Tactical decision game examples (with the real solutions)
A tactical decision game (TDG) example gives a role, a mission, a sketch map and a short situation, then stops at the moment of decision; the player decides against a clock and defends the reasons. When the problem is taken from a real battle, the commander's actual decision and its outcome become the solution. Below are three: Toktong Pass (1950), Tabu-dong (1950) and 73 Easting (1991).
| Example | The decision point | What the commander did | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toktong Pass, 28 November 1950 · company (Fox Company, 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, reinforced, 240 men) | The first night's attack has been held, but there are 54 wounded. The plan was to fight out of the pass, and the relief from Hagaru has not arrived. | Asked to stand fast if supplied by air. The company gathered weapons and ammunition, patrolled and called for an airdrop [1][2]. | Held two more night attacks and linked up with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, which came over the mountains, at 1125 on 2 December [1]. |
| The Bowling Alley, Tabu-dong, 18 August 1950 · regiment (US 27th Infantry) | Attacking up the valley road, the regiment hears that the ROK regiments on the ridges either side could not advance. | On orders from above, halted north of Soi-ri and blocked the valley with a perimeter whose flanks were bent back [3]. | The position held against seven night attacks. The US Army official history confirms enemy losses for 18–25 August of 13 T-34 tanks, 5 self-propelled guns and 23 vehicles [3]. |
| 73 Easting, 26 February 1991 · troop (Eagle Troop, 2d Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, nine M1A1 tanks) | After the first contact the troop is on its limit of advance, the 70 Easting. About 3 km east an enemy tank reserve is getting ready to move, and corps guidance is to avoid decisive engagement. | The commander replied, in effect, to tell higher they could not stop, and kept attacking [4][5]. | Reached the high ground near 73 Easting [4][5]. The troop reports no losses of its own [4]. |
Data as of 2026-10-25 (sources checked). Battle counts and the phase, option and time-limit ranges are computed from the site's content at every build.
By Euihyeon Moon · Korea Military Academy graduate; served as a Republic of Korea Army intelligence officer until 2026
What does a tactical decision game example look like?
A TDG problem is a role and a mission, one sketch map and a few paragraphs of situation. The situation stops at the moment of decision, and the player gives a decision and the reasons for it within a time limit. The first TDG in the Marine Corps Gazette, in 1990, allowed 5 minutes; readers' solutions were printed in later issues [6].
John F. Schmitt's Mastering Tactics: A Tactical Decision Game Workbook (1994) collects 15 TDGs, most of them first printed in the Gazette [7]. A problem taken from a real battle comes with one more piece of commentary: the course of action the commander actually chose, and what happened next.
Example 1: stand or break out at Toktong Pass (1950, company)
On the afternoon of 27 November 1950, Fox Company, 2d Battalion, 7th Marines (reinforced, 240 men) reaches Toktong Pass, midway along the Yudam-ni–Hagaru-ri road and about 11 km from each end, too far for quick help from either. The first decision is where to dig in. The commander chose an isolated hill just north of the road, put 3d Platoon on the summit and bent 1st and 2d Platoons down the slopes towards the road, with the command post and mortars at the foot of the hill by the road [1].
The attack at 0230 on the 28th overran the forward squads on the summit, but by about 0630 it was no longer organised [1]. Daylight brings the second decision: fight out as planned with 54 wounded, or stay. The commander asked to stand fast if supplied by air [2], and the company held the pass until 1st Battalion, 7th Marines came over the mountains on 2 December [1].
Example 2: when the flanks do not keep up (Tabu-dong, 1950, regiment)
At 1300 on 18 August 1950 the US 27th Infantry attacks behind its Pershing tanks up the valley road at Tabu-dong, north of Taegu. About 3 km on, word comes that the ROK regiments on the ridges either side could not advance. The regiment is out alone on a narrow valley floor between Yuhak-san to the west and Ka-san to the east [3].
The options are roughly to keep attacking, halt and block the valley, fall back to Tabu-dong, or halt and reconnoitre the ridges. On orders from above, the regiment halted north of Soi-ri and formed a perimeter with its flanks bent back. That position went on to hold against all seven night attacks [3].
Example 3: stop at the limit of advance? (73 Easting, 1991, troop)
On the afternoon of 26 February 1991, Eagle Troop of the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, US VII Corps, moves east through a sandstorm towards the Tawakalna Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard: nine M1A1 tanks, scout Bradleys, mortars and some 130 soldiers. After the first contact it reaches its limit of advance, the 70 Easting, as an enemy tank reserve about 3 km east gets ready to move. Corps guidance is to avoid decisive engagement.
The commander did not stop. When the limit of advance was reported he replied, in effect, to tell higher they could not stop, and attacked on to the high ground near 73 Easting [4][5]. A line drawn by orders meets an opportunity in front of the troop, which leaves plenty to argue about.
Is the real commander's decision the right answer?
It is one solution with a known outcome rather than the answer. A TDG is judged by the reasoning behind the decision, and the Gazette's 1995 review noted that Schmitt avoids presenting his own solutions as dogma [7]. At 73 Easting the commander went past his limit of advance; at Tabu-dong the regiment stopped its attack. Both the push and the halt turned out well.
This site's review sets your decision beside the real commander's and beside doctrine; it describes and does not grade. Each battle has 11–20 phases, and each decision offers 3–4 courses of action against a 30–150-second clock.
FAQ
Where can I find tactical decision games with solutions?
The Marine Corps Gazette has published TDGs since 1990, with readers' solutions in later issues, and Schmitt's Mastering Tactics (1994) is a workbook of 15 TDGs. On this site, the 8 free battles compare your decisions with the real commander's in the review at the end.
Are the three examples above free?
Yes. Chosin (Toktong Pass), Tabu-dong and 73 Easting are all free battles. Each also has a one-page printable TDG with its first decision.
How long does one TDG take?
Most take minutes. The first Marine Corps Gazette TDG in 1990 allowed 5 minutes; on this site each decision has a clock of 30–150 seconds.
Do I have to match the real commander to be right?
No. The real decision is one solution with a known outcome. A TDG is judged by its reasoning, so a different decision with sound reasons is a good solution too.
Are there squad and platoon examples?
Yes. The battles on this site run from squad to division level. The three examples above are two company-level problems and one regimental one.
Read next
Sources
- Lynn Montross and Nicholas A. Canzona, U.S. Marine Operations in Korea 1950–1953, Vol. III: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, U.S. Marine Corps, 1957, pp. 180–194; Project Gutenberg edition
- Medal of Honor citation, Capt. William E. Barber, Company F, 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, Arlington National Cemetery
- Roy E. Appleman, South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu (June–November 1950), U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1961, ch. XIX, "The Taegu Front"
- "Eagle Troop at the Battle of 73 Easting", The Strategy Bridge, 26 February 2016, the troop commander's essay
- "What I learned at the Battle of 73 Easting", HistoryNet, 2017, the troop commander's account
- John F. Schmitt, "Observations on Four Years of TDGs", Marine Corps Gazette, June 1994
- Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., "The Combat Leader's 'Bible'", review of John F. Schmitt, Mastering Tactics: A Tactical Decision Game Workbook (Quantico: Marine Corps Association, 1994, 108 pp.), Marine Corps Gazette, January 1995