Two sets of rules are provided with each game. The first contains the Standard Rules that are common to all the games in the Island War Series. The second set contains the Exclusive Rules for each game in the system, which includes Special rules, the Initial Deployment and the Reinforcement Schedule. Generally the unit scale is battalion, but there are company and platoon formations represented. The time scale, unless noted in the Exclusive rules, is 1/2 day per turn.

Due to the nature of the battles covered in the series, all naval and air forces are abstract. This means the main focus of each game is ground combat. The games are designed for two players, but can accommodate multiple players. For example, one player can play the US Marines, one can play the US Army, and the third plays the Japanese.

This series of games is loosely based on or inspired by several different game systems, including SPI's Island War series and GRD/GDW's Europa series, but many concepts are quite original. The tactical situation for the defender can be described as "against the odds", which means it will be very difficult for the player playing the  defender to win the game tactically. The victory conditions are designed in such a way that the defender can win by performing better than his historical counterpart. This also puts a lot of pressure on the attacker because he cannot afford to make many mistakes.