War was never this much fun.
I purchased Duel as soon as I saw it at Origins. I knew from recent information that this type of game would be enjoyed by my son and I. I was surprised to see it so I snatched it up. We've played the game four times. Here is my review:
Overview: Duel in the Dark is a two player game that recreates the late WW2 bombings of Germany by the British. One player takes the Brits and the other the Germans. The British player commands a Mosquito (smaller long range fighter plane) and the German player has four fighters (one with longer range). The British player's goal is to accumulate victory points by bombing cities on the map of Europe. The German player's goal is to score victory points by making the British player's life hell. The game takes between 30 and 60 minutes per night played (players decide how many "nights" to play before beginning the game). Most will take less than 60 minutes. However, you need to set aside that much time because the German player cannot know what city the British player is bombing (if it's Berlin, the game will take longer....if it's a city on the shore, the game will be short). There is only one target city per "night".
Components: Holy cow, Batman! This is easily A#1 with a bullet the best looking game that I've ever seen. Period. The game has clouds on spindles that hover across the board. The planes have altitude also. The bomber, when flying high, is taller than anything. Fog is on the ground, thunderstorms are mixed in with the clouds. The German player has to keep track of fuel (the British player is assumed to have enough fuel to make the bombing run) and has four fuel gauges lined up in front of him to track how his fighters are holding up. Overall, the components, though only cardboard on plastic holders, get an A+ from me because of the creative use of 3D into this board game, which creates a ton of atmosphere for the game and helps with your total immersion into the setting.
The only problem I had with the components: it's nitpicky....I'm going to have to send some cards back that have slices in them. My box was also slightly warped toward the inside...and the nitpickiest thing of all: there was all of this goodness, and they pack the box insert that you need to put together yourself. Yeah...I know...not a big deal. However, because I'd learned the game at Origins I didn't look through the box completely and totally missed the instructions on putting together the inserts. I had no clue what it was (my own fault). However, this is only one game of two I've owned where I had to completely construct the box inserts (the other was Vegas Showdown...a good game with much cheaper components).
Rules: There are TONS of pictures and the rules are clearly laid out. However, does anyone who's a native English speaker read this before it's printed? The rules have some rough spots such as "Mosquitos can blockade airports; this is prevented by balloon barriers. And the Germans can defend their ground defense resources against a possible Mosquito bomb attack." Wow. I get it...kind of. Mosquitos can bomb airports, right? I can't imagine a plane "blockade" of an airport while it's off someplace else. Writing like this makes the rules unnecessarily difficult to understand, although players should be able to muddle through this sentence construction. One good note: there is an example of the game being played at the end of the rules with full graphics. I referred to this several times when learning the rules. This and the graphics were great additions to the rulebook and Z Man and Pilot games should be applauded.
Gameplay: This game does it right. The game has been carefully constructed so players "feel" into the game from the beginning.
1) First, the German players decides which airports his fighters are going to start from. It's conceivable that the British would know where to expect fighters during their mission. It also makes sense for the German player to not know exactly where the British are coming from before laying their defense.
2) The players then flip a weather card. This card shows the entire map and what weather pattern is happening that evening. This single card creates all of the replayability of the game! A city that looks like a great target one evening is a horrible target the next. There is also an indicator of wind direction (the German player will be able to chase easily with the wind and will have trouble going against the wind), indicators for summer (shorter evenings and earlier sunrise meant that long missions became more difficult as the planes were easier to see), the moon (new moon means dark targets harder to spot and full moon makes everyone easier to see), and more and more....the advanced rules even allow for the weather to CHANGE during the evening as well, something we have yet to try because we've had so much fun with the basic game.
3) The British player then programs his/her flight based on the the weather pattern. If you've played Robo Rally you know about programming moves. The Bomber is preprogrammed for the entire game (in the basic game) to fly from a base and then back again, and CANNOT deviate from this flight path. The Mosquito can move two spaces per turn wherever the player chooses.
4) Once the British player has programmed his/her moves, the German player then lays 40 defenses across Germany, based on where they think the British player will fly. Obviously, the British player wouldn't know this information until already flying...too late to change the strategy.
I think that setup is the most fun game setup I've played. When playing as the German I'm looking at the same weather pattern that the British player is, with the HUGE decisions to make with defenses all based on "where is the British player going to fly?"
Once the game begins the Mosquito moves two spaces, the Germans move their spaces, then the bomber moves and victory points are awarded. There are two attractive, easy to use cards that explain the victory points. We leave them standing next to the board all game and they make the process incredibly easy.
Strategy Opportunities: A ton. The Mosquito can feint or go directly for the target. In one game I played as the Germans, the Mosquito dropped target markers all over Hamburg. I rushed all of my fighters to Hamburg, sure that the British player was targetting that town. However, the Bomber then moved in the opposite direction. The wind direction made it impossible for me to catch back up. The bomber easily hit the target and returned safely to England, winning that night for the British.
So where does it fit? Euro? Ameritrash? Wargame? No planes are shot down in this game. Everything is awarded based on "victory points", which are awarded if the German player can end in the square with the bomber, the German defenses end in the square with the bomber, the British Mosquito ends a turn with any German fighters, and when the bomber hits the target. Period. This lack of bloodshed places this game squarely in the "game" category, without being a "wargame." Anyone looking for a simulation of true combat should look elsewhere. This is a guessing game of feints and double feints, and the combat has been simplified to the point that you don't see it.
Overall score: This game is a 9 in my book, and could easily become a 10 in the next few plays. I love the graphics, the pieces, the ease of getting new players into a basic game, the options with the weather....the ability to scale the game based on how much time you have (we played 3 nights yesterday because we had a timeslot of 2.5 hours. How many other games can do that easily?) Despite some bad cards, an insert I had to put together myself, some lumbering rules....I enjoy this title very much. I can recommend this to anyone looking for a light game about World War II or to anyone who likes a two player game and doesn't mind the War theme.
Overview: Duel in the Dark is a two player game that recreates the late WW2 bombings of Germany by the British. One player takes the Brits and the other the Germans. The British player commands a Mosquito (smaller long range fighter plane) and the German player has four fighters (one with longer range). The British player's goal is to accumulate victory points by bombing cities on the map of Europe. The German player's goal is to score victory points by making the British player's life hell. The game takes between 30 and 60 minutes per night played (players decide how many "nights" to play before beginning the game). Most will take less than 60 minutes. However, you need to set aside that much time because the German player cannot know what city the British player is bombing (if it's Berlin, the game will take longer....if it's a city on the shore, the game will be short). There is only one target city per "night".
