Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Boxkites WWI Aircombat Game


You double click the image and then save to print. This is placed in the bottom of a copier box lid. You use barrel thumbtacks to plug in the air speed and altitude. You can also use another tack to mark the protractor arc to plot moves. On the ground in the backyard you move the aircraft model 1 yardstick each time you get an asterisk in the turn phase. You get three shots per turn and you can fire in any phase at any time. Use 6 sided regular dice.

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4 comments:

  1. Looks like a really fun and elegant rule set--and the clothespin fighters are entirely charming! My son and I think we've pretty much deciphered the rules, but we have come up with a few questions:

    Why is the fuel unit graph labelled on both axes? We assume that there are 100 units of fuel and you use "speed" units of fuel per turn. Also, do planes glide through the last ten units? So, 90 units of fuel, actually...

    Damage seems to reduce turning radius to 20 degrees--what is the normal turn radius? Are forced descent factors cumulative? On which phase(s) does the 1/turn forced descent occur?

    Is a successful "to-hit" roll determined by rolling the range or greater on 2D6?

    Could you clarify the gun jamming roll? Is the +1 applied to successive attempts (2D6+0, 2D6+1, 2D6+2) and then reset every turn?

    Can you only fire at a target at the same altitude? Can you only change altitude during a movement phase? What do the graphical "boxes"
    added to the VH M and VL altitude slots indicate? Can you fly in altitude G, or is that the hard deck?

    "Tailing" is defined at the bottom of the sheet, but we can't find a modifier if the situation is true.

    Thanks!

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  2. Why is the fuel unit graph labelled on both axes? The labelling was supposed to help count the boxes. No other purpose.


    We assume that there are 100 units of fuel and you use "speed" units of fuel per turn. Yes that is exactly the way it would be used.

    Also, do planes glide through the last ten units? So, 90 units of fuel, actually... Yes again. The last ten units of fuel is glide and then you are out of fuel (never has happened in our backyard games so I don't think it is that important.)



    Damage seems to reduce turning radius to 20 degrees--what is the normal turn radius? Beginning turn radius is 45 degrees.




    Are forced descent factors cumulative? On which phase(s) does the 1/turn forced descent occur?

    During the plot your speed phase we typically remind all pilots about forced factors such as descent and turn and speed. The circled speed numbers with the sunburst lines indicate speed you can use. When hits cross these off you lose that speed amount.




    Is a successful "to-hit" roll determined by rolling the range or greater on 2D6? Yes. Range to target measured in feet determined by your 2D6 roll so a range of 12 feet and at same altitude.





    Could you clarify the gun jamming roll? Is the +1 applied to successive attempts (2D6+0, 2D6+1, 2D6+2) and then reset every turn?
    Check your gunfire jam at the noted phase by rolling 2D6 and scoring 9 or less modified by the number of shots you did during the turn (up to 3).
    If you jam then on your next active phase you need to score under 7 on 2D6 to clear the jam and regain firing ability. We use poker chips and put three in the box. When we shoot we take a chip out and pitch it at the base of the target craft. We roll 2D6 and measure the range in feet to see if we hit. At the end of the turn we roll under 10 to get our three chips back. If we fail we continue checking and need to get under 7 to regain all three chips.





    Can you only fire at a target at the same altitude? Yes exactly.






    Can you only change altitude during a movement phase? Yes exactly. There is a turn and there are phases. Each turn is 6 phases.





    What do the graphical "boxes"
    added to the VH M and VL altitude slots indicate? ???





    Can you fly in altitude G, or is that the hard deck? We use G as the hard deck.






    "Tailing" is defined at the bottom of the sheet, but we can't find a modifier if the situation is true.
    The modifier is the ability to move after the tailed plane moves so you can react to the movement. Otherwise all move is roughly simultaneous. If necessary we use an additional thumbtack and mark the movement along the arc of the protractor. This is a way of plotting in secret the movement. If you are tailing a plane they have to put their yardstick down and move their aircraft and then you get to lay your movement yardstick down and follow or react to them.

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  3. Great! Thanks so much for the explanations. we will give this a try when the backyard becomes hospitable again; that's probably October here in Tallahassee.

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  4. Great. I look forward to seeing pictures of your game and models.
    Please send links or pictures.

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