Countering the Banzai attack

[Yossarian]

First off let me say that I love playing Rising Sun, it's my favorite CS game.

I play Rising Sun with or without the Banzai Attack. Or a modified version on how many Banzai Attacks or certain restrictions like never on the last two turns etc. Before playing the game I discuss the Banzai subject with my opponent and we make a joint decision on what rules we are playing. Much the same as one would do when deciding if you are going to play with "Extreme Assault" or "Variable Visibility" options. It's good to have the option for those that enjoy it.

How to counter the Banzai Attack:

Sometimes there's nothing you can do if your allied forces are already depleted, disrupted or in a bad defensive position. I think the best defense is to always expect the Banzai at any time. And to usually expect it at a Victory Point hex. When things are getting dicey and the Japanese are closing in on you it is sometimes better to fall back and regroup rather than letting your forces be surrounded and overrun. And remember that the Japanese Banzai units will be weak and vulnerable during your turn and if you have sufficient un-disrupted units nearby you can counter-attack and do some real damage to the enemy. But usually the allied player just has to react to when or if the Japanese perform a Banzai Attack. You have to use your common sense and your experience and some luck sometimes to carry the day. So bottom line, I don't know of any tried and true tactic to counter the Banzai. Each scenario and each attack is unique in it's own right.

These are my own thoughts on the subject and are based on my Rising Sun experience. I think that I have played about 150+ Rising Sun Games and I have been playing (as the allies) in a Rising Sun World Tour (we play every scenario in Rising Sun) against Jeepster777 for 12 years since June 2005.

Mike/Yossarian