Components: Holy cow, Batman! This is easily A#1 with a bullet the best looking game that I've ever seen. Period. The game has clouds on spindles that hover across the board. The planes have altitude also. The bomber, when flying high, is taller than anything. Fog is on the ground, thunderstorms are mixed in with the clouds. The German player has to keep track of fuel (the British player is assumed to have enough fuel to make the bombing run) and has four fuel gauges lined up in front of him to track how his fighters are holding up. Overall, the components, though only cardboard on plastic holders, get an A+ from me because of the creative use of 3D into this board game, which creates a ton of atmosphere for the game and helps with your total immersion into the setting.
The only problem I had with the components: it's nitpicky....I'm going to have to send some cards back that have slices in them. My box was also slightly warped toward the inside...and the nitpickiest thing of all: there was all of this goodness, and they pack the box insert that you need to put together yourself. Yeah...I know...not a big deal. However, because I'd learned the game at Origins I didn't look through the box completely and totally missed the instructions on putting together the inserts. I had no clue what it was (my own fault). However, this is only one game of two I've owned where I had to completely construct the box inserts (the other was Vegas Showdown...a good game with much cheaper components).
Rules: There are TONS of pictures and the rules are clearly laid out. However, does anyone who's a native English speaker read this before it's printed? The rules have some rough spots such as "Mosquitos can blockade airports; this is prevented by balloon barriers. And the Germans can defend their ground defense resources against a possible Mosquito bomb attack." Wow. I get it...kind of. Mosquitos can bomb airports, right? I can't imagine a plane "blockade" of an airport while it's off someplace else. Writing like this makes the rules unnecessarily difficult to understand, although players should be able to muddle through this sentence construction. One good note: there is an example of the game being played at the end of the rules with full graphics. I referred to this several times when learning the rules. This and the graphics were great additions to the rulebook and Z Man and Pilot games should be applauded.
Gameplay: This game does it right. The game has been carefully constructed so players "feel" into the game from the beginning.
1) First, the German players decides which airports his fighters are going to start from. It's conceivable that the British would know where to expect fighters during their mission. It also makes sense for the German player to not know exactly where the British are coming from before laying their defense.
2) The players then flip a weather card. This card shows the entire map and what weather pattern is happening that evening. This single card creates all of the replayability of the game! A city that looks like a great target one evening is a horrible target the next. There is also an indicator of wind direction (the German player will be able to chase easily with the wind and will have trouble going against the wind), indicators for summer (shorter evenings and earlier sunrise meant that long missions became more difficult as the planes were easier to see), the moon (new moon means dark targets harder to spot and full moon makes everyone easier to see), and more and more....the advanced rules even allow for the weather to CHANGE during the evening as well, something we have yet to try because we've had so much fun with the basic game.
3) The British player then programs his/her flight based on the the weather pattern. If you've played Robo Rally you know about programming moves. The Bomber is preprogrammed for the entire game (in the basic game) to fly from a base and then back again, and CANNOT deviate from this flight path. The Mosquito can move two spaces per turn wherever the player chooses.
4) Once the British player has programmed his/her moves, the German player then lays 40 defenses across Germany, based on where they think the British player will fly. Obviously, the British player wouldn't know this information until already flying...too late to change the strategy.
I think that setup is the most fun game setup I've played. When playing as the German I'm looking at the same weather pattern that the British player is, with the HUGE decisions to make with defenses all based on "where is the British player going to fly?"
Once the game begins the Mosquito moves two spaces, the Germans move their spaces, then the bomber moves and victory points are awarded. There are two attractive, easy to use cards that explain the victory points. We leave them standing next to the board all game and they make the process incredibly easy.
Strategy Opportunities: A ton. The Mosquito can feint or go directly for the target. In one game I played as the Germans, the Mosquito dropped target markers all over Hamburg. I rushed all of my fighters to Hamburg, sure that the British player was targetting that town. However, the Bomber then moved in the opposite direction. The wind direction made it impossible for me to catch back up. The bomber easily hit the target and returned safely to England, winning that night for the British.
So where does it fit? Euro? Ameritrash? Wargame? No planes are shot down in this game. Everything is awarded based on "victory points", which are awarded if the German player can end in the square with the bomber, the German defenses end in the square with the bomber, the British Mosquito ends a turn with any German fighters, and when the bomber hits the target. Period. This lack of bloodshed places this game squarely in the "game" category, without being a "wargame." Anyone looking for a simulation of true combat should look elsewhere. This is a guessing game of feints and double feints, and the combat has been simplified to the point that you don't see it.
Overall score: This game is a 9 in my book, and could easily become a 10 in the next few plays. I love the graphics, the pieces, the ease of getting new players into a basic game, the options with the weather....the ability to scale the game based on how much time you have (we played 3 nights yesterday because we had a timeslot of 2.5 hours. How many other games can do that easily?) Despite some bad cards, an insert I had to put together myself, some lumbering rules....I enjoy this title very much. I can recommend this to anyone looking for a light game about World War II or to anyone who likes a two player game and doesn't mind the War theme.
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Review of Micheal Barnes
Cool Hybrid Incoming - Duel in the Dark
Last night at our regular Thursday night throwdown (the event F:AT’s own FRANKLIN COBB visited last week) one of my gaming buddies who is a 27th degree initiate in the Gathering of Friends turned up with a preproduction copy of Z-Man Games’ forthcoming DUEL IN THE DARK, designed by first-timer Friedemann De Pedro and due to be released sometime later this year. Apparently, they give these advance copies of games out at the Gathering like they do fortune cookies down at Imperial Lucky Magic Dragon Happy China Buddha Wok no. 3 but since I’m not on the list, I was thrilled to take advantage of this rare opportunity to get in an advance play of a game that I was already fairly curious about. I actually thought the copy was a finished production- it had full artwork, logos, and typesetting and for all intents and purposes looked ready for the retail shelf. The cardboard planes, clouds, and thunderstorms perched on their acrylic stands to indicate altitude looked better and more stylish than many games currently in production and I have to say that this game, even at an early stage, looks fantastic. The planes, clouds, and other airborne pieces float above a nighttime map of England and northern Europe on clear plastic posts. Closer inspection revealed that the copy was in fact a mock-up, but there was nothing unfinished or “early” about it- in fact, I believe that the game is in fact fairly forward-thinking (but perhaps a little short of revolutionary) in design as it further blurs the distinction between the abstract minimalism of Eurogame design, the specific theming and conflict inherent in American-style games, and the concept of conflict simulation and detail that characterizes wargames.
