Simtac

Red Star/Blue Sky Rules

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford

Red Star/Blue Sky (RS/BS), pub. by Simtac, Inc the newest release in John Stanoch's ongoing series of WW II air combat games and details the Eastern Front airwar. Like its predecessor, White Star/Blue Sky, RS/BS is not a complete game, but is a collection of scenarios, campaign games,and new rules that use the earlier Red Sun/Blue Sky game system. RS/BS is 64 pages long and includes new data charts for 56 Axis and Soviet aircraft. So - what's in the book?

Three chapter titles - Ground Attack, Aerial Reconnaissance, and Tactical Antiaircraft Fire - say it all. The airwar on the Eastern Front was, largely, a low altitude airwar, fought over the heads of and in support of the troops on the ground. The new rules chapters reflect the sorts of missions both sides flew, the tactics employed on those missions (strafing, tactical bombing, tactical recce, etc.), and the various types of antiaircraft fire available to thwart these missions. The rules governing Soviet formations reflect the evolution of Soviet air tactics during the war, as well as rules for the Taran - ramming attack - used early in the war.

The heart of RS/BS, of course, is the scenario section which introduces the ground attack scenario, and dominates the book. There are: seven such scenarios, including three that are solo; a single Taran scenario (Play this one - it only involves a single aircraft on each side and is something of a nail-biter!); one fighter sweep scenario (Manchuria 1939...); a three-scenario minicampaign; and one full campaign game taking place during eight days over Kursk in 1943, involving several squadrons from each side. The scenarios all include extended historical backrounds - perhaps because of the relative obscurity (to American readers) of the airwar in the East - that are well-written and do a lot to flesh them out. Five pages of player and designer's notes and a bibliography complete the book. The notes were interesting and well-reasoned. The bibliography, though I'd liked to have seen some annotation, was worthwhile just for the reading list it provided. I've always been interested in the airwar in the East and am very happy to see it finally receive this sort of treatment. Recommended at $18.95 from your FLGS or from the publisher, Simtac Inc., at 15G Colton Road, East Lyme, CT 06333.

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