UNEXPECTED MANEUVERS
by Michael Turner

     The situation occurs often in RICHTHOFEN'S WAR, a game that realistically recreates the air activity that took place in the skies of France. The game offers constant hours of playing and harrowing escapes. It can bring a player instant glory in the way of acehood, or it could give that same player a vicarious slow spinning death from 4000 meters. In RICHTHOFEN'S one activity feels the exhilaration of a "kill" and the remorse of seeing a comrade's plummet to the earth.
     Yet, although RICHTHOFEN'S WAR is one of the best games out on WWI aerial warfare, it still lacks a number of things that would drastically alter the playing of the game as well as the realism. In this article, I hope to give the RICHTHOFEN'S WAR devotee some added optional rules that would greatly increase the playability and in turn enhance the entertainment derived from the game itself.
     The main problem with the game is play balance. Play balance is a major constituent to any war game and more so to a game like RICHTHOFEN'S WAR. Here the Germans have free rule over the skies. It is only with a bag of tricks and a lot of luck that the Allied player manages to win an evenly matched encounter. It is not until late in the war that the Allied player manages to gain the advantage in flying equipment. What expediency the Allied player has at any time is entirely that of maneuverability of his aircraft. The Allied player can take some solace in that his aircraft is likely to be better equipped than the German aircraft in maneuver schedules, climb and dive rates, and maximums of altitude. But, this is only a small advantage.
     Now, back to the Pup and Albatross DII: if we play out the encounter using the standard rules, the outcome would probably be in favor of the Albatross. The fact is, the Albatross fires first. This isn't the worst of it. The Albatross fires on the A table of the TDT. This would almost totally disable the Pup (giving the German player an average roll of the dice), enabling the German player to finish the Pup off before the Albatross could take sufficient damage. The outcome seems cut and dry. Yet, if the roles were reversed, the situation would most probably be the same. The fact is, the Pup hasn't the firepower of the most powerful Albatross. This is not a fault of the game; it is the fault of history.
     Suppose, though, that the pilot of the Sopwith had sensed that something was wrong; he feels the bullets cutting through his machine and he instinctively hits the right rudder and peels off. The Albatross zooms by and the Sopwith Pup has the option of following the Albatross (?!) or getting the heck out of there. The important thing is: the pilot of the Pup has the ability to increase his chances for surviving the dogfights he will encounter.
     The maneuvers used during WWI were being performed before actual war took place in the air. They were stunts and used at air shows and daredevil matches. They were dangerous to accomplish and took men's lives. Yet, they were an intricate part of WWI air history and should be employed during the hectic dogfights that take place in the game.

     Beating a competent German player is never easy to accomplish. The A class weapons of the German becomes dangerously murderous. But, with maneuvers, the better turning schedules of the Allied player can more than save his skin. It can set up reverse situations and a German Ace may find a spunky Allied plane on his tail!
     Maneuvers are done with a series of maneuver cards, three of each maneuver, twenty-seven cards in all. The nine maneuvers represent a cross section of the countless aerobatics pilots performed. How many cards each player receives depends on a number of factors which will be explained later. The twenty-seven cards (3 of each 9 maneuvers) represent the chances that each pilot has in being capable of eluding or trailing the enemy. The cards work as follows:
     During combat only, the defender (plane under attack) has the option of performing a maneuver or trying to escape by diving or climbing. Maneuvering might be a wise choice if either the plane is falling apart or the aircraft's guns are jammed or if the enemy aircraft is being flown by an ace. It might not be a good decision to perform a maneuver if the defender's aircraft is quite capable of defeating the attacker. Once the choice has been made, each player picks his allotted number of maneuver cards. The defender sorts through his cards and picks one which he wishes to perform. The attacker then lays all his cards down on the table. If any one of his cards matches the defender's cards then the attacker has successfully followed and both go through the maneuver. If the cards do not match, then the defender performs his maneuver and the attacker must fly a penalty move of six MPs straight and then may move as he wishes (provided he still has any MPs left). He may not dive or climb during this turn phase. All cards are returned to the deck and shuffled after each attack.