The RAF’s nighttime raids over Germany during the later years of World War 2 is not a very common theme even among more traditional wargames and it is one that is by default unheard of in Eurogames altogether. It’s an intriguing set-up for what is ultimately a very abstracted operational-level strategic bombing campaign not fundamentally dissimilar to much more complex games like DOWNTOWN, RAF, or HORNET LEADER. DUEL IN THE DARK presents an assymetrical situation for 2 players (with a solitaire option) in which the British player is tasked with planning a bombing run to strike a target city in Germany with the deeper and therefore more dangerous destinations in Deutschland yielding greater reward. Both ingress and egress must be plotted via compass cards and variable weather, indicated by the presence of clouds, thunderstorms, or fog, becomes a strategic consideration. A Mosquito escort is provided that can intercept fighters, drop spotting rounds, and perform low-level bombing of ground defenses. The German player plays the defensive game and gets to place 40 tokens around Germany that represent a few different types of ground defense units such as anti-aircraft batteries, radar stations, smokescreens, and so forth. Additionally, the German player has 4 fighter squadrons with which he or she must attempt to intercept the incoming bombers. Each “night” is played in six phases and a good half of each night is devoted to planning and setup with the rest representing the actual execution of the mission.
With all this talk of weather, altitude, ground defense, ingress and egress it all sounds very detailed- which it is in a way, given that factors such as the phase of the moon makes it either easier or more difficult to attack incoming bombers in full or partial moonlight- but the level of abstraction toes a dangerous line between specificity and meaninglessness. The systems which give the game a lot of atmosphere, like the ability to change altitude and the variable weather are really very simple and won’t cause you to go consulting charts or trying to figure out if any exceptions apply. The British mission is represented by one bomber, the escort is one fighter. Material losses are not measured in numbers of planes lost or by damage percentages but as simple victory points on a differential scale. If German fighters enter the hex with the Mosquito escort, the British player gets a VP. When German fighters intercept the bombing mission (typically by correctly guessing or deducing where it will move in its next turn), VPs are earned based on an abstract number of losses incurred based on the relative “difficulty” in attacking the squadron. Therefore, low-flying fighters attacking higher level bombers in a clouded hex will net less points than higher-flying fighters attacking low-level bombers in a clear hex in full moonlight. This mechanic characterizes the entire game- if a target is made harder to hit by altitude, weather, searchlights (they blind the bombadiers!), or smoke it “loses” less VPs to its attacker. There’s no die rolls or other “checks” in the system at all and it really only possible to “lose” units if the German player decides to ditch planes rather than refuel them.
At first, I thought that the game was going to be too abstract and without drama given that other than the initial weather draw there is absolutely no luck or random chance whatsoever in the game and all information- except for the British flight plan- is open. I was also apprehensive that the lack of material loss would result in an absence of any tangible risk or high-stakes gambling since there seems to be nothing to lose. Yet the game creates a real sense of atmosphere and several very neat mechanics (like the way the German fighters have a “range” that has to be balanced with fuel consumption and the necessity to land at airstrips to refuel- while also trying to interdict the bombing mission) provide a lot of really interesting choices. The British player can use the Mosquito to either cover the bombers’ move (thus incurring hits on intercepting German fighters) or to bluff, luring fighters away from the bombers’ actual path. The German player also has to contend with the fact that the bombing targets- particularly the more risky, long-range ones- are going to net the British player a lot of points, so the impetus to attack early and often is there and a lot of the really tense decisions take into consideration the amount of risk and possible reciprocal loss incurred by dogfighting and the ever-present specter of fuel expenditure. When all is said and done the VP system, albeit abstract, does a fairly excellent job of depicting a sense of relative success or failure of the British mission and the German defense- even without depicting actual loss.
DUEL IN THE DARK is a very unconventional game in every respect and as I stated previously it, more than titles like FRIEDRICH or WALLENSTEIN, blurs the distinction between game idioms to a great degree and I think it demonstrates a greater degree of ingenuity and creativity than anything the “name” Euro designers have been able to muster for the last decade. Additionally, it’s pretty rare to see a fairly heavy 2 player Euro-style game, let alone one with a rich, immersive theme. I am worried somewhat that Mr. DePedro’s design, however brilliant it may be in distilling some of the concepts and ideas of extremely complex wargames into a very accessible, playable package, might have trouble finding an audience. It is fundamentally a detailed conflict simulation with a wargame theme so the Euro crowd might balk. It’s not roughneck enough for the Ameritrash contingent and it definitely falls more into the Euro camp in terms of abstraction despite a good degree of theme/mechanic integration. Yet wargamers might admonish the lack of specific historic detail and the smaller range of variables. That being said, games like MEMOIR ’44 have straddled similar lines and found great success so the potential is definitely there for crossover appeal and I could easily see the DUEL IN THE DARK system applied to other air campaigns. I hope that DUEL OF THE DARK does well for Z-Man Games and Mr. DePedro because it shows us that Eurogames doesn’t have to be stuck in the rut of meaningless themes, abstraction, passive player interaction, and worn out mechanics that it’s been in for years now, and that genuinely innovative, compelling, and very fun games are still possible within the Euro design paradigm. I’m very excited about the game and it’s a definite purchase for me when it releases.
Last night at our regular Thursday night throwdown (the event F:AT’s own FRANKLIN COBB visited last week) one of my gaming buddies who is a 27th degree initiate in the Gathering of Friends turned up with a preproduction copy of Z-Man Games’ forthcoming DUEL IN THE DARK, designed by first-timer Friedemann De Pedro and due to be released sometime later this year. Apparently, they give these advance copies of games out at the Gathering like they do fortune cookies down at Imperial Lucky Magic Dragon Happy China Buddha Wok no. 3 but since I’m not on the list, I was thrilled to take advantage of this rare opportunity to get in an advance play of a game that I was already fairly curious about. I actually thought the copy was a finished production- it had full artwork, logos, and typesetting and for all intents and purposes looked ready for the retail shelf. The cardboard planes, clouds, and thunderstorms perched on their acrylic stands to indicate altitude looked better and more stylish than many games currently in production and I have to say that this game, even at an early stage, looks fantastic. The planes, clouds, and other airborne pieces float above a nighttime map of England and northern Europe on clear plastic posts. Closer inspection revealed that the copy was in fact a mock-up, but there was nothing unfinished or “early” about it- in fact, I believe that the game is in fact fairly forward-thinking (but perhaps a little short of revolutionary) in design as it further blurs the distinction between the abstract minimalism of Eurogame design, the specific theming and conflict inherent in American-style games, and the concept of conflict simulation and detail that characterizes wargames.
