A Forgotten Sideshow: USMC Air Support Operations – Bougainville, 1944

A Forgotten Sideshow is a solitaire game that recreates Marine air participation in the reduction of the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul, New Britain. By mid-1944, Kenney’s 5th Air Force had pretty much rendered the Rabaul area useless to the Japanese. The Imperial Japanese Navy had pulled its naval forces out of the area, and Japanese airpower in the Solomon Islands was all but wiped out. As General Douglas MacArthur prepared for his return to the Philippines, Kenney’s 5th Air Force was directed to head up the aerial campaign to retake the Philippines. Marine air, along with air units from New Zealand, carried on with the attacks on Bougainville, New Britain, New Ireland and other islands to keep the Japanese from using them as launch points for counter attacks. You, the player, will be flying a F4U Corsair with VMO-251 stationed at Piva Airfield on the island of Bougainville. Your goal will be to survive a six month tour of combat during which you will be attacking a variety of targets in the area. There are two versions of the game. The Basic Game introduces the player to the core rules of the game. The Advanced/Campaign Game introduces special rules, expands the Basic Game and allows the player to command the squadron. —description from the designer