I swung by one of my FLGS to pick up the new Pacific army books that had just came out. They also had a few sets of the Beach Landing Pack. I decided to go ahead and pick it up, as the price was not terrible and I was interested to see the Pacific version of the beach assault rules.
Truth be told, it was a compulsive purchase, as I needed it like a hole in the head! However, I figured I could use the cards and the beach rules. The set comes shrink wrapped with all the components inside a cover and back cover sheet.
The set gives you everything you need to play beach assault games in the Pacific. You get a small rule book, two beach paper mats, counters, cardboard terrain and cardboard US landing craft. All have artwork that matches existing Battlefront models.
You get a deck of five cards for each of the bunker and nest types for the pacific. Each is for use with the Japanese army/navy units. I thought it was interesting that there are no cards for the allies. I could see nests, to represent defensive fights in the period. On the positive side, the Japanese bunker cards give a nice selection of weapons appropriate for the Japanese.
The cardboard punch outs are done in a very thick card and should be very durable. If you have the terrain, these are of little use. If you do not, they will give you a head start. In the case of the nests, I think you can use these under stands as emplacement markers, to reflect them also.
You get counters for barbwire and mines. These are helpful, when using these effects in your game and getting more is always nice. Our group still uses the old style terrain, as it makes more sense to use than the round features around markers. To each their own! I rather like the cardboard landing craft. I have the necessary models, so these are not so important to me. However, I could see using these with some other sets, when a lot of landing craft are needed in a game (just put the stands on top). It is also a cheap way to have a marker for something you do not use much, instead of paying prime dollar for actual models.
The set comes with two six foot sheets for beach terrain. Once again, something nice to have, if you do not have the terrain or do not want to make terrain for something you do not use very often, I can see using these under a normal ground cloth to extend into beach terrain.
Finally, we have the rule book. It is more of a pamphlet, so short and sweet. It starts with a section on Pacific terrain information and rules. For me, this is the most interesting. You also get the rules for beach assault. These are the same as all the other beach assault supplements, so if you have one, you have them all. Finally, you get some standard tourney style beach assault scenarios at the back of the rules.
Overall, not a bad set and not too expensive. If you have a use for all the cardboard accessories, it is definitely worth it. If not, it is probably a a luxury purchase.
- Manteuffel