The RAF’s nighttime raids over Germany during the later years of World War 2 is not a very common theme even among more traditional wargames and it is one that is by default unheard of in Eurogames altogether. It’s an intriguing set-up for what is ultimately a very abstracted operational-level strategic bombing campaign not fundamentally dissimilar to much more complex games like DOWNTOWN, RAF, or HORNET LEADER. DUEL IN THE DARK presents an assymetrical situation for 2 players (with a solitaire option) in which the British player is tasked with planning a bombing run to strike a target city in Germany with the deeper and therefore more dangerous destinations in Deutschland yielding greater reward. Both ingress and egress must be plotted via compass cards and variable weather, indicated by the presence of clouds, thunderstorms, or fog, becomes a strategic consideration. A Mosquito escort is provided that can intercept fighters, drop spotting rounds, and perform low-level bombing of ground defenses. The German player plays the defensive game and gets to place 40 tokens around Germany that represent a few different types of ground defense units such as anti-aircraft batteries, radar stations, smokescreens, and so forth. Additionally, the German player has 4 fighter squadrons with which he or she must attempt to intercept the incoming bombers. Each “night” is played in six phases and a good half of each night is devoted to planning and setup with the rest representing the actual execution of the mission.
With all this talk of weather, altitude, ground defense, ingress and egress it all sounds very detailed- which it is in a way, given that factors such as the phase of the moon makes it either easier or more difficult to attack incoming bombers in full or partial moonlight- but the level of abstraction toes a dangerous line between specificity and meaninglessness. The systems which give the game a lot of atmosphere, like the ability to change altitude and the variable weather are really very simple and won’t cause you to go consulting charts or trying to figure out if any exceptions apply. The British mission is represented by one bomber, the escort is one fighter. Material losses are not measured in numbers of planes lost or by damage percentages but as simple victory points on a differential scale. If German fighters enter the hex with the Mosquito escort, the British player gets a VP. When German fighters intercept the bombing mission (typically by correctly guessing or deducing where it will move in its next turn), VPs are earned based on an abstract number of losses incurred based on the relative “difficulty” in attacking the squadron. Therefore, low-flying fighters attacking higher level bombers in a clouded hex will net less points than higher-flying fighters attacking low-level bombers in a clear hex in full moonlight. This mechanic characterizes the entire game- if a target is made harder to hit by altitude, weather, searchlights (they blind the bombadiers!), or smoke it “loses” less VPs to its attacker. There’s no die rolls or other “checks” in the system at all and it really only possible to “lose” units if the German player decides to ditch planes rather than refuel them.
At first, I thought that the game was going to be too abstract and without drama given that other than the initial weather draw there is absolutely no luck or random chance whatsoever in the game and all information- except for the British flight plan- is open. I was also apprehensive that the lack of material loss would result in an absence of any tangible risk or high-stakes gambling since there seems to be nothing to lose. Yet the game creates a real sense of atmosphere and several very neat mechanics (like the way the German fighters have a “range” that has to be balanced with fuel consumption and the necessity to land at airstrips to refuel- while also trying to interdict the bombing mission) provide a lot of really interesting choices. The British player can use the Mosquito to either cover the bombers’ move (thus incurring hits on intercepting German fighters) or to bluff, luring fighters away from the bombers’ actual path. The German player also has to contend with the fact that the bombing targets- particularly the more risky, long-range ones- are going to net the British player a lot of points, so the impetus to attack early and often is there and a lot of the really tense decisions take into consideration the amount of risk and possible reciprocal loss incurred by dogfighting and the ever-present specter of fuel expenditure. When all is said and done the VP system, albeit abstract, does a fairly excellent job of depicting a sense of relative success or failure of the British mission and the German defense- even without depicting actual loss.
DUEL IN THE DARK is a very unconventional game in every respect and as I stated previously it, more than titles like FRIEDRICH or WALLENSTEIN, blurs the distinction between game idioms to a great degree and I think it demonstrates a greater degree of ingenuity and creativity than anything the “name” Euro designers have been able to muster for the last decade. Additionally, it’s pretty rare to see a fairly heavy 2 player Euro-style game, let alone one with a rich, immersive theme. I am worried somewhat that Mr. DePedro’s design, however brilliant it may be in distilling some of the concepts and ideas of extremely complex wargames into a very accessible, playable package, might have trouble finding an audience. It is fundamentally a detailed conflict simulation with a wargame theme so the Euro crowd might balk. It’s not roughneck enough for the Ameritrash contingent and it definitely falls more into the Euro camp in terms of abstraction despite a good degree of theme/mechanic integration. Yet wargamers might admonish the lack of specific historic detail and the smaller range of variables. That being said, games like MEMOIR ’44 have straddled similar lines and found great success so the potential is definitely there for crossover appeal and I could easily see the DUEL IN THE DARK system applied to other air campaigns. I hope that DUEL OF THE DARK does well for Z-Man Games and Mr. DePedro because it shows us that Eurogames doesn’t have to be stuck in the rut of meaningless themes, abstraction, passive player interaction, and worn out mechanics that it’s been in for years now, and that genuinely innovative, compelling, and very fun games are still possible within the Euro design paradigm. I’m very excited about the game and it’s a definite purchase for me when it releases.
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A semi grognard review.
WARNING: This is a single play review. I don't pretend to have a comprehensive grasp of the game, I am only giving my opinion after a single play and a few reads of the rules, since.
Well I was lucky enough to get to play this last week in New Zealand. Zev from Z-man games was kind enough to bring it and demo it at our Club. He was over on our side of the world promoting his games. There is already an excellent review up by one of the people who played it at
www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/170456
He gives an excellent review of how the game plays and basic bones of the game.
I wanted to try and take a different look at the game. I Bought The Burning Blue a few months ago and have played a bit (it is a great game for those thinking about it). So this game appealed to me right a way because it tackles a similar subject (strategic bombing).
For those who don't know Duel in the Dark is a game about the night bombings of Germany carried out by Britain. This was particularly devastating for civilian populations, especially in Hamburg, Kassel, Darmstadt, Dresden, and Swinemuende. Combined casualties from such attacks exceeded 100,000 people.
