Operational Matters Vol. 2 An OCS Guide w/ Luzon

Operational Matters Volume 2 w/Luzon is a 40 page magazine focused on players new to Operational Combat Series games. The eight articles help players learn or even improve on their OCS knowledge. This also includes a set of six double-sided cardstock Reference Cards to help learning and experienced gamers as well. We've also included a small OCS game, Luzon: Race for Bataan, which is a low-density, quick-playing game.

Luzon: Race for Bataan covers the mobile campaign during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, from December 22, 1941, when the main Japanese forces landed in Lingayen Gulf, to January 7, 1942, when the U.S.-Philippine Army completed its retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. New designer Matsuura Yutaka has created a five-turn OCS mini-game that recreates this period of intense manoeuvering. General Wainwright, commander of the North Luzon Force, conducted a brilliant retreat against the advancing Japanese blitzkrieg, and succeeded in getting a large number of troops to Bataan. In Luzon: Race for Bataan, the U.S.-Philippine Army must delay the Japanese advance and gather forces in the Bataan peninsula. As directed by Imperial General Headquarters, the Japanese priority is to capture Manila. However, if the U.S.-Philippine Army can be outmaneuvered, the Japanese could both occupy Manila and deal a devastating blow to the U.S.-Philippine Army. The game pits a small-but-elite Japanese force which must make fast progress against a larger, less-effective opponent.

Luzon: Race for Bataan has a single 22" x 34" map, fewer than 50 combat units, and is played at a scale of 5-miles per hex and 3.5 days per turn. There is only one scenario, with an option for random changes which alter play each time.

Operational Matters #2 contents:

• Luzon Example of Play by Chip Saltsman. Detailed walkthrough of the first turn of Luzon with explanations and illustrations of key system mechanics.
• Tony’s Top 10 Tips on OCS Strategy by Tony Zbaraschuk. Accumulated wisdom on your strategic plan for an OCS game.
• Tony’s Top 12 Tactical Tips for OCS by Tony Zbaraschuk. Recommendation on the most efficient tactical play.
• Best OCS Scenarios for Beginners by Matsuura Yutaka. Good next steps for OCS players.
• Common Beginner Mistakes in OCS by Antonello Salvatucci and Paolo de Francesco. Benefitting from other’s hard-won experience.
• OCS Combat Results & Retreats by Chip Saltsman. Detailed illustrations of how the system implements these concepts.
• Fog of War and Enemy Stacks by Chip Saltsman. You can’t look at enemy stacks in OCS, but what can you see, what can’t you examine, and what is legal versus “gamey?”
• Most Overlooked OCS Rules by Chip Saltsman. What even experienced players miss.
• 16-page Luzon game-specific rulebook insert.
• 6 Reference Cards:
  • Air Missions (two pages)
  • Key Game Definitions (one page)
  • Mode Reference Guide (one page)
  • Transport (two pages)
  • Supply (six pages covering concepts, Trace Supply, Combat Supply, Fueling, and a complete supply network example)

Luozon: Battle for Bataan Components

• Game-Specific Rulebook with Scenarios, Historical Commentary, Designer's Notes, Developer's Notes, Random Events and Players Notes. (included in the magazine)
• One Full Colour Game Map (22x34)
• One Game Specific half-countersheet (units and markers) – 140 counters

Note: The OCS 4.3 Series Rules and OCS 4.3 Charts and Tables are not included with this magazine, they can be downloaded from the Gamers Archive on the publisher's website.