Peleliu

Joni Nuutinen

About this game

Battle of Peleliu 1944 is a turn based strategy game set on the Pacific theater during the Second World War. From Joni Nuutinen: by a wargamer for the wargamers since 2011. Last updated on October 2025.

Operation Stalemate II called for the capture of the island of Peleliu to secure MacArthur’s right flank during the US advance towards the Japanese Home Islands. The commander of the 1st Marine Division predicted that the island would be secured within four days. The resulting two-month battle was so fierce that the 1st Marine Division remained out of action until the invasion of Okinawa. Japanese defenders put up such stiff resistance that the island became known in Japanese as the Emperor's Island. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called the Battle of Peleliu the bitterest battle of the Second World War for the Marines.


In this particular campaign, you can carry out multiple landings to overcome the tricky shape of the island, if you so choose. But be warned that the supply logistics will require more thinking ahead to balance out the various beachheads.

Major Everett Parker Pope won the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry on Peleliu in September 1944 while leading his men in an assault on a strategic hill, and for holding it, with rocks and bare fists when ammunition ran low, against fanatical Japanese attacks.


FEATURES:

+ Historical faithfulness: The campaign stays true to the historical scenario.

+ Thanks to a ton of in-built variation and the game's smart AI technology, each game provides a unique war gaming experience. For example in one play-through a particular tank unit might play it safe, versus being aggressive in the next play-through. Let the dice decide!


+ Strategic AI: The AI opponent employs a multi-layered approach, weighing strategic objectives alongside tactical maneuvers like encircling vulnerable units, instead of relying solely on straightforward attacks towards the target.

+ Settings: A long list of options are available to alter the look of the gaming experience: Change difficulty level, hexagon size, Animation speed, choose icon set for units (NATO or REAL) and cities (Round, Shield, Square, block of houses), decide what is drawn on the map, and much more.


Medal of Honor action: Major Everett Parker Pope was an American Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry on Peleliu in September 1944 while leading his men in an assault on a strategic hill, and for holding it, with rocks and bare fists when ammunition ran low, against fanatical Japanese attacks.

Ratings and reviews

Good old-school wargame in a scenario that I am less familiar with. There is a learning curve and after a couple of disasters, I managed to achieve a victory or 2 although, even with an improved understanding of the game's mechanics, I can still say that I have no idea how some people manage to win so quickly! Developer is great - came directly back to me in answer to a question and I've also noticed some welcome refinements to the game -thanks for the Undo Move option: fix phone keyboard typos!

I played all the scenarios and found this to be exceptional, as all on Jeni's simulations. Ultra hard was extra challenging, took me 6 beach landings to get the AI figured out. Great job Joni! Skipper.

Fun turn based strategy game

What’s new

+ Two separate ways to handle navigation bar mess
+ Fix: Terrain data conflicted and as a result sabotage and (spring) mud hexagons turned into each each
+ Dispersing a dugout gives mostly +1 HP dugout replacements