacific Campaign during World War II.
By Joe Carter
Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons is a solitaire, tactical-level wargame. You, as commander, will lead a squadron of four US Navy PT boats on nightly missions against Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands during the summer months of 1943.
• Two Counter sheets. These 5/8” counters are thicker than previous Compass Games counters, and the counter corners are now also rounded, which is always a nice feature to help prevent wear and tear.
• One Special Missions board. This cardstock sheet is where the PT boat squadron conducts its special missions, such as Coastwatcher pick-up or shell a supply dump. This is also where combat with IJN aircraft, Machine Gun Nests, and shore Guns takes place. again, there are three range Zones on this boardClose, Medium, and Long.
Special Missions Board
Now let’s take a closer look at the game components:
• One Rules & Tables Book. This 52-page book contains all of the rules and tables required to play the game.
• Two 6-sided dice, four 10-sided dice, and one 4-sided die.
campaign games of one or two months is also included. One thing is certain, no two missions will ever play the same.
Crew Placement Board
• One PT Boat Damage Log card. This laminated cardstock sheet is where damage to PT squadron boats #1 through #4 is tracked by marking off the various boxes with a dry-erase marker. PT Boat #1 always represents the player’s boat (CO), and the damage modeling is more detailed for it. Components and equipment on PT Boat #1 which can be damaged or destroyed during a mission include: 37mm Cannon, Balsa Life raft, Bilge Pumps, Fire extinguishers, Hull (below the waterline), steering Control, Throttle Control, Torpedo Director, Torpedo Launch Controller, aa Gun Turrets, radar antenna, radio antenna, Torpedo Tubes, Batteries, Freshwater Tank, radar, radio, Fuel Tanks, 20mm Cannon, Propellers, Propeller shafts, rudders, auxiliary Generators, Tools/ repair equipment, engines, and engine Cooling Pumps.
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• One Crewmen Placement board. This cardstock sheet represents an overhead view of an elco 80’ PT boat. The interior and topdeck sections of the boat are displayed separately. each of these sections is divided into three separate sections: Bow, Mid, and stern. For the Top Deck section, the following counter boxes represent their corresponding crewmen: Bow Gunner, Bow Gunner Loader, CO (Commanding Officer), XO (executive Officer), aa Gunner 1, aa Gunner 2, Torpedo Mate 1, Torpedo Mate 2, stern Gunner, and stern ammo Loader. For the Interior section, the following counter boxes represent their corresponding crewmen: radio Operator and engineer. The Interior section also contains boxes for three Fire extinguisher counters, plus two Passenger counters and one supply Cargo counter. There are also five rest Bed boxes to be used when crewmen become incapacitated from severe Wounds during combat.
• One 8.5” x 11” mounted Strategic Map. This map represents the solomon Islands and contains connected travel boxes which the PT boat squadron will travel through while conducting nightly missions. These boxes are also color-coded, signifying the closer you get to enemy territory, the more likely your PT squadron will encounter IJN aircraft or surface units.
• Two dry-erase markers to be used on the various laminated log sheets.
• One Combat board. This cardstock sheet is where the PT boat squadron conducts most of its combat with IJN aircraft and surface units. There are three range Zones on the board: Close, Medium, and Long. The PT boat squadron may move closer to enemy surface units each combat round, allowing for a better chance of hitting the enemy with torpedo and gun attacks. But when in the Close range zone, there is always the chance of colliding with coral reefs!
• One paper pad of Campaign Log sheets. These sheets are where the player records campaign information such as mission dates, assigned mission zones and types, enemy units destroyed, PT boats and crewmen lost, and Victory Points awarded.
• One paper pad of Crewmen Status sheets. These sheets are where the player records crewman status information such as name, crewman start date, enemy kills, ace status, Veteran status, special skills, and PT boat squadron CO medals awarded.
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each game mission consists of multiple turns. each turn, the player’s PT boat squadron moves through the travel boxes on the strategic Map board on its way to and from the mission assignment zone. During these turns, the player rolls on the corresponding tables, depending on the situation. During the campaign, VPs (Victory Points) are awarded for destroying enemy units or completing special missions. The PT squadron CO may also earn medals if he performs well enough. But VPs can also be lost when a PT boat is sunk, PT Boat # 1 crewmean KIa, or a special mission fails. and if the CO loses too many PT boats in his squadron, he may be relieved of command, or even courtmartialed! at the end of the game, on October 1st, the squadron CO’s VPs are added up and his final campaign score is calculated.
• Special Missions and IJN Destroyer Status Log card. This laminated cardstock sheet is where special Missions IJN supply Dump, Machine Gun Nest, and shore Gun unit-damage status is tracked. This is also where damage status of enemy IJN aircraft and Destroyers, convoy size, and combat-waves completed is tracked.
I’d like to close by saying that I’ve really enjoyed creating Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons. It’s been quite a journey these past few years of development, playtesting, and proofing. a journey filled with weariness, frustration, determination, patience, and satisfaction. My ultimate goal with creating Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons was to make a game with a small table footprint which was detailed and historically accurate, yet playable and accessible for just about anyone. I tried very hard to maintain game flow and keep it from becoming too fiddly and bogged down with minute details, and I feel confident that I’ve accomplished that. I
For the sake of gameplay, damage modeling for PT Boats #2 through #4 is more abstracted by simplifying it down to systems and Flooding damage only, without the tracking of individual crewmen. This was done to help keep the game from becoming too fiddly or bogged down in details.
