Low on Ammo!

Our group seems to roll A LOT of doubles during game play. This causes many aircraft to run out of ammo and hence creates less than a perfect gaming experience. We've tried a house rule or two to address the frequency of our doubles conundrum, but haven't used them on a consistent basis. In all my reading, where there are certainly instances of running out of ammunition, or at least some guns running out while others still had rounds, it did not seem to happen as habitually as it does in our games. I was looking at the Ammo Depletion table recently, trying to figure out a way to reduce the amount of out of ammunition results while factoring in crew experience. What follows is a chart that I plan to try at a few upcoming games that I host.

When a second set of doubles has been rolled (or after the first fire box has been checked), it triggers an ammunition check. Using the same parameters for aircrew quality as on the Ammo Depletion table (meaning that a skilled aircrew has to check on doubles of 4 or higher, a veteran on 5 or higher, etc.), based on pilot skill the player will take an aircrew check and using the following table to determine the outcome. The numbers under each weapon type are the minimum numbers to roll in order to maintain that weapon type's ammunition supply. There are no die roll modifiers as aircrew quality has already been factored into the chart.

Example One: A veteran P-38 jock rolls his second set of doubles for the game, this time a pair of fives. This triggers an aircrew check on the table. The player rolls a 7 on his 2d6. Checking the Veteran row, this would result in his 20mm cannon being out of ammo, but his four .50 caliber HMGs are good to go. 

Example Two: A poor Chinese MiG-15 pilot has rolled his second set of doubles which triggers a check on the table. He rolls his 2d6 and the result is an 8. All guns are out of ammo. Had the result been an 11, then the two 23mm cannon would still be available, but the 37mm Sabre buster would be out of rounds.

Any check would be dependent upon what guns were used in the firing attack. If the type of gun(s) were not used, they are not impacted by a failed crew check.

Also, additional doubles means another aircrew check on the table, not an automatic out of ammo result. Therefore a plane could roll multiple doubles during the course of a game, but could continue to pass the checks and have some or all of its guns available.

GunVal Scenario

While the details are hazy, I was able to host a scenario featuring a pair of 20mm cannon equipped F-86 Sabres in the cold skies over MiG Alley recently (called Moore's Double Down and can be found on the Downloads page). The player running the 20mm Sabres had a lot of issues as he kept failing crew checks when firing the 20mm cannons, causing the Sabres to flameout, requiring additional crew checks to restart the engines. However, the American players did a number on the Soviet-piloted MiGs, even though outnumbered eight to six. The first four MiGs on the board did not wait for their reinforcements and instead went at the Americans, which allowed the Imperialist Yankees to swarm the four MiGs. By the time the next four MiGs were able to close in, the odds were not looking good. It was an overwhelming American victory!

No after action report this time as I waited too long to write it up and the feeble mind does not quite have all the details.

Miniatures - A mix of Raiden and GHQ
Game Mat - Deep Cut Studio with 1.75" hexes.

Back to the Pak!

As the New Year dawns upon mankind, the promise of renewed hope springs forth once again...(Monty Python voice over follows) Alright, enough of that tripe! 

Sabres, Gnats, and Mystères...oh my!

I have slowly been working on my Second India-Pakistan War miniatures from Flight Deck Decals. I am awaiting an order for some paints to go on the Hunters, but the Mystères, Gnats, and Sabres are to the point of just needing decals added. I am hosting a game next week and hope to have these completed in time - no worries if I don't as I already have metal minis from Raiden painted for this conflict. (see HERE and HERE for pictures of those planes). Why the switch to Flight Deck? See HERE for that decision. 

I have a pair of painted MSD Vampires that my buddy gave me, and in order to do one of the scenarios from the Crisis in Kashmir! scenario book I needed another pair, so I do have two more coming from Raiden. Eventually I will also order Vampires from Flight Deck as the MSD ones are not up to Flight Deck's level of quality, but for now I have done some touch up painting on the pair in hand and they will see service until their replacements have been acquired.

I have also used AI to see if there are more scenarios that can be created for this war. The answer is yes, AI yielded two additional scenarios - one of decent (five player) size with the Pakistani Sabres attacking a radar installation with rockets, one that is defended by Hunters and some flak. That will make a good game for the tabletop. The other AI generated scenario is a small night action and not suitable for a game. Here is now the full listing of 1965 scenarios by number of aircraft needed (red are the additional scenarios):

Removing the scenarios that utilize planes I do not own yields fourteen scenarios on the tabletop. I think that is probably enough for this war!