Hi all,
A group of us are playing CY6 via yahoo group. We are on our third game, and once you get over the pace (about 1 turn per week, give or take) it is a great way to play.
Give us a visit.
link
Here is an AAR from our first game, expertly writtne by on of the players.
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I'm submitting this draft of the AAR to just our little group first, so that I can get your comments, thoughts, and feedback. I found that while I could speculate on the motives for movements of other aircraft, I was most clear about the reasons for my own movements, and there may be cases where I've identified a mistake or been confused about a move simply because I can't see into someone else's head and understand the reasons for the move chosen. After seeing people's thoughts and comments and making revisions, I'll send this AAR to Scott Fisher and post it to the entire CY6 group.
There are two interwoven sections of this AAR – one is a simple game description of what happened (I'll try to be detailed so viewing the maps is not essential), and one is a discussion of the moves by both sides, along with suggestions for improvement. As always, the great hope behind discussing mistakes is for others to learn from them, and to become better players as a result.
Situation: In late 1942, the Americans and British were ready to make their very first move against the Germans. Operation Torch, the allied landings in North Africa, was about to begin. The first forces they would face were some of their most unlikely opponents. When France had fallen to the Germans, the remaining French split into the Free French Forces and the Vichy government, the latter of which maintained control of French territory. As part of an agreement with the Germans to keep the Germans from taking what was left of France and French colonial holdings, the Vichy government had pledged to fight against any allied troops that attempted to invade their soil.
The Game Log, as well as the end position maps for every turn can be found hosted at: link
You may need to be a group member to view the files there.
Events: The Americans placed two aircraft (Bentley and Fisher, which became just Bentley Flight) within 2 hexes of the airfield, one on each side. Additional American aircraft (Schmidt Flight) started on the far south of the board, and French top cover (Casey Flight) begain much closer to the battle by starting on the west side of the board. The French aircraft taking off (Fellows and Johnson) started on the north side of the airfield, heading north.
Analysis: Bentley flight's starting position creates immediate problems for the French aircraft placement, as there's no safe place from which to start. No matter where the French take off from, the Americans will be able to pull in behind them. There are no mistakes in the French takeoff aircraft placement – there just aren't any good options. The French aircraft coming in could have started higher and faster, and probably should have done so in order to have more energy – there will be consequences later. As it is, the French aircraft taking off are in a bad position, but if they can last a turn or two then the French aircraft coming in can put the American aircraft in jeopardy, with the additional American planes able to show up at some point to help out their side.
Over the course of the analysis I'll repeatedly mention energy, so let's take a moment to discuss it for those unfamiliar with the concept. It was an important thing to understand in a World War II dogfight, and CY6 reflects the essentials of energy flying very well. This game is very illustrative of why having more energy gives you a huge advantage in a dogfight, and shows you where moves that bleed off energy can hurt you greatly over the course of a game.
For each aircraft, its 'energy' is a combination of its kinetic and potential energy – in other words, its speed and altitude. In CY6, you can get a rough idea of any given aircraft's energy by adding the two values together. Having more energy means that you have control over important parts of the battle, like whether to engage or not, and enables you to attack an enemy aircraft without them attacking you if you can maneuver for a shot.
Turn 1:
Events: Bentley flight swings in behind both Fellows and Johnson as they split to either side of the runway, lining them up for a pair of good shots. The dice are fairly average, and one shot connects, hitting Fellows and giving him engine damage. Casey flight swoops in, and threatens to be in firing position on Bentley-2 next turn. The American top cover dives from their extreme height to take an extra hex and get to the battle ASAP, but they're still far away.
Analysis: The French aircraft taking off made a mistake in splitting up (due mostly to a lack of coordination between the players). The result is that both American aircraft each have an excellent shot of 6+ to hit each aircraft, and the French were lucky to not have had both shots hit. Had the aircraft both drifted the same way, only a single American aircraft would have been able to fire. In this case it would have been better to both drift left, not only because of the slight extra distance they could get from Bentley-1, but because it would result in being chased by a lower energy aircraft and would prepare Fellows and Johnson for a left turn, which would present Bentley-1 with the unpalatable choice of either not chasing them, or allowing Casey flight to get on his tail. Because they and Bentley-1 would have the same energy amount (Bentley-1 bled off a lot of energy doing an extreme climbing turn to get this position), they would be better able to shake him off later.
