2013Jeff Grossman, Volko Ruhnke
- Videos
- 60
- Creators
- 30
1 - 4 players180 minHeavy weight

2026Volko Ruhnke
Mainly how-to-play and unboxings. Coast Watchers: Allied Field Intelligence in the South Pacific, 1942-1943 is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 2 reviews, 6 how-to-play guides, 4 unboxings, and 6 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
Coast Watchers takes you into the World War II South Pacific's struggle between Allied intelligence teams and Japanese security forces. Standup blocks hide coastwatching stations, guerrillas, refugees, and stranded Allied crew. Facedown counters hide the buildup of Japanese forces, which the coastwatchers seek to observe and report to headquarters. Other counters show where Japanese patrols are searching for coastwatchers or go into and get drawn from cups to run Japanese searches and Allied delivery missions. Each side has Mission cards. Allied Missions assign side tasks to the coastwatchers. Japanese Missions lay out secret military objectives for victory points, including air and sea operations against which the coastwatchers are to warn Allied forces. By hunting coastwatchers while building up military readiness and guiding operations, the Japanese player seeks to slip through the enemy intelligence net. Players also draw Asset cards: special abilities to augment actions and perhaps add victory points. Coast Watchers offers 15 standalone "Situations" plus 4 campaigns to tie them together. The Situations span the early-1942 Japanese incursion into the South Pacific to the neutralization of their great base at Rabaul by the end of 1943. A solitaire system is included. -description from the publisher
Coast Watchers: Allied Field Intelligence in the South Pacific, 1942-1943 has 18 videos from 12 creators: 2 reviews, 6 how-to-play guides, 4 unboxings and 6 other videos. They date from 2024 to October 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Coast Watchers [Gameplay overview] (GMT Games 2026)" by Wise Guy History, which runs 35 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Coast Watchers - a preview" by Ex Libris by MikeBooklover.
If you like it, try Cuba Libre, Andean Abyss, Nevsky: Teutons and Rus in Collision 1240-1242 and Almoravid: Reconquista and Riposte in Spain 1085-1086, also by Volko Ruhnke.
8 of 12
2013Jeff Grossman, Volko Ruhnke
1 - 4 players180 minHeavy weight
2019Volko Ruhnke
1 - 2 players60 - 360 minVery heavy weight
2022Volko Ruhnke
1 - 2 players60 - 360 minVery heavy weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Coast Watchers takes you into the World War II South Pacific's struggle between Allied intelligence teams and Japanese security forces. Standup blocks hide coastwatching stations, guerrillas, refugees, and stranded Allied crew. Facedown counters hide the buildup of Japanese forces, which the coastwatchers seek to observe and report to headquarters. Other counters show where Japanese patrols are searching for coastwatchers or go into and get drawn from cups to run Japanese searches and Allied delivery missions. Each side has Mission cards. Allied Missions assign side tasks to the coastwatchers. Japanese Missions lay out secret military objectives for victory points, including air and sea operations against which the coastwatchers are to warn Allied forces. By hunting coastwatchers while building up military readiness and guiding operations, the Japanese player seeks to slip through the enemy intelligence net. Players also draw Asset cards: special abilities to augment actions and perhaps add victory points. Coast Watchers offers 15 standalone "Situations" plus 4 campaigns to tie them together. The Situations span the early-1942 Japanese incursion into the South Pacific to the neutralization of their great base at Rabaul by the end of 1943. A solitaire system is included. -description from the publisher
Designer
Volko Ruhnke
Artists
Robert Altbauer, Tomasz Niedzinski, Wouter Schoutteten, Matthew Wallhead
Publisher
GMT Games
Categories
Mechanics