For those interested you can check out
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_bombing_of_cities
The reason I mention this is that the subject is rather challenging. The game is functionally about the massacre of thousands of civilians. For me this isn't a problem as I find it interesting, but I think putting the game in its historical context is important, you could easily say the same thing about many wargames.
What’s the game like already!
Well the game is an interesting bluffing game. Basically one side plays the British Bomber Command the other takes control of the air defenses. The Game is simple and quick to play.
The Goal:
Have the most Victory Points at the end...duh :D The British do this by bombing a city (which will give a static VP number) or having German fighters engage their mosquito. The Germans get VP by attacking the British Bomber and having the Lancasters move over AA guns. Various things modify this like weather, the moon, search lights, radar and lots of other stuff.
The Game has six phases.
Firstly the Germans position their fighter squadrons. This isn't a huge part of the game, but I guess it can be important, putting your fighters towards one end of the map, could alter the British plans, which could in fact be a way of pushing them towards your air defenses.
Then Weather is determined. This provides the baseline weather for the game. In the basic game it doesn't change and so is functionally the only random thing in the game. There is a deck of cards, each one with a different weather set up. In the advanced game the weather can change, I can't see this changing much other than adding more uncertainty, although I didn't play with the advanced weather rules.
Next the British player plans their bombing route. They have the advantage of knowing the weather and the German fighter placement, but not where the Germans have placed their defenses. One of the interesting things is that the British player has to take into account the wind direction which can help the German fighters save fuel or conversely make them fly into the wind and use more fuel.
The Fourth phase is when the Germans place all their defenses. Their are plenty of types of defenses, from AA guns to search lights to civil defense centers and fire engines. All these do different things. Primarily they give you victory points if an enemy bomber flies over it or it reduces the VP lost for a bombing run.
The Fifth phase is where the British place their bombers.
Phase Six is where the real game begins. Basically the British move their mosquito first. Then the German fighters move and then the bomber follows its preprogrammed route. Basically it is pretty simple the mosquito is a kind of super fighter that the German just loose against if they enter or stay in the hex it is in. The bomber is a big juicy target the nets the Germans VPs. The Skill in this game is guessing where your opponent is going. If the Germans guess correctly most of the time they will win, if the British can evade them and bluff them into attacking their bomber they will win, simple.
The Game is at its core a bluffing game. Both players tries to deceive each other through posturing. The British player will try to maximize fuel consumption and try to trick the fighters into attacking in a dummy run. All the while the Germans must guess what the bomber plan is. One of the things that makes this interesting is that the situation is can get complex as the German player has to balance many factors in determining where the Lancaster will go.
The Good Stuff:
The game has almost zero luck:
In fact the only truly random element in the game is weather. If you play with variable weather it will increase the randomness as well. I really like this aspect of the game. It made it so simple and elegant. Each time you managed to pick where the bomber went and moved into its space you score vp. There is not random way of determining any thing. Each time the mosquito engages the Brits score. It is simple, but still simulates the strategic decisions of bomber command (ok in an abstract way ;)).
Simplicity is Key:
The Game is easy to learn. It took barely any time to learn the rules. They are simple and intuitive. It is ideal for people who don't want a complex game. I would say in complexity it would be equivalent to C&C: Ancients, or perhaps a little bit easier.
Beautiful Components:
I love the board for this game. I just think it is aesthetically very pleasing and bits are generally really nice. When I first saw the board I was truly impressed the artwork is great.
Good Level of Strategy:
The game is reasonably deep and has plenty of strategy in it. While there are lots of tactical decisions, many of them fit into a long term strategy.
Clear Rulebook:
While I was taught the game, I have since read the rules on line and the rulebook seems reasonably good.
Quick to play: It only took 45-60 minutes for our first play including rules explanation.
Solo Play:
The game is designed to be played solo. Sounds cool, haven't tried.
Campaign: You can scale the game length and play multiple nights, building up medals (kind of like resources to spend over multiple nights). I haven't played this but it looks fun.
The Bad
Chaos:
The game is low in luck, but high in chaos. While technically your opponent's blind choices are not random, the sure can feel like it! :D
While this may not be bad it can occasionally be frustrating as the skill is often about predicting your opponent’s actions. Not a big deal for me, but others may find it hard.
Simulation:
This is NOT a simulation; it is not The Burning Blue or Whistling Death, thankfully perhaps. However it captures the essence of a game like The Burning Blue, the bluff and double bluff.
Conclusion
This is an interesting game stylistically. Theme wise it is a Wargame. However mechanically it is definitely a Euro. So for me this game is firmly a euro. The low luck, the push your luck, the bluffing and the nice components all make it firmly a euro game. I guess we could argue endlessly over this, I just found it interesting how well it merged the genres, without using a single dice or card.
All in all I loved this game. It was really entertaining to play, fun quick, but interesting enough to make we want to play it a lot more. I'll certainly be ordering it once it comes out. I would recommend it to most people. As an emerging grognard this game won't satisfy a desire for a heavy wargame, but it will provide enough entertainment for an evening if played over several nights (that’s in game nights not real one). It is the sort of game you could easily teach teenagers or maybe older children. For me it is a good replacement for Battlelore, light and fun to play, but shorter, easier and pretty much just as fulfilling.
Well I was lucky enough to get to play this last week in New Zealand. Zev from Z-man games was kind enough to bring it and demo it at our Club. He was over on our side of the world promoting his games. There is already an excellent review up by one of the people who played it at
www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/170456
He gives an excellent review of how the game plays and basic bones of the game.
I wanted to try and take a different look at the game. I Bought The Burning Blue a few months ago and have played a bit (it is a great game for those thinking about it). So this game appealed to me right a way because it tackles a similar subject (strategic bombing).
For those who don't know Duel in the Dark is a game about the night bombings of Germany carried out by Britain. This was particularly devastating for civilian populations, especially in Hamburg, Kassel, Darmstadt, Dresden, and Swinemuende. Combined casualties from such attacks exceeded 100,000 people.
For those interested you can check out
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_bombing_of_cities
The reason I mention this is that the subject is rather challenging. The game is functionally about the massacre of thousands of civilians. For me this isn't a problem as I find it interesting, but I think putting the game in its historical context is important, you could easily say the same thing about many wargames.
What’s the game like already!
Well the game is an interesting bluffing game. Basically one side plays the British Bomber Command the other takes control of the air defenses. The Game is simple and quick to play.
