Lightning: Midway – June 4th to June 6th, 1942 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Victory
• Card Types
  • Special Action Cards
• Player Turn
• How to Attack
• Game Terms
• Questions & Answers (revised March 11, 2005)
  • Deck Composition
  • Hand Limit
  • Force Cards
  • The ATTACK Action
  • Action Cards
  • Dependent Cards
  • Special Cards
  • Strategy

Setup

1. Give one player the Allied deck of cards, and give the other player the Axis deck of cards.
2. Both players openly place their Country Card and their starting Force Cards on the table.

Starting Force Cards are marked with an "S" in the upper right corner of the card.

The Country Card shows: the strategic map, the sequence of play, and the list of starting Force Cards that the United States begins the game with.

The Force Card shows: the aircraft model, the aircraft type, and the attack value, defense value, and special abilities. Force Cards that the game starts with are marked "S".

3. For both players, the maximum hand size is nine cards, drawn from the top of their own decks.
4. The Country Cards determine turn order.

Victory

The first player to destroy all enemy targets wins!

Card Types

There are several types of cards in the game:

• Country Cards
• Objective Cards - carriers and Midway Island. These cards also serve as targets.
• Force Cards
• Action Cards

The Objective Card shows: the name of the objective and the type of objective.

The Action Card shows: the name of the card and the type of action. There are three types of action:

• Tactic
• Event
• Leader

The Action Card also shows the Attack value, Defense value, and any special ability.

Special Action Cards

Each Special Action Card states exactly when its special ability may be played.

Player Turn

1. You may choose to exchange all of the cards in your hand, some of them, or none of them.

2. During a player's turn, the player may choose one of the following options:

• Attack (attack a target) - Choose an enemy target and try to destroy it.
• Reinforce (bring more Force Cards into play) - You may bring up to three Force Cards from your hand into play (place them on the table).
• Prepare (draw up to your hand limit) - if your deck runs out of cards, shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck.

3. If you decide to carry out an Attack, resolve the attack on the target immediately.

How to Attack

1. The attacking player chooses one or more of the Force Cards on the table to begin the attack, and says "Attacking".

2. The other player commits one or more of their own Force Cards on the table to take part in the same combat, and says "Defending".

3. A player must commit at least one Force Card to combat in order to be allowed to play Action Cards in that combat. By committing at least one Force Card to combat, a player may play Action Cards even if the other player has not committed any Force Cards.

4. The attacking player may play one or more Action Cards: Tactic, Event, or Leader.

5. The defending player may play one or more Action Cards: Tactic, Event, or Leader.

6. IMPORTANT: during combat, only one Action Card of each type may be on the table at the same time, per side.

Examples:

The Allied player plays a Tactic Action Card. Then the Axis player plays their own Tactic Action Card. The Tactic Action Card previously played by the Allied player is discarded.

The Allied player plays a Leader Action Card. Later in the same combat, the Allied player plays another Leader Action Card; their first Leader Action Card must be discarded.

7. At any point in combat, either player may choose not to play a new Action Card. If their opponent then plays another card, the player who previously passed may play a card again (or may pass again).

8. When both players pass, combat ends.

9. As soon as combat ends, all "After Battle" card effects must be resolved immediately. All other card effects are activated as soon as the card is played.

10. The player with the higher Attack (Defense) value wins (a tie is won by the defender). If the attacker wins, the target is destroyed. If the defender wins, the target remains in play. In either case, ALL Force Cards committed to combat by both players return to their owners' hands.

11. Any remaining Action Cards from the combat are discarded.

Game Terms

Dependent: Some cards are marked as Dependent on another card. If the card that a Dependent card is linked to is destroyed (removed from the game), the Dependent card is also removed from the game. Once such Dependent cards are removed from the game, they are out of the game until the game ends.

Example: when the carrier Enterprise is destroyed, all aircraft based on (dependent on) that carrier, such as the F4F Wildcat, are removed from the game.

Questions & Answers (revised March 11, 2005)

Adapted from Consimworld; answers by Dan Verssen and Christopher "Doc" Cummins.

Deck Composition

Q: The Japanese deck has 2 "Yamamoto" cards and 4 "Lt. Tomonaga" cards. Is this correct, or are some cards mixed up in printing?

