Game of the Week, Nov 17-23

This week’s Game of the Week takes you to the heart of the Pacific in June 1942, when the tide of World War II turned in a single, explosive battle. Naval Campaigns: Midway recreates the decisive clash between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy with the scale and precision that define Wargame Design Studio’s Naval Campaigns series.

Across the vast blue expanse of the Pacific, you’ll direct carrier task forces, coordinate long-range air searches, and decide when—and where—to strike. Every choice carries immense weight, as intelligence, timing, and nerve determine victory or disaster.

Naval Campaigns: Midway is available at a special 25% discount throughout the week, until November 23rd.  

The Day The Tide Turned In The Pacific

The battle fought near Midway Atoll from June 4 to 7, 1942, stands among the most consequential naval engagements of World War II  In the wake of Japan’s sweeping expansion across the Pacific—seizing Hong Kong, Malaya, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies—the Imperial Japanese Navy sought to extend its defensive perimeter and annihilate the remnants of American naval power  Their grand design was to lure the U.S. Pacific Fleet into a decisive engagement, crush it, and compel Washington to accept peace on Tokyo’s terms  The target chosen for this trap was the tiny outpost of Midway, strategically placed at the northwestern tip of the Hawaiian chain.

“AF is short of water.” — Intercepted Japanese message confirming Midway as the target, May 1942.

The United States, however, possessed an invisible weapon: intelligence.  At Station HYPO in Pearl Harbor, Commander Joseph Rochefort and his team had spent months painstakingly breaking the Japanese naval code JN-25b  By late May, they could read just enough of the intercepted traffic to discern that the Japanese were planning a major operation against a location designated only as “AF.” Opinions in Washington differed—some thought “AF” referred to the Aleutian Islands—but Rochefort was convinced it meant Midway  To settle the matter, his team devised a brilliant ruse  Acting on HYPO’s recommendation, the Midway garrison broadcast an unencrypted message stating that its desalination plant had failed and that the island was short of fresh water  Within hours, Japanese stations relayed a coded message that “AF is short of water.” The deception had worked perfectly, and Nimitz now knew beyond doubt that Midway was the target of Japan’s next offensive.

Armed with this intelligence, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz prepared an ambush  He rushed three available carriers—Enterprise, Hornet, and the hastily repaired Yorktown—to take up positions northeast of the atoll  Opposing them, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s Combined Fleet deployed four fleet carriers under Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo: Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, and Hiryū  Their aircrews were the same veterans who had attacked Pearl Harbor Yamamoto’s plan called for a diversionary assault in the Aleutians, a carrier strike on Midway to draw out the Americans, and then an overwhelming main attack by his surface fleet to destroy whatever U.S. ships remained.

At dawn on 4 June, Japanese aircraft struc Iwo Jima’ss defenses, inflicting damage but failing to neutralize its airfields  As reports from the returning strike groups filtered in, Nagumo faced a moment of profound uncertainty—what historians later called “Nagumo’s Dilemma.” He had to decide whether to launch a second strike against the island or rearm his planes with anti-ship ordnance in case American carriers were nearby  At first, no enemy ships were reported, and Nagumo ordered the aircraft prepared for a second land strike  Then, minutes later, new reconnaissance sighted American vessels to the northeast  The result was chaos: hangar decks filled with aircraft being hastily rearmed, bombs and torpedoes scattered about, and flight operations suspended at the worst possible moment.

While Nagumo wrestled with conflicting reports, American scout planes from Enterprise and Yorktown closed in  U.S. torpedo squadrons attacked first, suffering devastating losses, yet their sacrifice pulled the Japanese combat air patrols down to sea level  Moments later, dive-bombers arrived overhead  In a span of barely five minutes, three Japanese carriers—Akagi, Kaga, and Sōryū—were set ablaze and doomed  Only Hiryū remained operational long enough to strike back, crippling Yorktown, but by nightfall, she too was found and destroyed.

“Never tell anyone outside my staff that the Submarine Force and the First Air Fleet were responsible for the failure at Midway  The failure at Midway was mine.” - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

The strategic consequences were immense  Japan lost four frontline carriers, over 300 aircraft, and many of its most experienced aircrews—losses it could never replace  The Imperial Navy’s aura of invincibility vanished, and the initiative in the Pacific shifted decisively to the Allies  From that point onward, Japan was on the defensive  The United States, buoyed by superior production and training, soon launched the Guadalcanal campaign and began its relentless advance across the Pacific  This next phase of the struggle is recreated in Naval Campaigns: Guadalcanal, which continues the story of naval engagements in the Solomon Islands and the Dutch Indies.

For historians and wargamers alike, Midway remains the archetype of the carrier age: a contest of intelligence, timing, and nerve  It was a battle decided not merely by tonnage and firepower, but by deception, luck, and the courage of those who pressed home their attacks against staggering odds—a combination that Naval Campaigns: Midway captures in remarkable detail.

What's in the Game

• 51 Scenarios in total: 41 stand-alone scenarios plus 10 linked campaign scenarios, covering actions from small skirmishes to full carrier battles.

• Dedicated solo tutorial scenario designed to introduce players to carrier operations, search patterns, and airstrike mechanics.

• Specialized scenario variants optimized for head-to-head play and for vs. AI engagements.

• Comprehensive Pacific maps representing the major naval theaters from Hawaii to the Solomon Islands and the Philippine Sea.

• Detailed Orders of Battle for all Japanese and Allied forces in the Midway and surrounding campaigns, with additional units included for hypothetical or alternative scenarios.

• A full suite of editors, including Order of Battle, Campaign, Parameter Data, and Scenario Editors, enables deep customization and user-created content.

• Extensive design notes covering research choices, scenario construction, campaign background, and a full bibliography of sources used by the design team.

• Multiple play modes, including AI play, LAN multiplayer, and live Internet play.

• Wide battle coverage (1941–1945): Includes key engagements such as Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz Islands, and the Philippine Sea.

Bibliography and Videos

Here are some book recommendations to get a wider understanding of the carrier battles of the Pacific War (Clicking the cover bringes you the book page on Amazon)

Lundstrom, John B  The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway  Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1984. - A foundational, deeply researched study of early Pacific carrier warfare that remains unmatched for tactical and operational insight.

Parshall, Jonathan B., and Anthony P. Tully  Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway  Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2005. - The definitive modern reinterpretation of Midway, transforming understanding of Japanese carrier doctrine and decision-making.

Symonds, Craig L  The Battle of Midway  New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. - A balanced, accessible, and authoritative single-volume account integrating intelligence, command decisions, and battle action.

Prange, Gordon W., with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon  At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor  New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981. -  One of the most comprehensive and readable single-volume histories of the Pearl Harbor attack, built on decades of research and unrivaled archival depth.

Lundstrom, John B. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal  Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2006. - A revisionist reassessment of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, arguing that despite commanding key early carrier victories at Coral Sea, Midway, and Eastern Solomons, he was unfairly maligned after the war as timid and inept due to controversies over Wake Island and Guadalcanal.

...and some historical video documentaries on YouTube...

Screenshots

Below, you will find screenshots from the game, which will give you an impression of what to expect  There are two distinct interface variants available  (Clicking on an images opens it in full resolution)

We hope you enjoy this week’s Game of the Week: Naval Campaigns: Midway  Like all WDS titles, it provides countless hours of rich historical gameplay at a very attractive price.