The Goal:
Have the most Victory Points at the end...duh :D The British do this by bombing a city (which will give a static VP number) or having German fighters engage their mosquito. The Germans get VP by attacking the British Bomber and having the Lancasters move over AA guns. Various things modify this like weather, the moon, search lights, radar and lots of other stuff.
The Game has six phases.
Firstly the Germans position their fighter squadrons. This isn't a huge part of the game, but I guess it can be important, putting your fighters towards one end of the map, could alter the British plans, which could in fact be a way of pushing them towards your air defenses.
Then Weather is determined. This provides the baseline weather for the game. In the basic game it doesn't change and so is functionally the only random thing in the game. There is a deck of cards, each one with a different weather set up. In the advanced game the weather can change, I can't see this changing much other than adding more uncertainty, although I didn't play with the advanced weather rules.
Next the British player plans their bombing route. They have the advantage of knowing the weather and the German fighter placement, but not where the Germans have placed their defenses. One of the interesting things is that the British player has to take into account the wind direction which can help the German fighters save fuel or conversely make them fly into the wind and use more fuel.
The Fourth phase is when the Germans place all their defenses. Their are plenty of types of defenses, from AA guns to search lights to civil defense centers and fire engines. All these do different things. Primarily they give you victory points if an enemy bomber flies over it or it reduces the VP lost for a bombing run.
The Fifth phase is where the British place their bombers.
Phase Six is where the real game begins. Basically the British move their mosquito first. Then the German fighters move and then the bomber follows its preprogrammed route. Basically it is pretty simple the mosquito is a kind of super fighter that the German just loose against if they enter or stay in the hex it is in. The bomber is a big juicy target the nets the Germans VPs. The Skill in this game is guessing where your opponent is going. If the Germans guess correctly most of the time they will win, if the British can evade them and bluff them into attacking their bomber they will win, simple.
The Game is at its core a bluffing game. Both players tries to deceive each other through posturing. The British player will try to maximize fuel consumption and try to trick the fighters into attacking in a dummy run. All the while the Germans must guess what the bomber plan is. One of the things that makes this interesting is that the situation is can get complex as the German player has to balance many factors in determining where the Lancaster will go.
The Good Stuff:
The game has almost zero luck:
In fact the only truly random element in the game is weather. If you play with variable weather it will increase the randomness as well. I really like this aspect of the game. It made it so simple and elegant. Each time you managed to pick where the bomber went and moved into its space you score vp. There is not random way of determining any thing. Each time the mosquito engages the Brits score. It is simple, but still simulates the strategic decisions of bomber command (ok in an abstract way ;)).
Simplicity is Key:
The Game is easy to learn. It took barely any time to learn the rules. They are simple and intuitive. It is ideal for people who don't want a complex game. I would say in complexity it would be equivalent to C&C: Ancients, or perhaps a little bit easier.
Beautiful Components:
I love the board for this game. I just think it is aesthetically very pleasing and bits are generally really nice. When I first saw the board I was truly impressed the artwork is great.
Good Level of Strategy:
The game is reasonably deep and has plenty of strategy in it. While there are lots of tactical decisions, many of them fit into a long term strategy.
Clear Rulebook:
While I was taught the game, I have since read the rules on line and the rulebook seems reasonably good.
Quick to play: It only took 45-60 minutes for our first play including rules explanation.
Solo Play:
The game is designed to be played solo. Sounds cool, haven't tried.
Campaign: You can scale the game length and play multiple nights, building up medals (kind of like resources to spend over multiple nights). I haven't played this but it looks fun.
The Bad
Chaos:
The game is low in luck, but high in chaos. While technically your opponent's blind choices are not random, the sure can feel like it! :D
While this may not be bad it can occasionally be frustrating as the skill is often about predicting your opponent’s actions. Not a big deal for me, but others may find it hard.
Simulation:
This is NOT a simulation; it is not The Burning Blue or Whistling Death, thankfully perhaps. However it captures the essence of a game like The Burning Blue, the bluff and double bluff.
Conclusion
This is an interesting game stylistically. Theme wise it is a Wargame. However mechanically it is definitely a Euro. So for me this game is firmly a euro. The low luck, the push your luck, the bluffing and the nice components all make it firmly a euro game. I guess we could argue endlessly over this, I just found it interesting how well it merged the genres, without using a single dice or card.
All in all I loved this game. It was really entertaining to play, fun quick, but interesting enough to make we want to play it a lot more. I'll certainly be ordering it once it comes out. I would recommend it to most people. As an emerging grognard this game won't satisfy a desire for a heavy wargame, but it will provide enough entertainment for an evening if played over several nights (that’s in game nights not real one). It is the sort of game you could easily teach teenagers or maybe older children. For me it is a good replacement for Battlelore, light and fun to play, but shorter, easier and pretty much just as fulfilling.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first play in australia
Session report, background story and mini review.
Session Report
There was a new moon, the wind was blowing due East and there was heavy cloud across Northern Germany with occasional thunderstorms near Berlin, clearing to scattered cloud further South with some fog in France.
Group Captain Giles took off and lumbered due East heading for Northern Germany. Oberst Fraser scrambled two squadrons of Night Fighters ahead of the British formation and one further South on a Northerly intercept course.
As Group Captain Giles approached the European coast the Night Fighters, split between where the Mosquito implied the bombers were going and where Night Fighter Head Quarters thought the bombers were heading, managed a few hits more than the Mosquito did on the Night Fighters.
Group Captain Giles then started steering South East but the Mosquito was still heading due East. Confusion reigned at Night Fighter Head Quarters, so refuelling some squadrons seemed to be the most practical idea.
As Group Captain Giles settled in to his new course, the Mosquito suddenly abandoned its Easterly course and accelerated due South, reached a city and dropped target flares, and took out a search light. The newly refuelled Night Fighters were scrambled again and Oberst Fraser managed to get two Night Fighter Squadrons to defend the city.
Shock, horror! The Mosquito’s attack was shown to be an elaborate ruse as Group Captain Giles abandoned his South East heading and turned back to the East.
The Mosquito leapt ahead and used up its remaining bombs to destroy the flak and barrage balloon and still had one targeting flare left to help illuminate this second city. Due to fuel and weather considerations the Night Fighters at the first “target” city were unable to defend the real target. The other two Night Fighter Squadrons were able to reach it, but had the Mosquito to deal with as well.
Bombs Away!
With no flak or barrage balloons and less Night Fighters than expected Oberst Fraser was thankful that the new moon reduced the damage slightly.
