Nightfighter (boardgame) - forum game thread

No sign of the enemy! Moving from 1002:3 -> 1003:2 -> 1 -> 1104:3 -> 1105:3.

July 1943. Himmelbett had been an effective defense against RAF bomber tactics in the early part of the war. General Kammhuber had established a series of geographic cells, each under the control of a Freya radar system and attendant searchlights, that directed Luftwaffe nightfighters against encroaching bombers. Together, known as the Kammhuber Line, it stretched from Denmark to France, and served as an early-warning zone that could pick up British bombers as they penetrated occupied European airspace and direct nightfighters against this dispersed attacking force. Because the bomber fleet was so dispersed, each cell could direct an individual nightfighter against the bomber that had invaded its airspace, and have enough time to engage the next one. A change in tactics by Marshal Arthur “Bomber” Harris sought to overwhelm Himmelbett by narrowing the attacking force into a “bomber stream” that presented a small number of defending cells with an overwhelming number of bombers in a short time period, ensuring that the few nightfighters responsible for the affected cells would be unable to deal with the invaders.

But the second innovation that wreaked havoc upon the German defense was not tactical, but technological. “Window,” the British code name for the release of small, thin strips of aluminum that would confound German radar and produce either multiple false contacts, or simply a diffuse signal return that defied interpretation, fatally disrupted the Nachtjagd. Under the cover of “Window,” a thousand bombers struck Hamburg during the last week of July 1943, causing horrific destruction. German Wilde Sau single-engine nightfighters attempted to deal with the intruders in conjunction with visual direction and searchlights, in the face of radar blindness.

German nightfighters of JG300.
@Tom_Mc moves to 1505:3
@AleccMG moves to 0603:3
@Spock moves to 1105:3

Flak Phase:
All three Wilde Sau nightfighters are in a searchlight zone.
Flak roll 4,2
Nightfighters avoid flak.

Radar Search Phase: Skipped per scenario rule.

AI Search Phase: Skipped per scenario rule.

Searchlight Phase:
Searchlights in Zones B and C report the presence of Allied bombers. Visibility is Moderate (2 dice). No moon modifier.
Zone B roll: 2,1
Searchlights in this zone are unable to fix any bombers.

Zone C roll: 3,5
Searchlights in this zone are unable to fix any bombers.

Tally Phase
No fighters have a tally as of yet so there are no tallies to maintain. Visibility is Moderate (2 dice). No moon modifier.
Tally Roll is 3,3
Despite the searchlight warnings, the nightfighters are unable to tally any Allied bombers at this time.

Combat Phase:
There are no Tallies so no combat is possible.

End of Turn
Searchlight markers are removed from Zones B and C.
It is now Game Turn 3.

GAME TURN 3
Move Bombers Phase: All bombers move 3MP. Move completed on umpire’s map.

Enter Bombers Phase: Three bombers enter as per scenario rules. These can move 1, 2, or 3 hexes on the first turn. Move completed on umpire’s map.

Move Fighters Phase:
Players to move

This is a treat! I currently have Wing Leader: Victories on my table and treated myself to Wing Leader: Supremacy for Christmas, so it’s cool to see another Lee B-W game in action.

I’m out watching Star Wars, hoping to learn something about dogfighting in darkness. Will post a move in 3-4 hours.

My pilot trusts in the force …

0603:3 -> 0604:4 -> 0505:5 -> 0404:5 -> 0304:4 -> 0204:3

Vader is Luke’s father??

FOR THE SPECTATORS

The game map represents the “bomber stream,” a limited area over the target through which the RAF funneled its bombers in an attempt to overwhelm the Luftwaffe’s defenses. Each turn, I (as the “umpire”) enter three bombers onto the map at the left edge, and move the bombers already on the map three hexes to the right. The players attempt to locate the bombers by rolling dice for each searchlight zone. Each lettered zone represents a separate searchlight system. The bombers on the map each have individual “tally numbers” (from 1-6) selected randomly from a pool. During the searchlight phase, the player rolls dice (the number of which is based on visibility conditions and moon) for each lettered active searchlight zone that contains one or more bombers (as determined by the umpire from his map - a searchlight search counter is placed in each such zone).

searchlight

If a die is rolled that corresponds to a bomber’s tally number in that zone, the player gets a “searchlight fix” on the bomber in question.

Fix

Even so, a bomber that has been fixed by a searchlight must be “tallied” by a nightfighter for that nightfighter to attack it. This is again determined by die rolls corresponding to tally numbers. A nightfighter must be in the same hex as a bomber and facing in the same direction to initiate combat.

The scenario we are playing represents the ineffectiveness of German radar due to Allied “Window” countermeasures. Thus, the only means of locating a bomber is by searchlight or visual tally. Other scenarios introduce both ground based and airborne intercept (AI) radar, which add much more of an element of deduction to the game. Our current scenario represents manual searchlights trying to direct single-seater day fighters in the nightfighter role.

1505 > 1506 > 1606 facing 3

Tom Mc

I have a bad feeling about this. Move to 1106:4, then 1006:3.

