Sequence of Play: 1. Choose cards 2. Play first card and move planes 3. Resolve shooting 4. Play second card and move planes 5. Resolve shooting 6. Play third card and move planes 7. Resolve shooting Choose Cards: At the start of the turn each pilot must select three maneuvers from his deck of maneuver cards. Note that there is only one card for some maneuvers so these may not be used more than once per turn. The pilot should try to anticipate the maneuvers of his opponents and plan accordingly. The three cards selected should be placed face down in a stack in the order they will be used, the rest of the cards should be set aside. At the start of each new turn the three cards that were used are returned to the deck and may be selected again for the new turn. Normally everyone gest a deck with the same cards, but see the optional rules for a different method you can try. Play Card and Move Planes: Each turn has three rounds of movement. When all players are ready everyone reveals their first maneuver card. Each player then moves his plane as indicated on their card. It may be helpful at the start to place the card next to the plane, and turn it to match the orientation of the plane. All moves take place at the same time. Planes should always end their move facing a hex side. This procedure is repeated for the second and third cards after shooting is resolved. Planes in the Same Hex: Sometimes two planes will end up in the same hex. Planes in the same hex MAY NOT shoot at each other, they are assumed to be flying at different altitudes. Do your best to put both planes in the hex without losing track of their facing. The problem will resolve itself when the planes make their next move. Resolve Shooting: Planes may ONLY fire at enemy planes that are in the line of hexes directly in front of their nose, they may not fire off to the sides or at an angle. Pilots must fire at the nearest enemy plane, and may ignore any friendly planes that are in the line of fire. If the target is one hex away the pilot rolls five dice, two hexes away roll four dice, and so on. Targets six or more hexes away are out of range. Hits are scored on rolls of 4-6. The target crosses of one circle on their pilot license for each hit received. When a plane has taken six hits it is shot down and removed from play, until then it may be flown normally. All firing is assumed to take place at the same time. Range 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Dice 5 4 3 2 1 0 Hits on roll of 4-6 Crash Landings: When a plane is shot down the pilot may be able to survive by landing the plane safely or bailing out with a parachute. Roll one die - on a roll of 1-4 the pilot survives, on a roll of 5 or 6 the pilot is put out of action (either killed, captured, or seriously wounded). If a student's pilot is put out of action they of course lose all their victories and must start over again with a new pilot license and airplane. Victories: The pilot that shoots down an enemy plane is credited with a victory. If two planes hit a target on the turn it is shot down the victory is awarded to the player doing the most damage. If both players inflicted equal damage they each roll a die, high roll gets the victory (re-roll ties). Aces: When a pilot gets 5 victories they become an ace. Ten victories is a double ace. When a pilot becomes an ace they get to throw one extra die each time they fire at an enemy plane. Leaving the Board: If a pilot's plane has received 4 or more damage points he may escape combat by flying off the mat. If he succeeds in getting off the mat all his damage points are restored and he may return to combat at the start of the next turn. Returning to Combat: A pilot that has survived being shot down or left the mat voluntarily may return to combat at the start of the next turn. Their plane will start the turn undamaged. They must place their plane on any whole hex on any edge of the mat that is at least six hexes from the nearest enemy plane. This is to prevent them from flying in right behind an opponent. The hex where they start should be indicated to the other pilots before they select their maneuver cards for that turn. Duels: Occasionally two pilots will want to fight a one on one duel to settle a grudge, or determine which is the better pilot. Two players may declare that they are fighting a duel if they enter the mat on the same turn and both players agree. The two pilots will ignore the movements of all other planes on the mat, and may only fire at each other. Likewise, the other players must ignore the two dueling pilots, and may not shoot at them. The duel continues until one or both planes are shot down. The winning pilot must then fly off the mat before rejoining the dogfight. Optional Rules Fighter planes of WW II varied widely in terms of speed, maneuverability, durability, and firepower. You can use these optional rules to model these differences. Maneuverability: Cards can be removed or added to the deck to model the flight characteristics of different aircraft. Fast aircraft can be given a card that allows it to move straight for three hexes (3ST). Other planes should have fewer Hard Right (HR) and Hard Left (HL) turns than the average plane. The Aircraft Data Table lists some suggested changes. Firepower: Some planes were better armed than others. The Aircraft Data Table shows some suggested changes to the shooting rules for selected aircraft. Damage Points: Not all planes would have the same number of damage points. Check the Aircraft Data Table for suggested damage points for some example aircraft. Special Cases: The Japanese Zero was very nimble. A pilot flying the Zero chooses four maneuver cards instead of three. The fourth card is used after all players have used their third card. In addition to the changes show in the Aircraft Data Table, the Lightning must use a straight or sideslip maneuver before playing a right or left turn. Aircraft Data Table (Optional) Aircraft Remove Cards Add Cards To Hit Damage Points Me-109 * * * 6 Me-109A * * 3-6 @ 1Hex 6 Me-110 1xHR, 1xHL * 3-6 7 Fw-190D * 3ST 3-6 @ 1Hex 6 Me-262 1xHR, 1xHL 3ST 3-6 @ 1Hex 7 Me-163 1xHR, 1xHL 3ST 3-6 @ 1Hex 7 Spitfire * 3ST * 6 Hurricane 1xHR, 1xHL * * 6 Mosquito 1xHR, 1xHL * * 6 Mustang 1xHR, 1xHL 3ST * 6 Thunderbolt 1xHR, 1xHL * * 6 Lightning 2xHR, 2xHL, R, L 2x3ST 3-6 @ 1-3 Hexes 8 Corsair 1xHR, 1xHL * * 6 Zero * * 5-6 @ 3-5 Hexes 5 Key: * = no change, HR= Hard Right Turn, HL = Hard Left Turn, R = Right Turn, L = Left Turn, 3ST = Straight Fast three hexes WW II Aerial Combat Historical Background and Set Up Fast Play Rules for Students Paper Aircraft to Print and Assemble Paper Pilot Licenses to Print and Assemble Paper Maneuver Cards Back to Table of Contents -- Junior General Report # 5 Back to Junior General Report List of Issues Back to MagWeb.com Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Matt Fritz. 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