Group Captain Giles now turned for home leaving the light of the burning German city in the background. The chase back to England really emphasised the impact of the weather. Flying in a Northerly or Southerly direction, Oberst Fraser could keep the Night Fighters in the air for three turns before they needed to refuel, but chasing Group Captain Giles due West the Night Fighters could only remain in the air for two turns and then would have to either land where they were or change course away from due West to be able to have enough fuel to land for refuelling.
The Mosquito continue to play merry havoc with the Night Fighters. Was it flying ahead to protect Group Captain Giles from the Night Fighters or was it pretending to lead the path for Group Captain Giles and thus leading the Night Fighters astray? During the trip back to England both tactics were employed.
The ground defences scored some hits on the bombers on their journey home, but Oberst Fraser never managed to get more than two Night Fighter Squadrons to converge on Group Captain Giles at any given time and often, one of those Night Fighter Squadrons was at low altitude, having just taken off. Hits were slowly accumulating, but Group Captain Giles reached the North Sea and was heading due West.
Chasing bombers back to England at night over the North Sea is a tricky proposition at the best of times, but chasing bombers that are flying directly into the wind is very risky indeed.
The Night Fighters managed a few more hits despite the Mosquito flying both interference and deception. Then Group Captain Giles tacked North! This effectively put him out of range for all the Night Fighters bar the Dorniers. The rest of the Night Fighters had to turn tail and run for the European coast. At least now the Easterly wind was a tail wind assisting them on their trip back to friendly shores. Just as well, since more aircraft landed on nothing more than a wing and a prayer, than with fuel in their tanks.
The Dornier made one last attempt to close with Group Captain Giles before it too had to reverse course and fly home with the tail wind reaching a friendly airbase with the fuel gauges reading Empty.
In the light of following morning after a review of the events it was decided that the night had been a victory for the British, not by much, but a victory nevertheless.
Some background to the session
Zev, the president of Z-Man games was present at the Australian Games Expo. One carton of Duel in the Dark had just arrived and he opened and punched one copy. Speaking to him during the day, he said that he would bring one to the evening games session after the expo wrapped up at 5 pm. All the people who were watching him punch bits and assemble pieces were admiring them.
When we arrived at the Hume Inn after dinner there were already a lot of games going. I sat and watched Yspahan for a while, I gather that there was a distinct lack of camels in that particular game. It was about 10 pm when I went over to the table with Zev, Giles and another guy to chat and admire the bits from Duel in the Dark.
Zev then said :Why don’t you play? I’ll explain it and you can play”. Giles took the British and I took the Germans.
A mini review or description
We only played the once and only with the basic rules so this is just a summary of my initial feelings.
The board is a night time pictorial representation of parts of Germany, France, Northern Europe and South East England. It is not a map per se, but a very thematic picture. To paraphrase Maxwell Smart, it has the second biggest hexes I have ever seen.
The most amazing bits are the aircraft, cloud and thunderstorm counters.
They are a standard cardboard counter with a plastic sprocket which is then mounted on a plastic stand. With the aircraft you slide them down to the bottom of the stand to indicate that they are landed, part the way up the plastic pole to show that they are flying at low altitude and up to the top of the pole to show that they are at high altitude. The clouds and thunderstorms are left at the top of the pole to show cloud cover where as the fog counters are just placed directly on the board.
The German night fighter fuel gauges are also very nice.
They look like they glow in the dark, but unfortunately they do not :meeple:
Zev took about ten minutes to explain the components and the rules are then we started playing.
If I remember correctly (which given it was my third day of late nights and early mornings I give no guarantee):
1 The German player places his four night fighter squadrons.
2 Flip a weather card and set up the appropriate weather conditions including clouds, fog, prevailing wind, thunderstorms and phase of the moon.
3 The British player picks his target city and plots his bomber course using up to fourteen cards from the available plotting cards which are then put back on the top of the deck so that the German player doesn’t know how long, i.e. far, the mission is.
4 The German player places forty air defence units around German controlled areas. These include flak, search lights, barrage balloons, civil defence bunkers, radar, fuel trucks and fire fighting trucks.
5 The British player places the Mosquito and the Bomber at their respective airfield(s).
6 The game is afoot.
Each turn consists of three phases.
Firstly the British player moves the Mosquito and performs any actions that the Mosquito player wishes to take including dropping target flares or destroying air defence installations in the current hex.
Secondly the German night fighters move. Generally this involves moving to a neighbouring hex, or staying and circling in a hex you expect the bomber to move to. You may also change altitude, land to refuel or take off after refuelling. If German night fighters move into a hex with the Mosquito then the British player will probably be awarded victory points depending on local weather conditions. The night fighter’s fuel gauges are adjusted based on the move that they made.
Thirdly the top card from the bomber’s navigation deck is flipped and the bomber moves as directed by the card. If it moves into a hex with German fighters the German fighter will be awarded victory points for attacking the bomber formation varied by weather, altitude and accompanying air defence. If the bomber moves into a hex where there are no night fighters but with flak then the German player will be awarded some victory points.
That is basically the game in a nutshell. The basic game plays in around thirty to forty five minutes, you feel involved the whole time and at the end you feel like you have played a whole game. You could stop there and be happy or just play again, swap sides or try another mission.
Some of the advanced rules include special high performance fuel for one night fighter, the possibility of weather changes during the nigh and quite a few other things. I didn’t read the rules, but Zev flicked through them to show us that the rules include a fully illustrated and annotated example of play.
I have only played it once and with only the basic rules, but if Zev hadn’t wanted all six copies to take to Origins and other events I would have bought one from him then and there, as would Giles and quite a few of the crowd of people who stood around and watched.
Fraser McHarg 12-Jun-2007
Session Report
There was a new moon, the wind was blowing due East and there was heavy cloud across Northern Germany with occasional thunderstorms near Berlin, clearing to scattered cloud further South with some fog in France.
Group Captain Giles took off and lumbered due East heading for Northern Germany. Oberst Fraser scrambled two squadrons of Night Fighters ahead of the British formation and one further South on a Northerly intercept course.
As Group Captain Giles approached the European coast the Night Fighters, split between where the Mosquito implied the bombers were going and where Night Fighter Head Quarters thought the bombers were heading, managed a few hits more than the Mosquito did on the Night Fighters.
Group Captain Giles then started steering South East but the Mosquito was still heading due East. Confusion reigned at Night Fighter Head Quarters, so refuelling some squadrons seemed to be the most practical idea.
