I have been playing around a lot lately with ChatGPT, focusing on taking primary Civil War sources and creating things like timelines and micro histories. Today I took a chance to see if AI would create scenarios for Check Your 6! Son of a b...., it does!
Of course like most anything good data in means good data out. I uploaded a pair of Sino-Japanese War scenarios I had created, along with aircraft data for some of the early planes used during the conflict, and asked for the app to create additional scenarios for that war. ChatGPT will then spit out all sorts of things, and then make suggestions. One can go high level with a faster response time, deeper thinking which will provide more accurate details, or a deeply researched dive. One can tell ChatGPT to use online resources as well. Here is an example of a scenario that AI created:
Scenario 1 – Peashooters Over Nanking
SETTING
Date: 15 August 1937, 1330 hours
Location: Approaches to Nanking, China
History:
With the ground war surging toward the Chinese capital, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Kisarazu Air Group sent twenty Mitsubishi G3M “Nell” bombers to strike Nanking. Eight Boeing Model 281 “Peashooter” fighters of the 3rd Pursuit Group’s 17th Squadron scrambled from Chuyung airfield and intercepted a portion of the bomber stream. In the running fight that followed, the Boeings helped destroy several G3Ms without loss, marking one of the earliest successful monoplane-vs-monoplane interceptions of the war.
Conditions:
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Max/Auto Visibility: 20/10
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Sun: None
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CAB: MEDIUM and MEDIUM BOTTOM
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Clouds: Table Clouds: none; Cloud Border: none
Chinese Orders:
Achieve more victory points than the opponent.
Japanese Orders:
Achieve more victory points than the opponent. National Move Order advantage.
Game Length:
No limit (game ends once all Japanese bombers have exited or been destroyed).
SCENARIO SET-UP
Map: Standard 45 × 30 hex map (Areas A–F, Edges 1–6 as in your existing scenarios).
814 Day
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Japanese bomber axis: Bombers enter from Board Edge 2 and must exit off Board Edge 5.
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Chinese fighter axis: Chinese fighters may enter from Board Edge 4 or Board Edge 6.
Place a city target (Nanking) as a 6-hex built-up area straddling the border between Areas C and D, at least 8 hexes from Board Edge 2.
REPUBLIC OF CHINA AIR FORCE
Elements of the 3rd Pursuit Group, 17th Pursuit Squadron (Chuyung)
All aircraft are Boeing Model 281 (use your CY6 stats from the sheet/rules).
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1 × Boeing Model 281 w/ veteran (+2) aircrew (flight leader; you can use John “Buffalo” Huang or another historical pilot if you like).
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3 × Boeing Model 281 w/ skilled (+1) aircrew
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2 × Boeing Model 281 w/ green (+0) aircrew
Set-up:
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Chinese set up second.
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Start in three sections of two aircraft each in Area E, at least 6 hexes from the city, heading north-east at Speed 3, MEDIUM CAB, TAL 5.
IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY
Elements of Kisarazu Kōkūtai
Initial Wave:
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1 × Mitsubishi G3M w/ veteran (+2) aircrew (chūtai leader)
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2 × Mitsubishi G3M w/ skilled (+1) aircrew
Set-up:
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Set up first in shotai formation in Area B, within 5 hexes of the Edge 2/3 corner, heading south-west toward Nanking at Speed 2, MEDIUM BOTTOM CAB, TAL 4.
Reinforcements:
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Second Shotai
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3 × Mitsubishi G3M w/ skilled (+1) aircrew
Enter on Turn 1d4 along Board Edge 2, in shotai formation, heading south-west at Speed 2, MEDIUM BOTTOM CAB, TAL 4.
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Straggler
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1 × Mitsubishi G3M w/ green (+0) aircrew
Enter on Turn 1d4+2 along Board Edge 3, heading south-west at Speed 2, MEDIUM BOTTOM CAB, TAL 3.
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VARIABLE RULES
1–3 Early Warning:
Chinese fighters may start at Speed 4 instead of 3, and one green (+0) aircrew is upgraded to skilled (+1).
4–10 None
SCENARIO RULES
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City Target:
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Each G3M must plot a straight-line bombing run so that it passes over at least one hex of the Nanking city area before exiting.
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A G3M that successfully attacks any city hex (per CY6 bombing rules) earns the Japanese player 4 Victory Points.
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Formations:
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All G3M shotai must fly level and remain in formation until:
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any bomber in that shotai is fired upon, or
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the shotai passes completely over the city target.
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Once broken, bombers may maneuver freely.
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Chinese Interception:
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Chinese sections deploy already climbed to altitude, but must plot forward turn codes and fly level on their first turn (they are diving to intercept and just sight the bombers as the scenario begins).
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After the first turn, fighters maneuver normally.
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Bomb Jettison:
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Any G3M that takes its first Damaged result must pass a crew check or jettison its bombload, losing the ability to score bombing VPs but regaining full maneuver freedom.
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Friendly Airspace:
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All board areas are friendly to the Chinese player.
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AFTERMATH
Historically, the Boeing 281s of the 17th Squadron helped shoot down several of the G3M bombers without loss, a rare clean victory for China’s small monoplane force. The success was short-lived—Japan’s air arms would soon grind down the Nationalist fighter groups—but on this August afternoon over Nanking, the “Peashooters” showed that even obsolete fighters could bite.
