Reminisces of "Midway"

We go down memory lane with, this old, but fascinating Naval-Air game from Avalon Hill designed in 1964, although I did not discover it until 1969.

[@greyone40]

The last time I played this would be around 40 years ago. Thanks for the refresher, as a lot of this stuff was so unfamiliar. I remember the two boards, search and battle, but that's about it. This was indeed a good game, because it wasn't too complex, so you felt you were having fun playing a game. When things get so heavy that you have to pull out the rule book or shuffle piles of charts it gets to be a slog. You did a nice job on that Leyte Gulf variant.

[@Warriorking.1963]

A classic video showing a classic game. Midway is one of my favourites, indeed this was my first wargame, and I still cherish it. I'd play it any day of the week, but it's hard finding people willing to give "that clapped out old thing" a chance (their loss). I'd love to get my hands on the Coral Sea variant, but for some reason, it's always managed to elude me, but I live in eternal hope. But what about that Leyte Game??? That is seriously impressive, you did a fantastic job making those counters. It's just a shame you've only ever got to play it twice, it deserves to see much more action than that. All-in-all, an absolutely fantastic video showing a great game off to its very finest.

[@richierich8555]

Brings back lots of memories. Midway was my 2nd game after Guadalcanal, and we played it to death. It demonstrated the realities of naval war with carriers to twelve year olds better than any book could. And set me on my love of military history and gaming. And I also read Destroyer captain. Haven't thought of that book in forty years! Thanks so much!

[@chrisb.1116]

Midway was my first wargame. Wonderful memories. I also collected the Ballantine books and the pagoda masts of the Japanese battleships in The Japanese High Seas Fleet burned into my mind. Thanks again for the your of your gaming room.

[@DavidRamirez-ww5kv]

Hi Gilbert. Great review and walk down memory lane for me too. I believe Midway was also my first wargame, then Battle of the Bulge back in 1970-71. I remember it just as you described it and would talk my younger siblings to play the game with me as the Japanese. I was 11 or 12 and they were 8 and 6. I enjoyed it allot. I grew up, went to college, moved out and live in a different city. My game may still be around but I doubt it. I play games now and am always looking for the “best” game for these battles. PS, I ordered your War for America game from my wargame friend that I buy my games from. He said it arrives next week.

[@TripleGMS]

First wargame I ever owned. As a 12 year old playing with my older cousins this game is a lot of fun. I have a buddy who loves naval history who I should teach how to play with. Thanks Gilbert for sharing!

[@Aquadoc1962]

One tactic I remember was when your opponent called out a search square, you took your time trying to see if your unit was in that square and also have a concerned look on your face which indicated to your opponent that his search was very close when actually it was way off. Another tactic was when you moved your fleet on the strategic or search board you would focus your eyes and turn your head/body towards the area were your fleet wasn't and when you did move your fleet, you would do so when you didn't think your opponent wasn't looking at your eyes and/or body movement. You tried to do your move without actually looking at it, or if need be, dart your eyes all over the board so your opponent didn't know where you were trying to look. All of these tactics are of course in the gray area of good sportsmanship in a game which required absolute honesty. However, then again you didn't want to give away your fleet position by your eye/body movements. I am thinking that in later years this game was digitized wholly, or partially as a play aid. It may have been one of the very first 'computer' war games, which reminds me of a story ... in mid 1970s in which I ran into James Dunnigan in a dark elevator at SPI after bribing the security guard with a 6-Pack of beer to get in. I was after a job at SPI and he told me to get an interview with Irad Hardy the next day and that he was going upstairs to mess with the computer. This really peaked my interest that SPI may be working on computerized war games. I went in for the Interview the next morning after sleeping all night in my VW van and decided I didn't want to work in New York City, so I went out and surfed Montauk Point instead and then drove home to Michigan. I was nuts about war games and still am!

[@craigclemens986]

Piqued, not peaked

[@Aquadoc1962]

@@craigclemens986 Strange that I never use that word. I'm wondering what word I meant to use!

[@GrafStorm]

I got my start with Avalon Hill Games in the late 60's early 70's. Ty Gilbert.

