FLT-FLAT TOP

1. TITLE: FLAT TOP
2. PUBLISHER: The Avalon Hill Game Company (TAHGC)
3. SCOPE:The Game of Carrier Battles in the Pacific 1942
4. TAHGC CATALOG DESCRIPTION: A demanding accurate and gun game of Pacific carrier Battles
5. GAMEBOX DESCRIPTION: Flat Top recreates the major Battles of the Solomon Seas and my be the final word on aircraft carrier operations and warfare.
6. YEAR PUBLISHED (EDITIONS): 1981. Originally a Battleline title (1976) with extensive rework by TAHGC. Errata for the TAHGC edition. A FAQ is maintained by JRBoeke@aol.com; JRBoeke@uci.edu; 72730.1032@compuserve.com. The FAQ includes an accounting of the differences between the two versions
7. CREDITS
   • Original Game Design & Development: S. Craig Taylor
   • TAHGC Game Development: Alan R. Moon, Bob Beardsley
   • Artwork and Graphics: Dale Sheaffer, Charles Kibler, Jean Baer, Alan R. Moon, Monarch Services
   • Box Art: Rodger MacGowan
   • Battleline Edition Playtesters: Harold Baker, John Castro, Jack Greene, Jim Henson, Tim McCrary, Steve Peek, Mark Peterson, George Petronis, Phil Poulos
   • TAHGC Edition Playtesting: Don Eisan, Bob Beardsley, Hon C. Loy, Kenneth J. Breeze, Mike Lewis, Don R. Gilman, J. L. Burnett, Michael Kennedy, Guy Raymaker, Mark Brownell, John R. Hooper, Phil Kline, Josh Bayer, John Durko, Mike Noble, D. A. Burrel, W. T. Flanagan, Tom Brix, Stanley Cwiklinski, C. J. Populus, Stephen C. Maxon, Steve List, Gary W. Jones, Jack C. Thomas.
   • Production Coordination: Thomas N. Shaw
   • Typesetting: Colonial Composition
   • Printing: Monarch Services
8. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
9. WGA COMPLEXITY SCALE (1-10): 6
10. TYPICAL PLAYING TIME (HOURS): 4+ hours
11. MAP SCALE: 3 miles per hex
12. UNIT SCALE: Individual ships and air factors of three planes.
13. TIME SCALE PER TURN: 1 hour
14. NUMBER OF GAME TURNS: Five scenarios (Rings Around Rabaul, Coral Sea, Eastern SolomonS, Santa Cruz and Guadalcanal).
15. PARTIAL ARTICLE LISTING: Click here
16. GAME INVENTORY: 1300 counters, 44"x28" mapboard, 36page rulebook, 2 Japanese Operations charts, 2 Allied Operations charts, 3 playing aid cards, 3 log sheets, TAHGC Flatbox (`14"x11.5"x1.5").
17. WBC & AVALONCON HISTORY: No history as a tournament title.
18. PBEM TOOLS:
• A FLAT TOP Java application VASSAL module exists and posted..
19. PBEM OPPORTUNITES: Contact Wargame Academy if interested. A Boardgamer Player Association PBEM tournament can be organized by WGA pending suitable interest using the VASSAL FLT module.
20. WARGAME ACADEMY COMMENTS: My experience is limited to one scenario many years ago. I defer to the unnamed author of the Web Grognards FLAT TOP FAQ <JRBoeke@aol.com>:
    "Flat Top recreates the major Battles of the Solomon Seas. Because many of these battles were between fairly equal, well matched forces, they present the ideal situation for a highly competitive, balanced game while at the same time recreating the history of the period." Not withstanding Avalon Hill's sterile intro, Flat Top is, in this author's opinion, the best tactical/operational simulation of naval warfare in the Pacific Ocean during the Second World War.
21. WARGAME ACADEMY TOOLS: One 95% unpunched copy; one punched copy.