Excited radio chatter on the German airwaves…

German nightfighters of JG300.
@Tom_Mc moves to 1606:3
@AleccMG moves to 0204:3
@Spock moves to 1006:3

Flak Phase:
All three Wilde Sau nightfighters are in a searchlight zone.
Flak roll 4,6
Nightfighters avoid flak.

Radar Search Phase: Skipped per scenario rule.

AI Search Phase: Skipped per scenario rule.

Searchlight Phase:
Searchlights in Zones A, C, E, and F report the presence of Allied bombers. Visibility is Moderate (2 dice). No moon modifier.

Zone A roll: 6,5
Searchlights in this zone are unable to fix any bombers.

Zone C roll: 2,5
Searchlights in this zone obtain a fix on a bomber in hex 1603.

Zone E roll: 5,1
Searchlights in this zone obtain a fix on a bomber in hex 1008.

Zone F roll: 5,6
Searchlights in this zone are unable to fix any bombers.

Tally Phase
No fighters have a tally as of yet so there are no tallies to maintain. Visibility is Moderate (2 dice). No moon modifier.
Tally Roll is 1,2
The nightfighters desperately scan the sky in the direction of the positions their searchlight directors are broadcasting, but are unable to tally any Allied bombers.

Combat Phase:
There are no Tallies so no combat is possible.

End of Turn
Searchlight markers are removed from Zones A, C, E, and F.
It is now Game Turn 4.

GAME TURN 4
Move Bombers Phase: All bombers move 3MP. Move completed on umpire’s map. The two bombers with Searchlight Fixes move on the map and retain these fixes.

Enter Bombers Phase: Three bombers enter as per scenario rules. These can move 1, 2, or 3 hexes on the first turn. Move completed on umpire’s map.

Move Fighters Phase:
Players to move

Note that the Lancaster under Searchlight Fix in 1011 will be subject to a “hand-off” roll between Zones E and H in the upcoming Searchlight Phase, unless the players wish to drop the fix. I will leave this decision up to the closest nightfighter, meaning @Spock.

All nightfighters must expend at least 2MP during the Move Fighters Phase.

Deconfliction is NOT in effect during this scenario.

image

Three forward here to keep with the Lancaster to hex 1609 facing 3. Queue the menacing Jazz from the Bomber Command game.

-Tom Mc

Keep in mind that the Lanc has already moved this turn. If you move three forward, then next turn you will be in exactly the same spot relative to the bomber.

I was confused because the picture seemed to indicate the bomber was in 1606. I thought it was starting its move there. I now understand that it ended movement there and it is our move now. I will adjust my movement. I would like to make a left loop around to end in 1706 facing 4. Not close enough for combat but to start tailing the bomber.

Tom Mc

By the way, for those interested in historical background, episode 12 of the landmark BBC documentary series, The World at War, is entitled “Whirlwind: Bombing Germany 1939-1944.” It can be seen in its entirety here:

There is a particularly good book about nightfighters by Peter Hinchliffe entitled, “The Other Battle: Luftwaffe Aces Versus Bomber Command.”

If you want to read a history of the British bombing campaign against Germany, Sir Max Hastings’ 1979 book “Bomber Command” has been reprinted multiple times. It is a classic that has never been surpassed.

Yep, that is correct. If you are able to Tally it you will be able to engage in combat on Turn 5.

Good stuff thanks for the write up Bruce! This is good!

I would like to attempt to hand-off the searchlight fix from Zone E to Zone H.

I move straight ahead five hexes, to 1011, facing 3. As I understand it, this puts me in the same hex, with the same facing, as the fixed Lancaster. But I have to hope the searchlight fix isn’t lost during hand-off.

Actually, even if the fix is lost, you can still Tally the bomber because you will be within visual range (zero hexes in moderate visibility) in the Tally Phase. In fact, even if you keep the fix, you will still need to actually Tally the bomber to engage in combat.

EDIT: Another way to think about it is that the fix doesn’t give you any benefit this turn. You know where the bomber is, and you will know where that bomber is until it is shot down or exits the map. The benefit of a searchlight fix in Moderate Visibility is that it allows nightfighters to Tally from three hexes away. If you decide to follow this bomber to the end, hoping to shoot it down, the fix isn’t going to help you. So you could think, “since a searchlight zone can only fix one bomber at a time, does it make sense to drop this fix in the hopes of fixing a different bomber that is currently undiscovered?” Counting hexes moved (11) reveals that this must be a bomber that entered on Turn 1, because only a bomber that has moved four times could move 11 hexes. So you really only have the possibility of two other bombers being able to be this far forward on the map. What are the chances they could all be in Zone H? Furthermore, if one of them has the same Tally number as the one you fixed, and you rolled that Tally number, I would almost certainly reveal the one you already know about.

None of this is to suggest that you shouldn’t keep the fix. But it is important to know what the consequences (and alternatives) are.

Ah, okay. So either way, I’ll be rolling two die to tally, yes? The searchlight fix doesn’t seem to help the tally roll. So the odds of a successful tally will be 1-(25/36) or 11/36 – less than 1 in 3.

Is there any downside to maintaining the searchlight fix? I suppose it means I won’t fix any other bomber in that searchlight zone.

Exactly. See my edit above.

I’m enjoying it a lot!