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Here are pix from the Check Your 6! game I GMed at WarParty in Cincinnati October 27.
WarParty is a revival of the series of one-day wargame conventions that once were an annual event at the Knights of St. John Hall in Reading Ohio, eventually morphing into the present three-day Cincycon at the Butler County Fairgrounds. Kudos to local wargaming machers Mike Cooper and Rob Smethurst for stepping up and bringing this good old con back. I’ve heard that this initial venture was successful enough that Mike and Rob will do it again in 2019. Hot dawg!
My game was “Hankow Jingbow”, a CY6! scenario of Chinese fighters intercepting an escorted Japanese bombing raid c.1938. Some of y’all may have seen these models before. This was the third time I’ve GMed this scenario, and I’ve about got it down to a science. I change the speed scale from standard CY6! to be 1 hex of movement/80 kph of speed,rather than the standard 1 hex/80 mph. This gives the Golden Age fighters more energy, and makes for a fun, fast game.
FYI, I’ve committed to present this game at the Cold Wars convention in Lancaster Pa. on Saturday March 16, 2019. I’ve asked for a 2 or 3PM time slot. I’ve listed the game for up to 9 players, 3 hours. If any of y’all show up, I’ll do my best to entertain yez.
My game was scheduled for 7PM. The con had cleared out quite a bit by then, but I was pleased to get four players. From the left, Ray and Mike were experienced CY6! players, while Steve and Jacob were noobs. I can generally get the new guys in the air with about a 10 minute briefing.
Here’s the Japanese air armada approaching Hankow, A5M Claude fighters escorting G3M Nell bombers.
Usually I like to give the Chinese interceptors 1.5 to 2 times more fighters than the Japanese escorts, but Ray and Mike offered to fly interceptors against Steve and Jacob with equal numbers. Given their greater experience, that seemed fair. Besides, I like to let my players do what they want, within reason.
I set up the bombers, told Steve and Jacob to set up within five hexes of any bomber. They set up forward on the flanks. It looked good to me.
I had a variety of Chinese fighters available. Ray and Mike wisely selected I-16s, the best of the lot.
I told Ray and Mike to set up no closer than ten hexes to any Japanese airplane. Mike looked hard at the table, then asked, “Can I start *behind* the bombers?” He had spotted a loophole, and I let him jump through it. I warned him that ‘a stern chase is a long chase’, but he wanted to do it.
Ray chose to go hey-diddle-diddle, straight up the middle. That went badly for him. Both Japanese players used their outstanding turning ability to swing in behind Ray’s I-16s. One I-16 was immediately hit, failed his Robustness roll by the critical value and got shot Dead Right There.
Then things got hairy. Jacob flew his two Claudes into one hex with a Nell and anoither hex with Ray’s surviving I-16. These big take-off hexes are from my boxed set of Black Cross/Blue Sky. They’re very handy, I use them a lot.
The Nell and the Claude were at different altitudes, so no problem. Jacob searched his Maneuver Chart for a change that would avoid the potential collision, but the only other option put him in the hex with his own wingman. “Would you rather collide with the I-16, or with your wingman?” I asked. He made his choice.
The dice were unkind. Both Jacob and Ray failed their pilot checks and collided. Jacob’s pilot got knocked unconscious and his Claude caught fire. He staggered across the sky for two more turns, out of control, before burning up. That was the only Japanese plane lost.
Ray’s I-16 got off lightly with ‘engine problems’. He was still in the game.
Here we are, about turn 4, with one I-16 down, Jacob’s Claude burning out of control, and Ray’s damaged I-16 starting to trade altitude for speed, to catch up with the bombers and take some shots.
Mike’s I-16s are catching up with the Nells that they’re chasing, but Steve’s Claudes have raked them in passing, and put an airframe hit on one.
The I-16s have taken several shots at the bombers and made some hits, but the Robustness 1 Nells have rolled off any damage. The bomber gunners have so far not gotten any effective shots against the agile I-16s.
This is the end of turn 5. It was a fast game.
Steve’s Claudes have pulled in behind Mike’s I-16s, and shot down the damaged plane.
Before perishing, Mike’s I-16s got a piece of the rightmost Nell, airframe damge. The Nell failed his crew check and aborted the mission.
But. The Nell gunner made a hit on Mike’s other I-16, which promptly failed its Robustness roll by the critical value. Rolled snake-eyes, actually. So another I-16 blew up in a fireball. Oh, the ignominy, shot down by a bomber!
That left just one, Ray’s I-16 with the damaged engine, and he was out of altitude and out of speed. So Ray dove him out of the game.
It was all over by 8:30. As I was packing up, to my surprise, Jacob asked if I’d set up again. I was pleased that he liked the game…but Grandpa Zippy was tired, so I finished packing. I had fun too. I hope to GM another CY6 game on the local con circuit this spring.
You'll shoot your eye out, kid!
Dave, I had D 510s available, as well as Gladiators, I-15 Bis and I-16s for the Chinese. I can fit up to 11 players flying fighters into this game, besides running the bomber formation myself. The game might slow down a bit during the firing phase, but migawd how the tracers would fly. I’ll save a seat at Cold Wars for you.
You'll shoot your eye out, kid!
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