The hit on Fellows is near-fatal – engine damage that occurs when an aircraft is low and slow effectively takes it out of the fight. Cutting the climb rate by 1/3rd, making it dangerous to attempt climbing, and limiting the top speed to 2 all end up meaning that this aircraft can no longer gain energy.
Casey makes a slight mistake this turn, when he neglects to increase speed after his level flight maneuver. Since the American aircraft he is after are headed north, this would have been a good time to plot a right turn to get his nose in the correct direction of where they will be when he gets there, or alternately he could have taken an extra point of speed to get his energy a bit higher. As a general rule whenever you have the opportunity to increase your energy, you should take it. Not increasing his speed now will cost him a shot next turn.
Turn 2:
Events: Casey's aircraft swoop in to attack Bentley flight with a diving extreme turn, while Bentley flight drifts away from the attackers while still moving forward. Fellows does an extreme right turn of his own to try to shake Bentley-1 off his tail. Johnson opts to use his superior speed and charges forward, putting some distance between him and Bentley-2. Casey's dive puts him out of position for a shot (due to being lower and not faster than his target), so only Bentley's aircraft have shots. The French get a break when both shots miss. Schmidt continues to dive towards the fight at high speed, and will be something for Casey's aircraft to start worrying about next turn.
Analysis: Even though no damage was done from shooting, this was probably the most costly turn for the French. Casey's extreme diving turn does two harmful things – one, due to being lower and the same speed as his target Bentley-1, he doesn't get a shot this turn. Two, it bleeds off so much energy that all of a sudden Bentley-1 has more energy than Casey's flight, and Bentley-2 has the same amount.
There are times when an extreme turn is a good move – Fellows uses it successfully to escape being shot down this turn and puts Bentley-1 out of position to chase him. However, if you can avoid using extreme turns and other energy-bleeding maneuvers (like a power climb), you should do so. In this case, Casey could have done a few other things, such as a normal diving turn (R33 instead of R34) and been in effectively the same firing position for both his aircraft – while being able to pick up the extra point of speed he needs to shoot a higher target.
What would have been even better would have been to pick up the extra speed from last turn, and then this turn the dive wouldn't have been necessary – he could still be that one extra hex closer without the dive, and his energy would at least match his target's. And for one final alternate action, simply starting the game even a single point higher or faster would have put him in a better position than the one he has ended up in (Most of the time, take all the energy you can get at the start – it's easier to get rid of than to get more of).
After all, it's precisely because Schmidt's aircraft started as high and fast as they did that they have been able to traverse the board so quickly. They're effectively going to show up only one turn behind Casey, despite starting much further away.
Turn 3:
Events: Schmidt's aircraft roar into the fight, and Casey's planes respond by heading into the safety of the smoke. Meanwhile, Bentley flight turns into Casey's attack and they fly past each other. Bentley-1 winds up with a chance to pick off Fellow's crippled aircraft, and does so in the only shot of the turn.
Note: From here on Fellows assumes control of Casey-2, so he can keep playing the game.
Analysis: After railing against extreme turns and seeing the effect of the last one, I was loathe to perform one myself with Bentley-1 and lose the energy I had. As it turned out, it was the only maneuver that would safely get me out of any possibility of being shot by Casey's incoming aircraft, it gave me a good potential shot at Fellows, and Schmidt's planes gave me an extra measure of security, so I took it. I did pay for it however, because after that one good shot the plane is ineffectual for several turns as I try to get it into the safety of the smoke. Meanwhile, Bentley-2 is enjoying an energy advantage, and can afford to make a much more energy efficient climbing turn, secure in the knowledge that Casey-1 doesn't have a way to get a shot on him due to lower energy. Looking at the map, you can see why continuing to chase Johnson (tempting as it was) could have been a mistake – Casey's aircraft would now be in a perfect position to jump any pursuers. Casey's move is a good one, protecting his aircraft from Schmidt's incoming flight for a turn while gaining energy with a climb.