THE MANEUVERS:
     Diagram #
     1) Barrel Roll
     2) Falling Leaf
     3) Flat Spin
     4) Immelmann
     5) Loop
     6) Nose Dive
     7) Side-Slip
     8) Tight Circle
     9) Vertical Spin

     The diagrams of each maneuver show the relationship of the aircraft on the hex board. The aircraft illustrated is the initial position. The numbered hex is where the aircraft will finish as well as the number of MPs expended. All aircraft face the same direction as the initial position except for the Immelmann where the facing is reversed 180 degrees.

     The Barrel Roll is accomplished by placing the aircraft marker as shown in the diagram. This maneuver takes five movement points with no loss or gain in altitude. The Falling Leaf is accomplished by placing the aircraft marker as shown in the diagram. This maneuver takes two movement points and is a 100 meter drop in altitude. The Flat Spin is accomplished by placing the counter one hex forward and counting this as three movement points. The remaining movement points multiplied by 50 meters is the altitude loss. The Immelmann is accomplished by placing the aircraft marker directly behind the initial position but facing the opposite direction and adding 50 meters to the height indicator. The Loop is accomplished by placing the aircraft counter behind the initial position and counting this as four movement points, six for two hexes behind initial position and eight for three hexes behind initial position. There is no loss or gain in altitude. The Nose Dive is accomplished by placing the aircraft counter one hex forward and counting it as two movement points. The remaining turn speed is multiplied by 100 meters and added to the normal dive maximum for that particular aircraft. This is the loss in altitude due to the maneuver. The Side-Slip is performed by placing the aircraft marker directly to the side of the initial position as shown in the diagram. This counts as five movement points and a loss of 50 meters. The Tight Circle is accomplished by leaving the counter where it is with no loss or gain in altitude and expending all movement points. The Vertical Spin is accomplished by placing the aircraft marker directly in front of the initial position and counting this as two movement points. The remaining turn speed is multiplied by 50 meters and then added to the normal dive maximum for the aircraft. This is meters loss in altitude due to the maneuver.
     All these maneuvers take place during dogfights only. After a maneuver is performed the player may notice that he has several movement points left; except in the case of the Tight Circle which uses up ail the aircraft's movement points. He may use these to either catch up with an enemy aircraft or to put distance between them. If head on attacks occur, there are no maneuvers performed. The aircraft performing Barrel Roll, Side-Slip and Falling Leaf can move their counters either to the left or right of the initial position. If to the left, it is a mirror image of the diagrams.
     Whenever one aircraft is set upon by more than one enemy aircraft, each enemy player goes through the maneuver (provided the defender has elected to use the maneuver option). The defender receives his cards and each attacker receives his cards. Play progresses and follow standard maneuver rules. The attacking plane that has first shot gets to trail first followed by the second enemy aircraft, etc.
     The number of maneuver cards each player receives depends on his aircraft's performance as well as his own status, combat position (i.e. defender or attacker) and range.
     The defender receives four cards and the attacker gets two cards. This is the base number. In addition each pilot receives one bonus card per every five kills to his credit. The attacker receives one additional card for every two hexes he is away from the defender at the moment of attack. Fractions are not considered. The aircraft's turning schedule also increases/decreases the base number:

