Playing Solo

Playing Bombs Away solo is like the two-player game. You play the Axis forces, and use the following rules to control the Allied forces.

Preparation

Because there is no Allied opponent to fool, the Decoy cards are only used to keep track of the current game turn.

Allied Personality

In addition to the normal preparations for the two-player game, you must obtain a regular deck of playing cards. Remove all clubs and spades. Keep the diamonds, hearts, and one Joker. If no Joker is available, use a black card. Shuffle these red cards and Joker thoroughly and deal out seven cards face down. Set the remainder aside. These seven cards will be used to represent the Allied side's personality.

Aircraft Toughness

At various times during play, it will be necessary to rank Aircraft on both sides according to their Toughness. Use the Payload rating to determine Bomber Toughness, and the Dogfight rating to determine Fighter Toughness. In the case of a tie to determine the Toughest airplane in a battle, the Aircraft with the higher Turn Number printed on it is considered Tougher.

Axis Deployment

Draw a free Event card each turn. If the Event card is printed in green, the Axis may use or hold the card normally. If the text is printed in tan, it must be used as soon and as often as possible on the Allied side's behalf. If the text is printed in brown, the card is discarded.

Allied Deployment

Create Bomber Groups built around each Available Bomber card. Begin with the Toughest Bomber, and pair it with the Toughest Fighter. Then pair the second Toughest Bomber with the second Toughest Fighter, and so on until all Available Bombers have one Fighter, or until all Fighters are paired. Any extra Fighters are placed with the single Toughest Bomber.

Allied Target Selection

Draw a playing card. Consult the Strategic Target Table and send the group with the least Tough Bomber to the indicated Target.

Strategic Target Table
Ace	Essen/Koln
2	Bremerhaven
3	Prague
4	Ploesti
5	Frankfurt
6	Schweinfurt
7	Berlin
8	Hamburg
9	Dresden
10	Attack last Target attacked
Jack	Remainng groups attack Essen/Koln
Queen	Remainng groups attack Ploesti
King	Remainng groups attack Berlin
Joker	Reshuffle all red playing cards; include Joker. Draw seven new cards face down. Draw a new card for the current group.

Allied Shooting

All Bombers shoot before Fighters do. Allied Aircraft shoot in order of least Tough to most Tough.

Each Allied Aircraft shoots at the Toughest Axis Fighter over the Target until it is destroyed. Then the Toughest remaining Axis Aircraft is shot at, and so on until all Axis Aircraft at the Target are eliminated or until all Allied Aircraft have shot once.

Allied Bombing

Bombers drop their bombs in order from least Tough to most Tough.

Continue turning cards, determining destinations, and carrying out combat for Bomber Groups, going from the least Tough to the Toughest Bomber Group. Certain results will mandate that all remaining Bomber Groups must head for a particular Target, which automatically ends the process of choosing cards for the current turn.

Axis Build Step

You may not purchase Event cards. Reshuffle the seven playing cards for the next turn.

Allied Build Step

Always buy the two Toughest Bombers currently in the Destroyed Pile. If there are fewer than two Bombers in the Destroyed pile, then Fighters are purchased, Toughest to least Tough. If there are fewer than two Allied Aircraft in the Destroyed pile, then the Allied player scores one Victory point for each Aircraft not purchased.

Strategy Hints

A player may conduct a Chance Draw to see the Chance Number even in a situation where there is no possibility of obtaining a success. This depletes the Event deck faster for a more timely reshuffle.

Deployment should be conducted as stealthily as possible so that the opposing side cannot be sure exactly what is being placed where.

Sending only Fighters to a Target can be useful to kill German Fighters without risking Bombers.

Variable Victory

Strategic bombing was hardly an exact science in the 1940s and remains something of a mystery even in the era of smart bombs and cruise missiles. The Axis adopted long-range plans for such things as installation placement, underground Build, and aircraft production based on its estimate of how the Allies would prioritize targets. The Allied air forces had much greater short-term flexibility, but they still had to make choices that would affect strategy for months and would ultimately determine what types of targets were most seriously damaged. To help recreate the uncertainty surrounding pre-electronic bombing campaigns, use the following rules.

Devastated Target Markers

During the course of the game, the Allied side must keep track of how many targets of each type (economic, military, political) are devastated. Place the "E Targets," "M Targets," and "P targets" markers in the zero space of the left-hand column of the Victory Point Track at the start of the game.

Each devastated target of the appropriate type raises the total by one point. Whenever one of these markers is in the "9" space and needs to add another point, place the marker back in the zero space of the same column and flip it over to its "+10" side to show that 10 must be added to the number in the space the marker occupies. The maximum number of devastated targets of each type that count toward victory is 19. If a "+10" marker reaches the "9" space, it remains there and cannot be moved for the remainder of the game.

Axis Victory Marker

After setting up the game, the Axis secretly chooses one of the markers marked "Victory E," "Victory M," or "Victory P." Choosing "E" will affect Economic targets, "M" will affect Military targets, and "P" will affect Political targets. Place the selccted marker underneath one corner of the map. The choice remains in effect for the entire game; it cannot be changed. The marker is revealed when victory is determined at the end of the game, or each time the Allies play an "Americans/British Breaks Codes" event card. Use the number of devastated targets of the type specified by the Victory marker to determine how many victory levels to award or deduct from the Allies. Allied Primary Target

When the game ends, check to see which target marker (Economic, Political, Military) is highest on the record track. In case of a tie, pickjust one ofthe target types. That number is found under the second column of the Variable Victory table, which determines how many victory levels to award or deduct from the Allies.

Final Victory Level

Calculate the victory level normally, then remove the Victory marker from beneath the map, (if it has not already been revealed). If the Victory marker is "E," check the number of Economic targets devastated; if it is "M," check the Military targets; if "P," check the Political targets. Use the Variable Victory table to determine how many levels up or down to shift the original victory result. Then determine the most frequently devastated target type and use the number found on the record track. Add or subtract levels from the victory result modified by the Axis victory marker to arrive at the final level of victory.

Example: The Allies obtain a Marginal victory based on accumulated victory points. The Victory marker beneath the map was not revealed during the game. It turns out to be "M" (Military targets), which the Allies did not concentrate on during the game. Only 1 Military target was devastated, as indicated by the "Military" marker in the "1" space on the Victory Points Track. The victory level is reduced 2 levels. The Allies devastated 8 Economic targets, though; more than any other type. This adds one level in the Allies' favor, for a total of 1 level subtracted (-2 +1 = -1). The game ends in a Marginal Axis Victory.

Variable Victory Table
Axis Marker	Allied Marker	Effect
0	0	-3 levels
1	1	-2 levels
2-3	2-3	-1 level
4-6	4-6	No change
7-8	7-8	+1 level
9+	9+	+2 levels

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© Copyright 1995 by One Small Step, Inc.