"Flaklighter II" Topic

Ok. I just picked up Flaklighter II from Dave at PT Dockyard today. I guess I am adding to my collection of Coastal rules sets LOL. And thanks Dave for the Email with the Quick Reference Charts and the Depth Charge To-Hit Indicator *thumbsup*. Now I have some questions about it. Are there any home made tweaks,playing aids,charts,scenarios or home rules that some one have made for it? Thanks ahead for any input. Robert

My 1/600 Miniature Wargaming Yahoo Group
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One can never have too many Coastal Forces rules sets.

There was a set of generic morale rules for coastal games (not specific to Flak II, but could probably be used with them, if Dave doesn't have morale rules in the new set), that is listed in the links, on Dave's site, but it is broken.

I'd love a copy of those again, if anyone has them still, since I lost the last set when my PC died, sadly.

For coastal games I've run in the past, I don't tell either side what they are up against, and have them pre-plot their course, speed, and formation on a sheet of paper in advance, plus any particulars that might be needed too, e.g. radar on/off, listening on hydrophones, searching to port/starboard, etc.

Then, from that, I determine if the sides will encounter one another, and if it appears possible, we put the minis on the table.

If not, have them try again.

If you don't want to start all over, taking the time to redo things again, have the opponents roll off for failing operational security, and the high roller gets the spotting advantage, and then can maneuver as desired.

For added fun, tell ther players what they have been sent out to engage, but then ensure that the force they do engage is rather different. One reads many, many times in AARs how a flotilla may have been sent(for example) tothe Hook of Holland to catch a coastal convoy observed by recce during the day, only to run into a group of S boats, minesweepers or trawlers instead (the convoy having ducked into Rotterdam, or just been treavelling faster or slower than expected).

Or, some heavily armed VP boats, pretending to be merchants.

I've run games where the players were all on one side in a night engagement. They lay out their forces and I roll on a chart for contacts. It could be a Daihatsu barge or a Fubuki class destroyer. Turns and targetting is likewise controlled by a random chart. Of course, when they start clamoring for radar it messes up the plan.

Well, you could give them radar, with a historical failure rate (very high during the early to mid-war period), and/or a rainstorm or choppy water, which tends to negate its effectiveness considerably (at least for the WWII models).

;-)

Also, you can't tell a VP Boat/Minesweeper from a merchant on radar, so they could be a convoy of targets, or a trap laid for the MTBs and MGBs.

For some real fun with radar, throw two or three different nationalities or forces on the table, like happened historically, e.g. American, British, and German; or, German, Italian, and Allied. Theoretically, the allies should coordinate their operations well, but things don't always work out as planned. Wouldn't be the first time small boats have had to run from their larger "friends" to keep from being destroyed. Usually, this entails larger destroyers or torpedo boats firing on the smaller S-Boats/R-Boats/MTBs/MGBs/PT Boats, but can sometimes be with vessels of the same size too.

In some cases, one or the other unit on the same side strayed into an area they were supposed to avoid, since they couldn't resist looking for trade, or due to navigational errors.

Another fun one is to permit the other side to pass the correct visual identification code to an enemy unit, on a dark night (this happens more frequently than one would think). Then, once they get close, one side or the other, or both realize the error and open up on one another.

I got lucky, and found the morale file again. Appears my memory isn't totally gone, and a small clue allowed me to find it again:

link

Thanks for the ideas guys and thanks for the link Mako11. Anybody else? Robert

My 1/600 Miniature Wargaming Yahoo Group
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