The battle had broken down into two separate dog-fights: the Hurricanes versus the Me110's and the Spitfires versus the Me109s (see below):
When you go through a cloud (see middle of the picture below) you reset your status to "neutral" (see below):
The bombers make their clumsy was forwards. The German commander was reconsidering teh wisdom of setting their initial position to "disadvantaged" as I could not see how they could gain a better status in the tactical context of this dogfight. It simply takes the bombers too long to do anything in comparison to the nimble fighters. Once you are in a "disadvantaged" position it is very "easy" to get shot down (see below):
Meanwhile the Spitfires were keen to press ahead with their advantage in numbers over the pair of Me 109s and harass the German fighters out of the game before the extra German "top cover" could descend (see below):
Snowdrop Leader: "Tally Ho!" Game on. The Spitfires try a head-on attack against the Me 109s which allows the Germans to fire back. A dangerous tactic as the Me 109 has two nasty 20mm cannons and a heavier weight of fire (see below, the red tracer of 'the first round of combat'):
All depended on the "luck of the nice" but the Spits had their "blood up"!
Next: "Achtung Spitfire!"
PS: Thanks to Renko for the hosting the game with very nice models and a much more complete understanding of the rules. In the words of Amazon and Whiskers if you like the above, nine out of ten cats who expressed a preference, also liked: https://twtrb.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/blood-red-skies-over-channel-tale-of-j.html?showComment=1526677918061#c7630556548291730388
Very nice. I saw this game being demoed at Salute a d it looked a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI am still getting my head round a few of the concepts
ReplyDeleteSo figuring out what to do in the middle of a melee can be quite tense
But yes it does play one hell of a game
I am a big fan of the Canvas Eagles WWI air wargame rule set but I don't see how it could easily transition to WWII
Blood Red Skies seems to get a good balance - it kind of looks right and plays fair (until someone gets on your tail and it is a white knuckle ride) - relative position works rather than absolute measurement
Nice writeup. I think BRS does hit a happy medium. Of course all gaming requires a suspension of belief, and trying to model 3d is always going to stretch that. By representing the effects I think this is a good compromise
ReplyDeleteCheers Von Renko of Me 110 fame
ReplyDeleteI though the game caught the flavour of the Battle of Britain nicely
Being jumped by the high escorts (spoiler alert) was not fun
I am still progressing up the learning curve but loving every step of the way
Unlike other rules systems I could mention (OK I will, "competition style DBM" and WRG rules)
Blood Red Skied beats the Wing Leader board game (sorry Phil I did try to get my head round it) and throws away the fiddly curves .. and the inevitable models being nudged!
https://theplayersaid.com/2018/05/04/68-gallons-fortis-leader-a-review-of-wild-blue-yonder-from-gmt-games/
ReplyDeleteCard based systems are another "Hope" but I do prefer miniatures