Fellow's drift put him one hex closer to the aircraft that killed him, but he faced even more of an apparent threat from having Bentley-2 turn in on him, which his move anticipated. With few options available to him, there just wasn't anywhere good for him to go.
Turn 4:
Events: Schmidt's arrival results in a confused furball just to the left of the airfield. Casey and Fellows pull immelmans to respond to the attack, resulting in a potential (but not actual) collision between Casey and Schmidt. Bentley flight Split-Ss to get back in the fight, and Johnson has flown off to the far north in search of the Vikings. In a flurry of firing, Fellows' green pilot tears into Schmidt-1, causing engine damage. Schmidt-1 and Bentley-2 both return fire on Fellows, and Bentley-2 tags him for engine damage.
Analysis: I want to point out Schmidt, Casey, and Fellow's excellent moves for this turn. First of all, Schmidt uses his aircraft to form overlapping fields of fire, such that Casey's veteran pilot would have been shot at had he not performed an immelman or a split-s. Pilot skill is tremendously important in CY6, and a veteran or an ace pilot has a wealth of options available to them in order to not be shot at by lesser pilots. Schmidt's move here is exactly the kind of cooperation you can utilize if you find yourself facing a superior pilot, so you can cover all of the very wide area they could potentially move to. Casey's response is the right one, pulling an immelman to keep himself out of the trap, and Fellows does the same, rewarding him with the French side's first hit against the Americans. Unfortunately he gets tagged too, but one should always be happy if they can manage to hit another plane with a green pilot – especially another plane with a better pilot. Both suffer engine damage, and as a result both aircraft will be out of the fight for the remainder of the game. As for Johnson, quips aside, he probably could have turned around by now – but he's used every turn so far to gain energy by taking extra height or speed, which is a good move on his part.
Turn 5:
Events: Schmidt-2 speeds through the chaos and finds himself headed for a head-on next turn with the returning Johnson. Schmidt-1 heads for home, Casey heads into the smoke, and Fellows turns for home as well but runs afoul of both Bentley-1 and 2, and becomes the only target for their shots. Thanks to fortunate dice, the only damage suffered is a lucky rudder hit that will force a right turn as his next maneuver.
Analysis: Not too much happened this turn – Fellows' aircraft does indeed need to head for home, but he missed a chance to get a turn or two of safety by diving into the smoke (an F11L or an L12 dive, taking an extra hex, would have been a safer choice). Casey ends up losing critical energy by diving into the smoke and not increasing his speed – a climb or picking up speed from the dive would both have been better for that – indeed, had he climbed above the smoke he would have had a decent shot at Bentley-2.
Turn 6:
Events: The real action takes place up north with Schmidt-2 and Johnson screaming directly at each other. But Schmidt-2's green pilot climbs while Johnson does not, giving Schmidt the height advantage to dive down and expend all his ammo shooting down the French aircraft. Fellows is forced by rudder damage to turn right, sending him off his escape course. Casey picks up some speed as he leaves the smoke, and Bentley-1 picks up some height as he moves in to go after Johnson (anticipating that he would survive the head-on pass).
Note: The posted map is slightly misleading – Johnson died from failing his robustness check by 4+ from HMG fire.
Analysis: Repeatedly this game the French have been stymied by the height / speed rule in situations where it was avoidable, and Johnson suffers for it this turn. Unless you're heading for a head-on pass and you're already at maximum altitude, it is very important to climb towards your opponent if you are the slower aircraft in the exchange, or you face the risk of your opponent being able to shoot you at close range – and if you're the faster aircraft, you should also climb in order to potentially shoot your opponent without getting shot at. Alternately, if you don't want to engage in the head-on pass, pulling a large climb or dive can usually get you out of the opponent's sights.