Turning Ability Cards
A -2
B -1
C 0
D +1
E +2

     If the aircraft has an A turning schedule then two cards are taken away. If the aircraft has an E turning schedule then two cards are added. If C then no change.
     After all players involved in maneuvers have their allotted cards, the maneuvers are matched and results are followed.
     The movement chart explains which aircraft move during which phase of the maneuvers. It is very important that this chart be understood and followed. Basically, if the defender gets away (successfully eluded his attacker) then the next move he receives will be combat free, unless the player decides to engage in aerial melee again or becomes involved in combat with another enemy aircraft. Even though maneuvers are bonus movements they in no way upset the player turn phase of the game.
     It would seem that the success of the maneuver would depend on the type of aircraft involved as well as the status of the pilot. This very much matches the situation that pilots faced when ordered to go aloft in cloth and wood boxes pulled or pushed through the air by sputtering oil-soaked engines.
     Returning to the example of the Sopwith Pup and Albatross DII, the Albatross attacks the Sopwith Pup and rolls for damage on the TDT. After this, the Sopwith Pup has the option of' performing a maneuver which he elects to take. The Pup takes four cards with no bonus penalties as the Pup is a C turning schedule and the pilot is not an ace. The Albatross receives two cards but must give up one because of the minus one for B turning schedule. Let us say that the Albatross is one hex away and thus receives no bonus for range (must be at least two away). He is not an ace and receives no bonus. Thus, the Pup has four cards to the Albatross' one. The Pup player chooses a Loop and the Albatross does not have this card. The Pup performs the Loop and moves the remaining movement points due him. If the Pup is lined up so he may fire at the Albatross then the Pup may now fire. This is not defensive fire. It is an added bonus for the defender. The Albatross now moves six of his allotted MP straight. He may not perform a maneuver during this turn even if he is being attacked by the Pup. Now, it is the Pup's turn again and he has the option of attacking the Albatross or turning tail. He elects to dive away from the Albatross and turn back home. Note: if the Pup had attacked the Albatross, the German player would now have the option of performing a maneuver after combat results have been determined. If the Albatross had matched the defender's card, then the Pup would have performed the maneuver and would not be allowed to fire on the Albatross if the situation warranted it. The Albatross would then perform a Loop and, after the allotted number of MPs have been expended for that particular maneuver, may fire on the Pup. The next move would be the Pup's and he may now perform another maneuver if he feels relatively lucky that day.

     After using the maneuvers a few times, it will be obvious that the aircraft's turning schedule, movement points, dive rate and to some extent accumulated damage all come together and perform more vividly. The aircraft specifications become even more important in the overall picture of RICHTHOFEN'S WAR and with maneuvers this is magnified a great deal. The key to this rule is that the use of maneuvers is optional. One need not perform the maneuvers if one believes the situation is not serious enough to warrant it. The maneuvers are not so much an advantage to any pilot as they are a tool for survival.

MULTI-PLAYER GAMES:
     In the case of more than one combat situation taking place on the board at the same time. determine results for each individual combat separately. That is, after maneuver cards are used for the first group, return all cards to the pack before going to the next group.

     Additional points to remember:
     • maneuvering aircraft move first. After all results are determined, then other aircraft may move.
     • aircraft cannot go off the board edge while performing maneuver results. If an aircraft is forced off the board (usually this occurs during the penalty move inflicted on the attacker) stop one hex short of the board edge. This ends the players turn regardless of number of MPs left.
     • if the defender eludes his opponent, he may fire at the enemy aircraft if the line of sight is in accordance with the sighting rule. If the defender doesn't elude his opponent, he may not fire at the enemy aircraft following the completion of the maneuver.
     • the Loop is the best maneuver to perform if the defender wishes to get on the opponent's tail.

MOVEMENT CHART




DefenderAttacker
Step one: No movement Attacks defender and rolls on TDT. All aircraft of
attacker’s nationality move.
Step two: Moves or chooses to and
performs maneuvers. All aircraft of
defender's nationality move.		No movement
Step three: No movement Either performs a manuever or flies six allotted MPs
straight ahead. All aircraft of attacker’s
nationality move.
Step four: Moves normally. May choose
maneuver if involved in
defensive combat. All aircraft of
defender's nationality move. 		No movement
Step five: No movement Moves normally. May choose manuever if involved in
defensive combat. All aircraft of attacker’s nationality
move.


Updated 14 Jan 08.

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