There are three different campaign games: short, Medium, and Long. The short Campaign begins on august 1st, 1943 and ends on October 1st, 1943 — typically taking 5–10 hours to complete. The Medium Campaign begins on august 1st, 1943 and ends on October 1st, 1943 — typically taking 10–15 hours to complete. Finally, the Long Campaign begins on July 1st, 1943 and ends on October 1st, 1943 — typically taking 15–20+ hours to complete. Whatever the campaign, most missions can be completed in 15–30 minutes, with the occasional 1-hour patrol if several enemy convoys are encountered. you can see, Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons was not designed to finish a campaign during one or two sessions. But no need to worry, because game setup and breakdown
• One PT Boat Squadron Status Log card. This laminated cardstock sheet is where the PT boat squadron status is tracked during a campaign game, representing the PT base at rendova. a maximum of five PT boats representing the player’s squadron may be present at the base. This includes PT Boats #1 through #4, plus the reserve PT boat. Whenever a PT boat is damaged and must undergo repairs requiring more than one day, the reserve PT boat may take its place during missions while the damaged boat is being repaired. Upon completion of repairs, that boat then becomes the reserve PT boat. But for PT boats which are sunk, replacement boats may take up to twenty days each to arrive at base, which can seriously affect mission operations
Finally, I’d like to talk about the game engine and basics of gameplay. The heart of the game engine is built upon a series of tables which are played through in alphabetical and numerical order (depending on the situation). These tables contain numerous modifiers, which guarantees that no two missions will ever play the same. The beauty of this system is the fact that most of the game-rules are integrated into the tables as notes, which allows for instant access them in the midst of play. This also means the game has a low entry-cost with a shallow learning curve but lots of detail. again, it does not require that you memorize a lot of complicated rules. Just about anyone (even those without a wargaming background) can simply pick up the game and start playing it right away.
• One IJN Barge Status Log card. This laminated cardstock sheet is where the damage status of enemy IJN aircraft and Barges is tracked. Just like PT boats #2 through #4, the damage modeling is simplified down to systems and Flooding only. each aircraft and barge unit contains damage boxes which are checked off with a dry-erase marker during combat. Convoy size and combat-waves completed is also tracked here.
times are only about five minutes, meaning a few missions can be played, after which the game can be quickly packed up and put away again for another day. each game day, your PT squadron Commander will be assigned a mission for that night. These missions may include offensive patrols, plus special missions such as shelling enemy supply dumps, picking up or dropping off a Coastwatcher in enemy territory, searching for a downed allied pilot, or dropping off supplies to a Coastwatcher in enemy territory.
Sample Devil Boats counters
* engineer: Patrick H. McMahon
* stern ammo Loader: edman e. Mauer
2. mission Setup
Devil Boats PT 109 Scenario add-on v1.3
* Bow Gunner: William Johnston
* Bow ammo Loader: Gerard e. Zinser
* aa Gunner 2: Harold W. Marney
* Number of squadron PT Boats assigned: 4
* Mission Type: Offensive Patrol
*New unit-counter included on this issue’s sheet.
4. combat resolution
3. Arrival in mission Assignment Zone
* aa Gunner 1: Charles a. Harris
* Mission Weather: Poor (sea state 2 in Mission assignment Zone 1)
Copyright © 2021 Joe Carter
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* Torpedo Mate 2: andrew J. Kirksey
Fubuki-class Destroyer
This add-on attempts to recreate John F. Kennedy’s PT 109 fateful encounter with an IJN destroyer in the solomon Islands on the night of august 1st, 1943. The mission may be played as a single standalone scenario, or the first mission of a Medium campaign game. George H. ross is included as a passenger. He went along as an observer aboard PT 109 that night, after previously losing his own PT boat. If a PT 109 crewman is sW or KIa during the mission, George ross may take their place.
* stern Gunner: raymond albert
* Mission Date: august 1st, 1943
1. P t #1 (109) crewmen names Setup
starting with round 2, continue to roll on all relevant section e tables until evasion is successful or combat is resolved.
* Passenger 1: George H. ross*
* radio Operator: John e. Maguire
* XO: Leonard J. Thom
* Upon arrival in the Mission assignment red Zone 1, PT #1 is separated from PTs #2, #3, and #4 for the remainder of the mission. roll for each separated PT #2, #3, and #4 on Table a-14. Next, roll on tables a-10 and a-11. Do not roll on Tables a-7 (sea state is 2 during combat in Mission assignment Zone 1), a-12, or a-13 (no MG Nests or shore Guns present).
* Torpedo Mate 1: ray L. starkey
* CO: John F. Kennedy
* The PT #1 encounters a single Fubuki-class IJN destroyer (destroyer name is amagiri). Destroyer crew skill level is elite. Place PT #1 counter (PT 109) in the Close range zone on the Combat board. PT #1 speed is Idle during the first combat round, and has already been detected by the destroyer. It may not fire its guns or torpedoes during the first combat round, as it is surprised by the destroyer and caught off guard. roll on Tables e-4, e-6, e-7, e-8, and e-9. (remember that the PT #1 may not move or fire its weapons during the first combat round.)
* Mission assignment Zone: 1
PT 109 Crew
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