As Group Captain Giles settled in to his new course, the Mosquito suddenly abandoned its Easterly course and accelerated due South, reached a city and dropped target flares, and took out a search light. The newly refuelled Night Fighters were scrambled again and Oberst Fraser managed to get two Night Fighter Squadrons to defend the city.
Shock, horror! The Mosquito’s attack was shown to be an elaborate ruse as Group Captain Giles abandoned his South East heading and turned back to the East.
The Mosquito leapt ahead and used up its remaining bombs to destroy the flak and barrage balloon and still had one targeting flare left to help illuminate this second city. Due to fuel and weather considerations the Night Fighters at the first “target” city were unable to defend the real target. The other two Night Fighter Squadrons were able to reach it, but had the Mosquito to deal with as well.
Bombs Away!
With no flak or barrage balloons and less Night Fighters than expected Oberst Fraser was thankful that the new moon reduced the damage slightly.
Group Captain Giles now turned for home leaving the light of the burning German city in the background. The chase back to England really emphasised the impact of the weather. Flying in a Northerly or Southerly direction, Oberst Fraser could keep the Night Fighters in the air for three turns before they needed to refuel, but chasing Group Captain Giles due West the Night Fighters could only remain in the air for two turns and then would have to either land where they were or change course away from due West to be able to have enough fuel to land for refuelling.
The Mosquito continue to play merry havoc with the Night Fighters. Was it flying ahead to protect Group Captain Giles from the Night Fighters or was it pretending to lead the path for Group Captain Giles and thus leading the Night Fighters astray? During the trip back to England both tactics were employed.
The ground defences scored some hits on the bombers on their journey home, but Oberst Fraser never managed to get more than two Night Fighter Squadrons to converge on Group Captain Giles at any given time and often, one of those Night Fighter Squadrons was at low altitude, having just taken off. Hits were slowly accumulating, but Group Captain Giles reached the North Sea and was heading due West.
Chasing bombers back to England at night over the North Sea is a tricky proposition at the best of times, but chasing bombers that are flying directly into the wind is very risky indeed.
The Night Fighters managed a few more hits despite the Mosquito flying both interference and deception. Then Group Captain Giles tacked North! This effectively put him out of range for all the Night Fighters bar the Dorniers. The rest of the Night Fighters had to turn tail and run for the European coast. At least now the Easterly wind was a tail wind assisting them on their trip back to friendly shores. Just as well, since more aircraft landed on nothing more than a wing and a prayer, than with fuel in their tanks.
The Dornier made one last attempt to close with Group Captain Giles before it too had to reverse course and fly home with the tail wind reaching a friendly airbase with the fuel gauges reading Empty.
In the light of following morning after a review of the events it was decided that the night had been a victory for the British, not by much, but a victory nevertheless.
Some background to the session
Zev, the president of Z-Man games was present at the Australian Games Expo. One carton of Duel in the Dark had just arrived and he opened and punched one copy. Speaking to him during the day, he said that he would bring one to the evening games session after the expo wrapped up at 5 pm. All the people who were watching him punch bits and assemble pieces were admiring them.
When we arrived at the Hume Inn after dinner there were already a lot of games going. I sat and watched Yspahan for a while, I gather that there was a distinct lack of camels in that particular game. It was about 10 pm when I went over to the table with Zev, Giles and another guy to chat and admire the bits from Duel in the Dark.
Zev then said :Why don’t you play? I’ll explain it and you can play”. Giles took the British and I took the Germans.
A mini review or description
We only played the once and only with the basic rules so this is just a summary of my initial feelings.
The board is a night time pictorial representation of parts of Germany, France, Northern Europe and South East England. It is not a map per se, but a very thematic picture. To paraphrase Maxwell Smart, it has the second biggest hexes I have ever seen.
The most amazing bits are the aircraft, cloud and thunderstorm counters.
They are a standard cardboard counter with a plastic sprocket which is then mounted on a plastic stand. With the aircraft you slide them down to the bottom of the stand to indicate that they are landed, part the way up the plastic pole to show that they are flying at low altitude and up to the top of the pole to show that they are at high altitude. The clouds and thunderstorms are left at the top of the pole to show cloud cover where as the fog counters are just placed directly on the board.
The German night fighter fuel gauges are also very nice.
They look like they glow in the dark, but unfortunately they do not :meeple:
Zev took about ten minutes to explain the components and the rules are then we started playing.
If I remember correctly (which given it was my third day of late nights and early mornings I give no guarantee):
1 The German player places his four night fighter squadrons.
2 Flip a weather card and set up the appropriate weather conditions including clouds, fog, prevailing wind, thunderstorms and phase of the moon.
3 The British player picks his target city and plots his bomber course using up to fourteen cards from the available plotting cards which are then put back on the top of the deck so that the German player doesn’t know how long, i.e. far, the mission is.
4 The German player places forty air defence units around German controlled areas. These include flak, search lights, barrage balloons, civil defence bunkers, radar, fuel trucks and fire fighting trucks.
5 The British player places the Mosquito and the Bomber at their respective airfield(s).
6 The game is afoot.
Each turn consists of three phases.
Firstly the British player moves the Mosquito and performs any actions that the Mosquito player wishes to take including dropping target flares or destroying air defence installations in the current hex.
Secondly the German night fighters move. Generally this involves moving to a neighbouring hex, or staying and circling in a hex you expect the bomber to move to. You may also change altitude, land to refuel or take off after refuelling. If German night fighters move into a hex with the Mosquito then the British player will probably be awarded victory points depending on local weather conditions. The night fighter’s fuel gauges are adjusted based on the move that they made.
Thirdly the top card from the bomber’s navigation deck is flipped and the bomber moves as directed by the card. If it moves into a hex with German fighters the German fighter will be awarded victory points for attacking the bomber formation varied by weather, altitude and accompanying air defence. If the bomber moves into a hex where there are no night fighters but with flak then the German player will be awarded some victory points.
That is basically the game in a nutshell. The basic game plays in around thirty to forty five minutes, you feel involved the whole time and at the end you feel like you have played a whole game. You could stop there and be happy or just play again, swap sides or try another mission.
Some of the advanced rules include special high performance fuel for one night fighter, the possibility of weather changes during the nigh and quite a few other things. I didn’t read the rules, but Zev flicked through them to show us that the rules include a fully illustrated and annotated example of play.
I have only played it once and with only the basic rules, but if Zev hadn’t wanted all six copies to take to Origins and other events I would have bought one from him then and there, as would Giles and quite a few of the crowd of people who stood around and watched.
Fraser McHarg 12-Jun-2007
