For our first scenario of Check Your 6! we played Beware the Thunderbolt where a small B-17 formation escorted by P-47s is under attack by 109s and 190s. At the start there were only two of us but we wanted to test the limits of controlling multiple aircraft as well as the bomber rules.
It started great for the Germans with one P-47 bugging out over the Channel with a rough engine. Next, German Ace Rall's flight jumped the T-bolts at TAL 6. Fortunately Zemke's flight of three spotted the diving attackers and was able to partially face them (by setting up on the edge of the 7-hex center set up area and facing inward). The P-47s escaped this first round with only a few damaged aircraft from the Bf109G-6/R-6 shots.
At the same time another flight of 109s was coming in from the northeast. However during a "reorganization" of the formation two of the aircraft collided, resulting in engine fires and pretty much putting them out of the battle. (That's what I get for controlling 8 aircraft!)
In the center, a swirling dogfight continued, with lots of extreme turns and split-Ss. Speeds and energy were going downwards. The two Aces had a head-on pass but to no effect. Rall missed one of the skilled P-47 pilots but luckily a stray bullet caused oil to spray on the windshield. That pilot did clear off his windshield and avoid another short range shot from the ace and ended up behind the main German formation. He ended up involved in downing a couple of 109s. By this time, both main flights of Germans were swarming around the American fighters, outnumbering them 2-to-1 but they could only manage one Thunderbolt kill.
The B-17s had slipped away from the battle but were now getting closer. The Germans had for the most part ignored them due to not wanting to face the defensive fire (or neglecting that they were worth at least 12 points).
Another player arrived and we gave him the supporting element of two FW190A-8s with veteran pilots. They dove in from above and went after the American Ace who was flying away from the main battle to gain speed. This took the FW190A-8s away from the bombers also. Zemke Immelmanned to go after the FW190s but a 109G-6/R6 snuck in behind and blasted the Ace's plane out of the air.
In the meantime Rall had become damaged and also got shot down by another damage hit. A reinforcing element of P-47s had climbed up from below and one of them eventually ended up with three kills on the inattentive and low-speed 109s. Another element of P-47s flying in from the edge were able to chase down and shoot down the pair of green 109s.
Before the battle ended the B-17s managed several shots at the Germans but most were difficult due to the deflection, range and agility of the fighters. A few fighters made a run at the bombers but they found the P-47s too distracting and did not press the attack.
End result was two P-47s shot down, several damaged and seven 109s and one FW190 shot down, which sounded similar to the historical aftermath. If we were playing a campaign, the Germans would've bugged out sooner (just as the supporting P-47s arrived), but we wanted to play the game out. The outcome was undecided for quite awhile. In hindsight the Germans should have went after the bombers more (and avoided midair collisions!).
Overall we really enjoyed the game. I love how aircraft can enter the fight from the vertical. The ammo rules work great (doubles = possible depletion), we didn't take low-odds shots unless in desperation. Most kills happened on tail or point blank shots. We used the standard wide firing arc and didn't experience any issues with head-on combat (head-on shots did not give easy kills). My opponent thought the game simulated "energy" really well based on his hours of flight sim combat! And, as has been said before by many others, the move sequencing works great, as do the pilot reaction rules.
We played 11 turns and controlling 7-8 fighers for one person was doable but we agree with the assessment that 6 is probably the max you'd want to control. But if it was just the two of us again we wouldn't mind spending the evening with a large scenario.
Check Your 6! are a miniature rules set for WWII air combat. We played using 1/600 scale aircraft on a 1.5-inch hex grid map, 30 x 45 hexes.
…Fen
