Wings at War MiG Alley Game

[Jim Jackaman]

I played a very enjoyable game of MiG Alley this evening, with two flights of two F9F Panthers with regular pilots against one flight of four North Korean MiG-15’s with green pilots, once again fitting everything on to the kitchen table. This meant rotating the table layout by 90 degrees and leaving off the sea area but this didn’t seem to make much difference to the game itself. The North Koreans deployed three mountain upland templates but I didn’t bother with ground targets for the United Nations side, as there were no bombers or attack aircraft involved.

In the game, the four Panthers entered from the south west corner at level three and turned northwards, running up a valley toward the Yalu River. The MiG’s entered at level four and crossed over the Yalu in a shallow dive, heading directly for the oncoming USN fighters. In Turn Two, one of the other Panther pilots now attempted to pull a tight turn to get on the tail of the MiG’s but overcooked it and ended up in a spin, only recovering at level one. The other two Panther pilots decided to play it safe and just turned normally, ending up without a shot on the MiG’s, which also turned back toward the Yalu to pursue their enemy.

It wasn’t looking good for the US Navy but they were still in the fight and determined to make up for their mistakes and engage the MiG’s head on. In Turn Three, one of the F9F Panthers managed to get into position for a head on attack but this ended in disaster when the USN pilot missed his shot, while the targeted MiG made a ‘snap shot’ attack of its own and shot down the Panther! This was a bad start for the USN but it would soon be time to more than even the score.

In Turn Four the Panther flight leader began his long climb back to altitude in a series of power moves, while his wingman circled above at level three to protect him from the MiG menace. The other lone Panther moved in on the MiG’s and managed to pull two consecutive tight turns, putting him right behind one of the MiG-15’s. This made all the difference to his chances of a kill and he proceeded to blow the North Korean fighter out of the sky with a D6 roll of 6!

This was followed up with a second attack on the MiG-15 in front, which also disintegrated in a fireball with another roll D6 of 6! In Turn Five the Panther pilot now calmly turned onto the tail of a third MiG and pulled off a hat trick, with his victim blasted out of the sky in a hail of cannon shells. The game was now over, as the USN had matched its Victory Target points total, with three MiG’s shot down for the loss of one F9F.

I really enjoyed this game and will be running another one tomorrow if I can squeeze it in. I think this is a great little system with lots of depth and playability, despite being only a very concise set of rules. It is also ideal for solo play, as it has an IGOUGO structure which allows for one side to complete all of its moves an attacks before the other side, with the exception of snap shots. I don’t usually like this way of doing things but it works very well here and makes it very easy to manage for one player. I also like the way each set of rules is neatly adjusted to the specific conflict involved, which gives it a lot of historical flavour. Great fun!

More Wings at War and MiG Alley stuff on the blog: http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/search/label/Wings%20at%20War

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.co.uk

[Tony S]

I’ve been quite tempted to order the Suez Crisis set.   Obviously you like the rules!  They seem very entertaining after reading your battle account.  Are formations taken into account, as in Bag the Hun?   Do you prefer Wings over Bag the Hun, or are they both good, just different flavours?

And, in reading your other posts on your blog, please do share your thoughts on the PVC mats.

[Jim Jackaman]

Thanks Tony,

There are no rules for formations as such, although aircraft operate in flights of two, three or four depending on the skill rating of the pilots. There are rules for formation movement in some of the rules e.g. Duel of Aces. You could easily pinch them and use them for Korea, Suez etc.

It’s a different game than BTH but equally enjoyable. It’s quicker to play and works better for solo games. I think BTH is better for detail but the Wings at War rules are better if you want to avoid playing scenario based games, as it is designed to reflect the conflict whole rather than just individual incidents.

It’s also very affordable..ten quid for the rules and enough planes for a game. All you need are flight stands and a few ground targets.

 

 

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.co.uk

[Jim Jackaman]

http://www.tumblingdiceuk.com/product-category/1600/wings-at-war

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.co.uk

[Darkest Star Games]

Really cool game, though those head-on attacks are always very very dicey.  More Korean war game plans?

It’s nice to see the F9F get some love.  My uncles’ father flew F9Fs in Korea (2s, 5s, and the 6 Cougar), then F-8s in Vietnam as squadron XO and CO.  I always thought that both versions of the F9F made for a great looking fighter plane, just classic.  Heck, they even look good in Argentine grey!

The Wing series really is good.  I quite enjoy the specific changes they make to each set, especially like playing Thud Ridge.  I think, Tony, that you’ll find the games to be less tactically detail oriented than BtH or the CY6 games, but still nuanced.  The aircraft can sometimes feel a little generic as most do not have a lot of statistical difference between them, but some do have special rules.  I think you’ll like the Suez set; Hunters and Sea Venoms and Meteors, yes please!

I believe you can still get the “Desert Spitfire” rules for free to give them a try.  Spits and 109s in postwar Palestine/Israel.

Edit: took a look at Jim’s (awesome) blog and he has a link to the Desert Spitfires!

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Tony S]

Thanks DSG!  I’ll shall hunt down that link and try the rules out.

  I think you’ll like the Suez set; Hunters and Sea Venoms and Meteors, yes please!

That’s actually the attraction – it’s a bit like the pre dreadnought era.  Designers and the military are trying to figure out all this new technology, with some odd dead ends here and there, but I find those evolutionary dodos fascinating!

[Author]

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