A: There are several cards of the same type. Players should check the card numbers in the lower right corner to determine whether they have any extra or missing cards.

Hand Limit

Q: What happens if I have more than nine cards in my hand?

A: The nine-card limit mentioned in the rules applies only at the start of the game and during the "Prepare" action. At any other time you may have more than nine cards in your hand.

Q: What happens when a player exceeds the nine-card limit as a result of committed Force Cards returning to hand? Must the player discard the extra cards?

A: No, the game continues. The player simply cannot perform the draw-up-to-nine action until they have fewer than nine cards in hand.

Force Cards

Q: Do cards played to the table (via Reinforce) become the uncommitted Force Cards shown in the diagram?

A: Yes, cards initially placed on the table as uncommitted Force Cards are available for use.

Q: Are uncommitted Force Cards placed on the table face down or face up?

A: All cards are placed on the table face up.

Q: At the end of an Attack, do all my committed Force Cards return to my hand, or to the table area for uncommitted Force Cards?

A: All committed Force Cards return to your hand.

Q: As I understand it, only cards already on the table are available to attack or defend. If I use all of my uncommitted Force Cards on the table to attack, those cards return to my hand once the attack is complete. As a result I have no cards left on the table to defend against an enemy air strike..., which is basically correct, because it implies that my planes are either "preparing" or in the air while the opponent strikes my carriers.

A: Yes, that's correct. Only Force Cards on the table can be used to attack or defend. You must perform the "Reinforce" action during your turn to bring Force Cards from your hand onto the table.

Q: When I draw Force Cards from the deck (the Leader Action Card "Adm. Kurita") and then shuffle the deck, are the cards in the discard pile also shuffled in?

A: No, only the deck.

The ATTACK Action

Q: A question about the "How to Attack" rules section: should step 9 (resolve all "After Battle" card effects) apply after step 10; that is, after the players' Attack (Defense) values have been counted and compared?

A: All "After Battle" card effects are resolved as soon as combat ends (i.e., once the players' Attack (Defense) values have been counted).

Q: Can you attack more than one enemy target during an Attack action?

A: Normally you may choose only one target, but the Special card "Knock-out Blow" lets you choose more than one target (of the Objective Card type).

Q: If the Japanese player chooses the carrier Hornet as their target, can the US player draw a free card if they play the "No Target" card?

A: Yes. The Japanese player first chooses the carrier Hornet as the target, which allows the US player to draw a card. After that the Japanese player activates their Force Cards, and the US player plays their "No Target" card.

Action Cards

Q: Can both sides have one or more Action Cards of the same type on the table at once, as long as each side has no more than one Action Card of each type on the table? For example, if the Japanese player has a Tactic Action Card on the table, can the US player also have a Tactic Action Card on the table on their own side?

A: Only one Action Card of each type, per side, may be in play at the same time. When one side plays a Tactic Action Card, in addition to its text effect, any other Tactic Action Card already in play on that side (i.e., previously placed on the table) is discarded. An Action Card may be a Tactic card and also have an effect that discards the opponent's Leader Action Card. In that case, if the enemy had both a Tactic Action Card and a Leader Action Card in play, both must be discarded when you play your Tactic Action Card.

Q: When playing Action Cards - Tactic, Event, or Leader - are their effects applied immediately?

A: Yes. Here is the sequence in which cards are played:

1. Both players in turn each play one card.
2. The special ability described in the card's text is applied by the player (unless it is an "After Battle" effect).
3. Steps 1 and 2 repeat until both players pass in turn.
4. The players' Attack (Defense) values are counted and compared.
5. "After Battle" card effects are applied.

Q: Does the "After Battle" effect of Action Cards, for example:

• "Low and Slow" #028,
• "Press the Attack" #030,
• "Lt. Adams" #053,

apply if they were replaced (discarded) as a result of another Action Card being played?

A: No, the "After Battle" effect applies only to cards that remain on the table after combat ends. For example: the US player plays "Low and Slow" #028, but the Japanese player later responds with their own Tactic Action Card, causing card #028 to be replaced and discarded. Does the US player lose one of their committed torpedo bombers, or does the "After Battle" effect of the Action Card not apply? No - the "After Battle" effect only applies to cards still on the table after combat.

