Carrier is a solitaire simulation of both historical and hypothetical carrier battles in the Southwest Pacific Theater during the hotly-contested naval campaigns of 1942 and 1943. As the U.S. commander, you maneuver your task forces and conduct air searches in a tension-packed contest to find the Japanese carriers before they locate and attack yours. Simple game mechanics control Japanese movement and determine the timing and strength of their attacks. You will not know that a Japanese air strike is headed your way until it actually appears in the skies above your task force. Once the enemy has been located, you face the very same, real-life, tactical dilemmas as your historical counterparts.

Carrier can be played an unlimited number of times, since all Japanese actions are determined by charts and die rills. There are no hidden paragraphs, one-use mission flowcharts, or similar devices to limit playability. The game system mimics historical Japanese tactics based upon randomly determined objectives, missions, force strength, and time period.

The rules to Carrier are written using a layered format which introduces important rules concepts one at a time. Six Introductory Scenarios allow you to learn each major section of the rules before moving on to the next.This game contains:

Game Scale
Hexes are 33 miles across
Units are individual ships and groups of 8 aircraft
Two hours per turn