This air to air combat game is played on a six by eight foot table. The playing surface has hex pattern drawn onto a table cloth. The hex map is on blue cloth and the hex size is 2 inches across. The aircraft are 1/700th scale mounted on one inch by one inch wooden bases. The aircraft are mounted on clear plastic supports about three inches tall. The model aircraft are mounted on the wooden base so that they point to one of the squares corners. This creates a diamond (square) wooden base. During the game the aircraft are situated on the hex map so that the diamond move base is pointing toward one of the hexes corners or junctions. Move segments follow the hexside (line) they are facing and end movement in the new hex. In this new hex the pilot may make a facing change- following all of the guidelines listed below.
Sequence:
- 1. Pilots plot their Move Segments on the control sheets by plugging the push pin into a
Maneuver. This is also the time to adjust the altitude band.
2. All pilots roll D6 for initiative: 1D6, 2D6, or 3D6, depending on the number of players.
3. Aircraft maneuver in the order of descending initiative scores. (Tailing aircraft call out their intentions to "tail" and move out of sequence, following the plane they are tailing.)
4. The active aircraft can resolve weapons fire along any segment of his flight path.
5. Record Ammo. expended and damage inflicted.
6. Repeat 3-5, until all aircraft have moved.
7. Return to step 1.
Weapons fire in straight LOS. Fleeting Line of Sight can be established as your aircraft's guns sweep past an enemy plane. The firing aircraft receives 1D6 of firepower per move segment that his guns have LOS on the target plane. Regardless of the number of segments a plane actually moves the turn is considered 3 segments long. Three is the maximum number of firepower D6 that may be used.
After determining the number of D6 for firepower, the distance to the target is counted in hexes. This is the number of points the firing aircraft must score to reach his target. Subtract 3 points per altitude band difference. If the number rolled on the firepower die reaches the target in distance and altitude difference, than a hit has been scored!
Roll 1D6 for Variable Damage:
Variable Damage Table: 1D6
| Firepower | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Firepower: | 1 pt. | 1 pt. | 1 pt. | 2pt. | 2pt. | 3pt. |
| Medium Firepower: | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Light Firepower: | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Damaged Aircraft: | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Modifiers to the variable damage table include: +1 per LOS segment, +1 per ace status, +1 "Hot Pilot" rating.
Next roll for the damage Location:
Roll 2D6 for hit location: (Roll each hit Separately!)
| 2D6 | Location | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cockpit | C |
| 3 | Tail | T |
| 4 | Wings | W |
| 5 | Wings | W |
| 6 | Wings | W |
| 7 | Wings | W |
| 8 | Gun/ Weapon | G |
| 9 | Tail | T |
| 10 | Engine | E |
| 11 | Engine | E |
| 12 | Fuel | F |
Abbreviations:
Select aircraft maneuver from one box or set to another. Maneuver pin may only move from one box to any adjacent box. You may select any maneuver within that group under the following guidelines.
Dv: This is the dive maneuver. At slow speed you may decrease altitude band by one level. At speed two you may decrease the altitude band by two levels and you gain one move segment. (You may use this to decrease the altitude band by one more segment-but you are overdiving and must make a skill roll to pull out.) At fast speed, three, you decrease the altitude bands by three and gain two move segments or decrease altitude by two (overdive.)
Lv: This is the level flight maneuver. The aircraft will fly in the direction indicated on the control sheet either one, two, or three segments straight, left, or right. No change in altitude is allowed.
C1: This is the climb maneuver. The aircraft will climb one altitude band in slow, two in medium speed, and three in fast speed. You will lose one move segment in medium and two in fast speed if you climb the maximum.
Jn: This is the "jink" Maneuver. The aircraft is moving erratically to throw off enemy gunfire and or tailing enemy aircraft. The pilot may not attack with his aircraft while jinking. The enemy are minus the speed of the target plane. Tailing planes lose the tailing bonus the turn following a jink maneuver.
Rl: This is the roll or barrel roll maneuver. The aircraft is rolling in the indicated direction. A rolling target is minus the speed as a target, however the pilot may still attack with his plane. A roll can be countered by an exact copy of the roll and negate the minus modifiers.
S1: This is the sideslip maneuver. The aircraft maintains the same hex junction facing and slips sideways, one two or three hexes.
Im*: This is the Immeleman maneuver. The plane climbs one altitude band and changes facing to one of the three rear facings. (Plane stays in the same hex.) To pick this option the aircraft must be in the fast maneuver bands already.
St*: This is the stall maneuver. The plane stays in the same hex and stalls out. The pilot may not attack. The next maneuver is mandatory slow level straight. The pilot may pick any facing. A piloting skill roll will keep the plane from going into an overdive. Failure results in a Medium speed overdive in the pilots choice of directions available. Followed by more piloting skill rolls.
Dv, Lv, C1, manuevers all follow the hex junctions.
Jn, R1. S1, Manuevers all move hex by hex in the indicated directions.
Tailing bonus: if you are directly behind an enemy aircraft and have the same heading as the enemy; you may claim a tailing bonus. You are allowed to move immediatley after the enemy plane regardless of initiative roll. During the plotting sequence of the turn the enemy plane must inform you of his intended direction. A jink maneuver will negate this after it has been moved.
Hot Pilot: (Optional Rule) A pilot who consistently wins the initiative roll will circle the recorded die roll in his fuel box area. When a pilot has won five initiatives he immediately receives a +1 bonus for the remainder of the game.
Fuel consumption: The GM may set at the beginning of the scenario the amount of time over the target area that oAle or both sides have. This is resolved as a record of the inititative rolls in the fuel area of the control sheet. For example: the American pilots over Germany may have fifteen turns over the target area (the wargames table). When fifteen initiative rolls have been recorded then the American player must head for his own table edge in order to return the aircraft safely to the home field. If he refuses the GM will record a 1D6 number of turns before the plane is downed because of lack of fuel.
| Aircraft | Components | Firepower | Turning LMH | Altitude Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi A6M5-52 | ECWWWTGGGTT | H | 4 3 2 | (9) |
| P40N "Warhawk" | EECCWWWWFGGTT | M | 3 2 1 | (10) |
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