Merrill's Marauders

Merrill’s Marauders: Commandos in Burma 1943-1944 - Decision Games. 
Merrill’s Marauders is a solitaire game covering missions behind Japanese lines in the Burmese jungle. The player has to carry out one of four missions, or string all four together in a campaign game.

The game uses the Commando series rules. Each mission card grants the player a specified number of operations points to reach certain objectives. Operations points are expended to recruit the special ops team, then to move and attack on the map. A deck of event cards controls the opposition forces (OPFOR). Combat is resolved using a quasi-tactical system with opposing units taking turns firing at one another. Victory can increase the number of operations points available, but heavy losses can reduce them. The game ends when the player runs out of points.

Game Contents:
• 11 x 17” map
• 40 die-cut counters• 18 mini cards
• Scenario Instructions
• Four page rule booklet
MSRP $12.95

Merrill's Marauders (MM) came to me as a recent ebay purchase bonus.  With no interest in this campaign, this small mini-folio game was set aside.  When I finally returned for a closer examination, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

The rules are short having only four pages of series rules and two pages of scenario rules.  The game is a solitaire game with the active player coordinating and carrying out commando raids deep into Japanese held territory.  Opposition forces (OPFOR) are run by a nifty artificial intelligence (AI) engine that actually works.

At the start of a game, the player selects one of four Mission Cards.  On this card are listed the situation, mission, number of Operation Points (OPs) available, number of Recruit Points (RPs) available, and C2 (stacking limits and any leaders present).  Each mission is different but primarily consist of recovery or base building and KIA count differential.

Operation Points govern the length of each mission.  When OPs fall to zero, the game is over.  OPs can be gained or lost throughout the game by performing operations, winning or losing battles, or as a result of an Event card.  With a need to typically complete more than one objective within a mission, OPs are dear.  

To accomplish a mission, a player builds his task forces through the use of expending Recruit Points.  With a limited number of RPs available, the player must construct his task forces carefully.  Part of the fun of MM is that each task force can be composed from a variety of assets.  With limits on both stacking and RPs, a player can be faced with tough decisions on how to construct a force.  With a need to typically field more than one force per mission, tough and interesting choices abound.  Assets that may be included in a task force are infantry, airborne, scouts, heavy weapons, engineers, supply columns, airstrikes, and air supply.  Each asset category has its advantages and disadvantages.

sample playing pieces

Given the Mission card chosen, the player places a number of unknown objective chits on randomly determined areas of the map.  Some of the objectives are real while others represent ambushes.  The game is point-to-point, area movement with most of the tables needed for play printed onto the map in a very organized manner.  

game map

Once recruitment is completed and selected objectives are placed (face-down so that their true value is unknown), play begins.

Each operation (turn) consists of selecting one task force, expending one OP, moving the stack, and drawing an Event card.  A force may only move as fast as its slowest component.  Once moved, one Event card is drawn from the deck of fourteen OPFOR Event cards.  While many of the event cards trigger the appearance of OPFOR units, some cards are beneficial.  If an Event card is drawn bringing forth OPFOR units, a battle is fought.

Moving task forces toward objectives

The number of required OPFOR units are selected randomly with their values unknown.  Combat values for OPFOR units range from a force strength of two up to eight.  Drawing the OPFOR=8 unit is a tough blow since the value of the chit equals the number of dice thrown in combat.  The battle begins by determining tactical advantage.  If the player's force stack contains a leader then he receives a +1 to this die roll.  Highest total attacks first which is a big advantage.  In a very simple series of back and forth exchanges, one side is destroyed.  Luck can play a role in combat.  The player has the option of calling in an air strike to bolster his combat capability if the odds are unfavorable.  Of course, an air strike would have been allocated in the early recruitment phase.  Based upon the number of units killed or panicked, the KIA marker is moved on the KIA Track to reflect the current tally.  In addition to either recovering real objectives or building bases, the value of the KIA Track at the end of the mission is important.

These continuous interactions between player and the games' AI provide suspense and produce many tense moments as the player attempts to complete each mission.  With variability in each facet of the game from selecting a mission, to building a force, to objective location, to Event card play, game replayability is high.  No two games play out the same.  With the Event deck containing only fourteen cards, one could go through the deck in one game.  Given that possibility of knowing which cards may be forthcoming, I only use ten of the fourteen cards with each pass through the Event deck.  That way, I never know with certainty which cards remain. 

The game is challenging but not too challenging although having completed three games, I have yet to win.

In the first game, the mission selected was Operation Longcloth.  I succeeded in the recovery mission and made it back to base intact but the KIA goal was not met.  I needed a higher body count of enemy.

In the second game, I repeated Operation Longcloth.  On the return from a successful recovery mission, my last task force was cut down in an ambush.  KIA totals favored the Japanese OPFOR.

In the third game, I chose the Operation Mars mission.  In that mission, I needed to find the two real objectives out of the four on map and build bases on these objectives.  I found the two real objectives, built bases upon them, and then went off on search and destroy missions to raise the KIA count to a winning margin.  Unfortunately, one of the Event cards drawn was a Japanese raid on one of my forward bases.  With an insufficient garrison, my forward base fell into enemy hands.  Without enough OPs remaining to mount a counterattack, the game was lost.  Still great fun but lost.  

While I ended up losing all three of these games, victory was within my grasp in each.  This is a great little game that offers a solid solitaire experience in a small package.  Components are first rate including the small card decks and playing pieces.  As I mentioned early on, the AI in MM is superb and offers an endless challenge for the gamer with an hour or two on hand.  Perhaps, MM could be used as a solitaire engine for a miniatures game?  MM might be a perfect little game to tuck away for travel.