Q: Do Special Action Cards differ from ordinary Action Cards? Can they be played during combat without regard to the limit on Action Cards - Tactic, Event, or Leader? For example, if I have three Special Action Cards in hand, can I play all of them (at the time stated on each card) during a single turn without regard to the limit that "during combat only one Action Card of each type may be on the table at the same time"?

A: Correct, Special Action Cards are played according to their own text; they are not subject to the limit that applies to Tactic, Event, or Leader Action Cards.

Dependent Cards

Q: What happens to Force Cards dependent on an objective (an attack target) when the target is destroyed?

A: Dependent Force Cards on the table (both committed and uncommitted) are removed from the game. Any dependent Force Cards in your hand, or drawn later, cannot be played and are removed from the game, as if they had been discarded during your turn.

Q: Both players' decks have Force Cards that are not dependent on any objective. Is that correct?

A: Yes, some Force Cards are not dependent on any objective.

Q: An Action Card with an "After Battle" effect that requires removing a committed Force Card remains in play after combat has ended. Can I remove a committed Force Card that is dependent on a target lost in that combat?

A: Yes.

Special Cards

Q: Can the Special card "Knock-out Blow" be played only after an Attack has been declared and a target has been chosen?

A: That's correct, the acting player must declare "Attack". After they have chosen a target, they may play the Special card "Knock-out Blow".

Q: After "Knock-out Blow" is played, does its "committed aircraft return to the attacker's hand" property apply?

A: In this case the card's text has no effect. After any attack, whether successful or not, all committed Force Cards return to their owner's hand.

Note: "No Target" is a Special card. The timing for playing a Special card and its effect is noted on each card. The Special card "No Target" is played after the attacker has chosen a target and committed their aircraft (i.e., chosen Force Cards to take part in the attack), but before the defending player commits their aircraft (i.e., chooses Force Cards for defense), and also before any ordinary Action Cards are played by either player. If the attacker cannot cancel the "No Target" card, the attack ends, and their committed Force Cards return to their hand.

Q: If player A plays "No Target" and player B cancels it using "Scouts", can player A play another "No Target" card?

A: Yes.

Q: The "Combined Attack" card grants a +3 bonus if a dive bomber Force Card and a torpedo bomber Force Card are both committed. Can the +3 bonus apply if the player is currently defending their objective against an enemy attack?

A: The text states that you get "+3 to Attack", so although the card may be played while defending, you will not get the +3 bonus to Defense.

Q: Can the attacking player play the "Loaded Decks" card on the carrier Enterprise if none of their planes are on the table?

A: The Event Action Card "Loaded Decks" may be played at any appropriate time, there are no restrictions.

Note: there are 2 such cards in the US deck and only 1 in the Japanese deck. This reflects the superiority of the US Navy in repair and recovery operations.

Q: Is it possible to play the Special card "Rearm and Refuel" on a Force Card that was returned to the player's hand after an Attack?

A: Yes.

Q: Is the wording on the Japanese Tactic Action Card "Bad Report" correct?

A: Yes; I wanted it to affect the American Tactic Action Card, but that was difficult to word. At one point during playtesting, the wording read "No Effect", but that wording caused even more problems.

Strategy

The strength of the US lies in its Action Cards. Japan has a significant advantage in Force Cards, at least on defense, because of its Zero aircraft. If the US player tries to force their way through the Japanese Zeroes, they are doomed. If Japan has a large number of Zeroes ready to defend (attack), try making small attacks every turn, supported by appropriate Action Cards. This will let you destroy Japanese Zeroes. Attacking with a single dive bomber (or torpedo bomber) will probably be enough to force the opponent to commit a Zero. Also, pay close attention to your cards that let you remove enemy Force Cards from the game. Try to use one of them when all of the Japanese player's committed Force Cards are Zeroes.

US Action Cards are better than Japan's. If you attack with a Dauntless (3) and Japan defends with a single Zero (4), you should be able to increase your attack score using Action Cards and/or inflict extra damage using Special card effects, so as to force the opponent to discard the Zero card.