Dogfight CampaignsDown in Flames Early Pacific Theatre Missions

By Joe Silva

IntroductionFor me the best part of playing Down

in Flames is the dogfights. They are quickto setup and to play and you don't have asmany rules to remember. However, one ofthe challenges to flying dogfights is findinginteresting dogfights that are balanced. Ifyou just throw any two elements out there,it can be very unbalanced.

When I initially set out on this task, it wasto define a series of balanced dogfights thatI could play with my friends. Quickly thisidea evolved into the concept of a DogfightCampaign. You see, despite the plethoraof campaigns created in the released boxedgames and in back issues of C3i Magazine,

there are few dogfights. Many players, suchas myself; find dogfights exciting to play.This new DiF Campaign type fills that void.

Setup

Playing a dogfight campaign is the same as aregular campaign except that all the missionsare dogfights and there are no resources.

Campaign Sequence of Play

Draw Action Card to determinedogfight location referring to index number.

Draw Action Card to determinewhich planes to use. (Using border color)

Conduct Mission

Determine Victory Points

Determine Air Group Performance atthe end of six dogfights.

Scoring

As with other campaigns, scoring fordowning a fighter aircraft is five points whiledamaging one is worth two. The onedifference is there are no points awarded forskilled pilots who have been included tobalance the missions.

Variants

Red, White or Blue — you can play thecampaign as a Red, White or Blue version (i.e.play all the Red missions or all the Blue...)

Monster Campaign — play each dogfightfrom two of the theaters determining thewinner. Then play the next two and the nexttwo. Best of 3 wins.

One From a Theatre — play one from eachtheatre drawing only one card (to determineRed, White or Blue mission) and tickingthrough each theatre one at a time.

Green Pilot EffectsIn two of the dogfights Allied aircraft haveGreen pilots. They use the Green pilot rulesfrom Corsairs & Hellcats. For those of youwho do not have C&H, the relevant portionof those rules are reprinted below.

Green Pilots have the following effects:

Green Pilots reduce their aircraft'sBurst Rating by one (-1).

Green Wingmen reduce their aircraft'sAttack Rating by one (-1). This reductionis applied after the halving for being Loaded(See the Zero! errata) and is cumulativewith the reduction for being at Very

High altitude.

Both Green Pilots and Green Wingmenare limited in their ability to respond toenemy card play. A Green Pilot/Wingmanmay play a maximum of one Response card(i.e. a Blue-bordered card or a White-bordered card used to Respond) perWingman Attack or Play Cards Step.

Example: A Japanese A6M5 with aGreen Pilot is attacked by an American F6F.The aircraft are Neutral, and the Japaneseplayer's hand includes a MANEUVERINGand two TIGHT TURN cards. The USplayer plays an IN MY SIGHTS (1B/2D)card. The Japanese player responds withone of his TIGHT TURNS. The Americanresponds with a TIGHT TURN of his

own. Because the Japanese pilot is Green theJapanese player may not respond with hisother TIGHT TURN and must take the twopoints of Damage. In addition, the Japaneseplayer will be unable to respond at all to anyfurther Attack cards that the F6F plays duringthat Play Cards Step. During the ensuingJapanese player turn, the A6M5 plays itsMANEUVERING card. The US playerresponds with yet another TIGHT TURN.The Green pilot may use his own TIGHTTURN card at this point, but if the US playerresponds to it he will be unable to play anyfurther response cards.

Player's Notes: In order to play this campaignyou will need a copy of Zero! plus the aircraftcards from C3i Magazine Nr14. The A5M4swere included in C3i Magazine Nr16.

Special thanks to Roger Horky, Chris Janiec, and

Mike Lemick for their feedback and input on the

campaign and to my sons Joey and Aaron Silva,

and Mike Disbrow for their help in playtesting.

Dogfight Campaigns for Down in Flames Pacific - Zero!

DiF-C3i Magazine Article&CampaignModuleINDEX C3i Magazine,Nr3 —Malta Campaign

Module,withnewcardsandcampaignmapfor The Rise of the Luftwaffe

C3iMagazine,Nr4—GuidedTourofTheRiseof the Luftwaffe,PartOne

C3iMagazine,Nr5—GuidedTourofTheRiseoftheLuftwaffe,PartTwo;ANDWinterWarCampaign Module, with new cards andcampaign map for Rise of the Luftwaffe

C3iMagazine,Nr6—AfterActionReportsonTheRiseoftheLuftwaffeand8thAirForce;

AND RoL Variant: The Boys of Abbeville

C3iMagazine,Nr7—OptionalRulesforDown in Flames series

C3iMagazine,Nr8—8thAirForceVariant:Abbeville Kids

C3i Magazine, Nr10 —The Flying TigersCampaign Module,with new cards, targets,and1stDiFPacificTheatrecampaignmap;ANDBattleofBritainDayDiFCampaign;ANDOperation Pedestal DiF Campaign ANDThe Vic Formation in DiF series

C3iMagazine,Nr11—KubanBridgeheadCampaign Module, with new cards andcampaignmapforTheRiseoftheLuftwaffe

C3iMagazine,Nr12—1948Arab-IsraeliWarCampaign Module, with new cards andcampaign map

C3iMagazine,Nr13—TheProblemwithGustav — DiF BI109G Variant

C3i Magazine, Nr14 —Netherlands EastIndiesModule,withnewcardsandcampaignmapforZero!

C3i Magazine, Nr15 — Twilight of theLuftwaffe Module, with new cards andcampaignmap;ANDDiFTournamentRules

C3i Magazine, Nr16 —Aleutians and DutchHarbor Campaign Modules, with new cardsandcampaignmapsforZero!andC&H

C3i Magazine, Nr17 —Air Umbrella OverDunkirkCampaignModule,withnewcards,target,andcampaignmap

C3i Magazine, Nr18 —Poland 1939Campaign Module, with new cards, targets,andcampaignmap;ANDGuadalcanalCarrierBattles Variant for Corsairs & Hellcats C3iMagazineSquadronPackNrl—Fighters

with64Fighter Aircraft cards,markers,& rules C3i Magazine Squadron Pack Nr2 — Bombers

with 64 Bomber Aircraft cards, markers, Rulebook,andGunneryDuelPlayMat

"...Oh no, don't tell me you missed the issueofC3i Magazine with the Flying Tigers Campaign,thecampaign that inspired thepublication of Zero!"

(C3i Ma ;azine advertisement, 2001)C3i Magazine has supported and expandedthe Down in Flames series over many years.