Released Boom and Zoom yesterday at the Williamsburg Muster. I was flattered by how well it was received. Since it is a best seller on Wargamers Vault ( wow!) I better hurry up and get a sample turn up on this site to show people the game. If you are a normal visitor to this site and you could not care less about Boom and Zoom I apologize. If you came here for a report about the Muster, I will report that later.
This will be a 2v2 P-47D vrs ME 109G6. It will be at low altitude (4k ft) as the thunderbolts have been straffing. B&Z has a lot of detail but most of it is under the hood. This keeps the game fast and playable. First off, if you are an air aficionado, there is a difference between the P-47 C and D; yes and between the ME 109G 4 and 6. You might not care, and it won't bog the game down, but it is noticeable in certain situations.
So lets look at our planes: [ there are stats for 62 fighters. I only included 11 cards but if people want more I can make them.]
The third line shows a "c" and "f" which shows some cockpit armor and self sealing gas tanks. The P-47 has better firepower. {FP} and is more rugged. {DV}. So the ME 109 will want to keep out of its way. At altitudes below 15k ft they both have the same performance and the ME 109 is more maneuverable. Above 15Kft things change. [ It is called a turbo charger primarily but you don't need to know that!] The P-47s performance actually improves as does their maneuverability. If we go above 25k ft the ME 109G is actually at a disadvantage. Good thing we are not fighting bombers today! We also note that while the P-47C climbed poorly {Climb-} this version of the P-47 does not. However, both versions of the thunderbolt have the Dive+ so they easily out dive the ME 109. Unfortunately, we are starting out at 4k ft! The ME 109G does have a early fuel injection {boost} that can boost its speed for a turn if it runs into trouble.
So the ME 109 will try maneuver attacks [dogfighting style] when possible to keep out of the P-47s guns and maximize its maneuverability advantage while the P-47 will try slashing attacks and rely on its guns and ruggedness to survive. If in trouble it can dive only once at it is already low and then try to get above 15k ft where the battle will favor it.
The basic game does not consider pilot skill which would be another consideration.
The basic maneuver unit in B&Z is the element. The leader rolls 6
dice. This represents his opportunity [ or lack thereof] for the next
minute. To determine initiative, each element rolls 2D 6. Here the
Germans go first.
Here is the German roll. First we need to get to the P-47s. Let's convert the green 6 to a 1 so we can move into their square. Once there it appears we are in a good position to barrel roll into their leader. Let's make that happen by converting the blue 6 into a 2 to attack. We will add the 5 which means our wingman is playing a big part here and we will add +2. Finally we will add the "3" because we have good situational awareness for another +1. If we win we will use our 4 to line him up in our sights and shoot!
It looks like this:
"1" to move. "2" to initiate a maneuver attack. "5" to add +2. "3" to add +1. "4" to shoot hopefully.
A maneuver attack is a high risk/high reward play. You have a opposed die roll but if you win the modifiers for firing are good and you get to stay in the advantageous position!
The German will roll a D8 as he has average mobility. He gets +3 to the roll as we just described. The thunderbolt will roll a D6 as he is a dog down low. He does get a +2 because he has a trusty wingman helping him out. So functionally the German gets a +1.
The die is literally cast....
The German wins by 1!!!!!
He gets the coveted "advantage" chip.
Since the German won by "1" he sets up on the thunderbolts win. He now has "advantage" over the thunderbolts.
He will use his "4" performance die to shoot.
His firepower is 8 plus two for being on the 3 o'clock position give him ten firepower dice. He rolls looking for "5's and 6's"...
He only gets 1. But wait! The thunderbolt is a dog so he can re-roll half of any "1s" rounded down. He re-rolls one "1" and gets a hit. Thus he gets two hits.
The thunderbolt is a hardy aircraft and gets to roll 12 defensive dice. He rolls...
and gets 2 saves! [ We need better dice for this example!]
2 hits verses 2 saves results in "Damage" as opposed to "Major Damage". You get to roll on the damage chart but with a +3 modifier, thus you can't get a catastrophic hit.
The German rolls and hits the engine. Good place to hit. We roll a D 10 to check for damage...
a "4" +3 results in "Major Damage -1 P -1 Sp" So the engine is badly damaged, the American loses a performance die and a speed; not good.
And to top it off. He is disadvantaged to a ME 109G off his wing.
So here is the best part of B&Z to me. In real life right now the P-47's wingman is trying to push the ME- 109 away. At the same time the ME-109s wingman is trying to prevent that. Other games either ignore that or make it very complicated. In B&Z, before the P-47 rolls his 5 performance dice he gets to roll 4 dice for his wingman and consult this chart...
Yea for Jack! He just knock the Hun off my back. [ If you look at the chart a "6 and 2" count as successful maneuver against the {enemy} element]. So the P-47s are now neutral to the ME 109s. They could contemplate moving away, climbing or staying this turn. The thunderbolt leader rolls his now 5 performance dice...
Though he is marginally slower now than the ME 109s Jack has put him in a good position to perform a slashing attack. He can play both "1s" to get abeam of the ME 109. Next he can shoot using his "4". Finally he could add both "3s" to his firepower pool. But he does something slightly different...
He plays the "1" to initiate a high speed attack just off the nose. He plays a second "1" to move to the 3 o'clock position. He adds only one "3" to his firepower dice pool and plays a "4" to shoot. [ A high speed attack automatically succeeds, there is no opposed rolling.] because his firepower is high and he is damaged he is going to save his last "3" to be used defensively next turn should the German get the initiative. He can then add it to his opposed roll.
The thunderbolts come roaring in guns blazing! [ they won't get to stay there though.]
The thunderbolts FP is 11, there is no bonus for the 3 o'clock position on a high speed attack and he gets a +1 for the "3" performance die so he throws 12 firepower dice.
He gets three hits. Because the ME 109 is average mobility he does not re roll "1s". The ME 109G gets 10 defensive dice...
2 saves. Thus the American got 1 hit resulting in Major Damage. He goes to the fighter damage chart and hits the fuselage. He rolls a D 10...
A "9" results in "Tail Damage" The ME 109 will now be at a disadvantage in the vertical.
Because it was a slashing attack and not a maneuver attack the thunderbolts are returned to neutral. You would now roll to see if the battle changed altitude and if the wingmen were able to hang on to their leaders. Both situations could affect the situation significantly for next turn.
Hope you enjoyed this play through of Boom and Zoom. The mechanisms are different but folks catch on fast. It plays faster than reads trust me. Any questions just ask!
Thank you!
Joe Legan
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