I think me and my friend technically played ‘to the death’.
I just bought Guadalcanal about a week ago (and bought AAP40 yesterday :-D), and played my first full game with my friend on Friday night. We played from about 7.30-2.00, it was pretty awesome.
Anyway, I played Japan and he the US, and from the first turn he took Guadalcanal, and from there proceeded to mass a sizable navy which gave me a lot of trouble, as well as a decent air force. It was hard going for me, though I had a strong presence on Bougainville and Choiseul. Most of my efforts went into maintaining my navy (which was massed in zones B and F), and AA guns (which I sent to Bougainville and Choiseul), to combat his navy and planes.
Towards the end there was a decisive battle, in which I almost overpowered his navy (this, I think, would have almost led me to victory then and there - he had almost no units behind about zone G), but alas, he rebounded and from there I was a goner.
In a fit of desperation I started making rules such as ‘last stand’ (where Japanese transports get 10 attack each - it was late at night), but he still defeated me with something like 3 battleships and a menagerie of other ships.
I made him attack my base directly, and he simply blew my 15 or so infantry units right out of there with his battleships, and that was that.
It was a lot of fun though, and my friend (who usually plays Xbox 360 all day) seemed to enjoy himself, and is keen to play AAP40.