[@beertruk2429]

Bloody good game. A mate who was a civy at the unit I was posted to when I was in the Army, would come over to my place (late 80s early 90s), mostly on a Friday night (my wife had to put up with us drinking a few beers and eating delivered pizza) and we would play either Midway, Panzer Blitz, Panzer Leader, Arab Israeli Wars or Flat Top. Or Harpoon by Larry Bond. There was much 'wailing and gnashing of teeth' from who ever had a garbage dice roll. My mate won the first time we played Midway against each other. He played the Japanese...mumble mumble mumble...of course I get to work on the Monday to find that there were more than a few 'dispersions cast on my Admiralty and Naval skills.' Fun times. Sadly my mate has since passed away.

[@XLEGION1]

Agree totally. "Midway" has never been a tournament game as far as I know, at any major convention. It is a fantastic game and I still have my copy.

[@GenghisVern]

Wow, this brings back memories. I still have a baggie full of Midway counters. Loved this game.

[@brucewarren3562]

Midway was my very first Avalon Hill game and I was hooked for good!

[@robertmoffitt1336]

Midway...as a kid in 1976, "Sensor-Sound" was the big hype at the movie theater when my Dad took everyone to see Charlton Heston in the 1976 Midway movie. The Avalon Hill game soon became mine, and a childhood friend of mine and myself played the heck out of AH Midway. My 2nd war game behind Blitzkrieg. Played Midway last in 2016, 40 years after first discovering it, and it was still fun!

[@XLEGION1]

Yes, I saw that one too in Sensor-sound and it was awesome. Of course I have that film on blu-ray dvd today. The version made a few years ago was forgettable CGI garbage.

[@teller1290]

@@XLEGION1 Sensaround?

[@alansalazar9543]

Awesome video. Really enjoyed the review of a cherished old classic. The counters you made for Leyte were outstanding. Would love to know how you did them.

[@mikesummers4530]

After Squad Leader and the expansions (CoD, CoI and GI:AoV) this was the next game I bought and played. Hadn't thought of this game in maybe 40+ years. Really enjoyed this, thanks.

[@bmen6401]

Great video, Gilbert. Midway was the first AH game I played as a kid. So much fun! Thanks for the happy memories.

[@normstewart546]

Midway was one of my earlier games too - even have Coral Sea. I liked the combat mechanic, but was always hoping for an improved search mechanic. Fun game - I'd play it again.

[@MrGeneralPB]

nice, there is a lot of old games that are awesome but people don't really know of or can get their hands on but would be awesome to play regardless.

[@againsttheleftandright4065]

Been trying to pass time while I'm stationed in Okinawa. Have taken to making a Battle of Okinawa light hex strategy game. These videos are nice to get a feel for similar games of the era.

[@steveoh9285]

A true classic, and my second wargame ever (after Panzerblit).

[@e-4airman124]

Hello Sir! I really enjoyed Midway ! thanks for the reminder

[@pizzafrenzyman]

My first was Midway, and my second was Gettysburg. Played the heck out of both. I still have both, but the boxes look seriously worn, and may be missing counters after moving several dozen times during my life.

[@lawrencef6562]

Reacquired the game about 10 years ago and got an original copy of Coral Sea with the die cut ship and plane counters, as well as the Wargamers Guide. Only had the chance to play a couple of times since. Inspired by your love of the old titles and the life you still find in them. All contained in a few pages of rules! Plenty of room for some tweaks like weather rules. Your Letter Gulf looks very cool; hard to imagine how you recreate the events from God mode and after the fact...not unlike Jackson's march at Chancellorsville...

[@crapphone7744]

I didn't even know there was such a thing as war games until I saw a copy of Midway and a bookstore in Buffalo New York. I wind up my dad ceaselessly until he bought it for me. That was 55 years ago and I still wore game today thanks to that awesome game.

[@craigclemens986]

Whined, I think you meant.

[@crapphone7744]

​@@craigclemens986yup☺️

[@craigfoster5470]

I’d be willing to play Midway again. There is a Vassal module apparently dated August 2022.