Finally, if you do end up in the situation Johnson did and can still adjust to your advantage, do so. Changing to an F21R or F21L would have been enough to cause Johnson to be one more hex away from his attacker, and as it turns out the extra +1 to the target number would have caused the attack to miss entirely.
Turn 7:
Events: As Bentley-1 and Fellows fly into the safety of the smoke, Bentley-2 does a split-s, ready for a showdown with Casey. Surprisingly, he finds himself with a long, non-deflection shot at his opponent, and even at a 10+ the shot seems worth taking. The dice which occasionally saved the French at the start of the game abandon them, and everything goes wrong for Casey – the longshot roll is a 10, the robustness roll fails badly, and that's all she wrote.
Analysis: As bad as the situation looks for the French at the start of this turn, it's not a done deal. Two French aircraft have been shot down and a third is damaged and attempting to limp home, but two American aircraft are also out of the fight – one due to ammo and the other due to engine damage. Pilot skill really is the most important stat in CY6, and it makes a single +2 pilot a hefty challenge for a pair -or more – of +1 pilots to take on. But here that most fickle of mistresses, lady fortune, cuts that fight short and clinches the game with a lucky shot on the part of Bentley-2, and so a discussion of how to dogfight against a superior pilot will have to wait for another AAR. Casey's death here was bad luck, but it also wasn't inevitable – more energy on the part of Casey from two couple turns ago would have put him somewhere else on the map, perhaps higher or further away or in a deflection position from Bentley-2, or with an adjustment this turn he could have switched his move from an F2 to an F21R, or an L22 (if the F2 was an adjustment, then at least one of the others would still have been available), either of which would have made the shot that much more difficult. It is often not worth shooting if the target number is 12. Veteran and Ace pilots generally have many places they can put themselves after they see where everyone else is, and in CY6 a single hex or hex facing can mean the difference between life and death, as it did here.
Turn 8-9:
Note: No map is currently available, but one is not needed anymore either – the game is over in the next two turns.
Events: As Bentley-1 and 2 close in and get ready for Fellows to come out of the smoke, Fellows tries to climb in his engine damaged aircraft and loses control. He fails both aircrew checks and spins into the ground on turn 9.
Analysis: While this nicely illustrates that climbing in an engine damaged aircraft is a risky proposition and generally shouldn't be done, it did end the game quickly, which was effectively over when Casey was shot down. Up against a pair of more skilled pilots in undamaged aircraft, Fellows green pilot in an engine-damaged plane has only the slimmest chance of making it off the board alive without an escort. And he can't stay in the smoke indefinitely either, which would require immelmans at some point. If there were other planes around to help out, climbing now would have been a mistake – but as is the hallmark of Fellows' aircraft this game, there just weren't any good options.
Closing notes: Energy hurt the French early on, and lack of adjustments proved their final undoing. Through most of the game the American aircraft had greater overall energy than the French aircraft, and there were many instances where that directly resulted in disadvantageous positions and a lack of firing position from French to American aircraft. This bears out tellingly in the game statistics – the American aircraft were able to take a total of 11 shots on the French aircraft, 6 of which hit. The French were only able to fire once at the Americans, which also hit.
On the crucial turns 6 and 7 of the game, two available adjustments for the French to make the shot target numbers more difficult weren't taken, and each one cost them a valuable aircraft. Had those adjustments been taken, assuming the exact same die rolls for the shots, the beginning of turn 8 would have likely seen a +1 and a +2 French aircraft going up against two +1 Americans, with the outcome of the game still very much in the air.
So the lessons to take to heart are to try to get as much energy as you can whenever you can get it, and to always make sure you use your adjustments to give you the best offensive or defensive position possible.
I'd like to thank my opponents and ally for a good game and great response time on their part for moves, and a huge thanks to Jeff for setting up and running this game for us all in the first place.
paints up some WWII Soviet aircraft.
