Iwo Jima: Valor of Arms, 19 Feb. – 25 March 1945

About this board game

Iwo Jima: Valor of Arms, 19 Feb. – 25 March 1945 is a solitaire board game for one player, recreating the Battle of Iwo Jima over an approximately 240-minute session. Released in 1983, it challenges you to conduct the Marine invasion while Japanese units remain concealed behind covered facings.

Marines invade from one of two alternate beaches, creating an important choice at the start of the operation. Japanese units can fire once the Marines move within two hexes, making movement across the island a dangerous and carefully managed undertaking.

The game includes special rules for several defining elements of the battle. These rules cover raising the flag at Mt. Suribachi, maintaining regimental integrity, launching a banzai charge, and dealing with Japanese ambushes.

• Solitaire play focused on the Battle of Iwo Jima
• Japanese units set up with their facing covered
• Two alternate Marine invasion beaches
• Japanese fire triggered when Marines move within two hexes
• Rules for replacements, Naval Gunnery support, and Iwo Jima airfields

Naval Gunnery support, replacements, and the island’s airfields add further special rules to the battle. Together, these systems frame the campaign around the pressure of advancing, surviving Japanese resistance, and coordinating the Marine effort.

Victory is determined by how quickly the Japanese can be cleared from Iwo Jima. In Iwo Jima: Valor of Arms, every advance brings the Marines closer to their objective while also exposing them to hidden positions, sudden attacks, and defensive fire.