[@georgecoventry8441]

Midway is a great game. I played it many times in the 60's and 70's. Coral Sea, Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, and Santa Cruz are also well worth doing in the same way. After that, the Japanese really have no chance, being so outnumbered by the Allies, specially at Leyte Gulf. They'd have been better off not even trying to fight the American fleet with their own fleet by that point in the war. Just send the big ships home to harbor and keep them there as AA platforms. Maybe use the cruisers for commerce raiding. But you did a great job creating the counters and other stuff for that scenario.

[@princeofmoskova]

Fond memories of Midway, thank you. Wasn't it the 6-9-6 attack that you wanted on their carriers as I recall? Ohhh ... Leyte looks nice!

[@Tombonzo]

I thought about getting this game, but I have a buddy that has it himself. Probably just play his copy.

[@vstar7196]

As a fifteen year old I quickly realized that this game was a joke. The search procedures were identical to “Battleship”.

[@przemekbozek]

Thanks for the video - as always, interesting coverage. I'm with you on AP's First / Second World War at Sea - not a big fan of a tactical system (find it quite messy) and no Vassal/TTS support for a monster game that is not solo friendly didn't endear me to the company either. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on ATO's Leyte game if you get a chance to play it - I do have it (one of the very few magazine games I own) but never tried it...

[@richardklug822]

Did you also get their 1992 "Smithsonian" revised edition? If so, what do you think of that version?

[@XLEGION1]

I did get that version and was very disappointed in it. Especially the combat resolution. Nice looking but not half as good as the original in my opinion.

[@seanmorangamingwiththecolo513]

Gilbert, I am going to be in Ottawa in September. Any war game like stores that you would recommend I hit up? Coming in from Winnipeg. Already searching Kijiji for old Avalon Hills. thanks

[@XLEGION1]

We on,ynhace one main war game store in Ottawa called Fandom II and it now mainly carries miniarures and not war games, I’m sorry to say.

[@lawrencef6562]

Doesn't replace your labor of love, but Camelot Games offers the Leyte variant, counters and all, for $40 US. Now if it was only on Vassal...

[@craigclemens986]

Try the naval books by samuel Elliot Morrison.

[@56squadron]

I had wanted to post this last month but was having a hard time getting this vid to load and play.... anyway, I got to try something not too long ago I'd always wanted to try with this game. My daughter and her fiancee wanted to play it, and I acted as "moderator". Instead of calling out search areas, they submitted them to me on paper and I would check the results. I would then roll dice against a table I made which determined the veracity of the report received. The most common outcome being the truth of what was there, but it also included outcomes where the ships spotted the plane, (but the searching party was unaware of this) outcomes where there were ships there but they were missed, and erroneous reports - if there were ships but no carriers... the report would say carriers sighted and vice versa. All the typical fog of war outcomes. They would both then get written "reports" from me on what they did or did not discover, and if nothing it would just say "Nothing to report". But since they each got a paper they had no idea what either knew or was being told. It made for a great deal of suspense, and was quite enjoyable. (In fact I enjoyed it almost more than playing) Eventually my daughter found and stalked his carrier fleet and when ready threw everything at it... and won. He never saw it coming because he did not know he had been spotted. If you ever get a "third" interested in trying this, I recommend it. Great fun.

[@XLEGION1]

That sounds like an awesome project and would be the ultimate 'Midway' experience. Thanks for the report.

[@georgecoventry8441]

I added similar custom rules to make the scouting more realistic through "fog of war".

[@craigclemens986]

A well played Japanese side wins 60%

[@georgecoventry8441]

Yes, the Japanese, if they handle things carefully, should have some advantage. Their disadvantage in the real battle was, the Americans knew they were coming, knew exactly when, and approximately where they were coming from, so the Americans got in the surprise strike that knocked out most of the Japanese carriers. But in the game, the Japanese player is forewarned of that....and he does have a bit of an advantage in strike power. On the other hand, the USA has Midway island...which can help them quite a bit. It can be very suspenseful. Getting "found" is not a good feeling!