Gato Leader: The Battle for the Pacific is a solitaire only game in the Leader Series from DVG Games. The game focuses on the American Submarine campaign in the Pacific during World War II from 1942, shortly after the dastardly attack by the Empire of Japan on Pearl Harbor, through the end of the war in 1945. Players will be placed in command of a squadron of Submarines to control over the course of a Campaign. The primary goal of each squadron commander is to sink enemy merchant ships and warships in order to meet their Victory Point goal for each chosen Campaign. There are 4 different campaigns and each campaign can be Short, Medium or Long, which not only changes playing times, but also starting SO Points that are used to purchase submarines and outfit them with various technology upgrades, such as radar, upgraded torpedoes or other assets such as Forward Operating Bases and Intel Counters.

I have really enjoyed my 4 plays of Gato Leader. The game is easy to learn and fairly fast playing but does have meaningful decisions at the start during setup, as well as with each battle. Do I push my luck and continue to engage this juicy convoy I have spotted, even though I am leaking oil, my crew is stressed and I only have 4 available torpedoes? Or, do I limp away and return to port to refit and rearm to then reengage at a later time with better chances of surviving? Great simulation of the submarine war during World War II and a very enjoyable play experience.

If you are interested, you can check out our unboxing video to get a better look at the components and you can also read our written summary of various rules and situations in Action Point 1 and Action Point 2.

If you are interested in a copy of Gato Leader, you can visit the following link to the game page on the DVG website: http://www.mcssl.com/store/danverssengames/vassal/pdf-games/1-players/gato-leader

-Grant