278th Squadron "The Same 4 Cats": SM79 Damned Hunchback
278th Squadron "The Same 4 Cats": SM79 Damned Hunchback Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
"The Same 4 Cats" is a solitaire card game. You play a pilot of the 278th Torpedo Squadron of the Italian Regia Aeronautica, flying the SM.79 "Sparviero" torpedo bomber. Across ten missions you launch torpedoes at your targets, repair your aircraft, survive, and aim for the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare, the highest honour of the Italian military.
2.0 Components
2.1 Contents
The game contains one rulebook, one game mat, and 63 cards. The cards are as follows (number of cards in brackets):
- Damage card (1)
- Experience cards (2)
- Medal cards (4)
- Mission cards (13)
- Resolution cards (9)
- Target Ship cards (14)
- Event cards (20)
Important correction: the back of one Mission card and the back of one Target Ship card are swapped, and a correction card is included. Because the face of the correction card has none of the finish that the other cards have, if you prefer, use the card with the error and, when you draw that card, apply the content of the correction card.
2.2 Setup
Place the game mat in front of you. Place the Damage card and the Experience cards on the mat as shown in the diagram. Both cards are placed with "0" facing up. Then build the Mission, Resolution, Target Ship and Event decks as described below.
Mission deck (yellow card backs). At the start of the game, shuffle all Mission cards face down to form a draw pile. For each mission, draw one Mission card from the deck and try to achieve it. A Mission card shows the information in the upper-right diagram of the setup page.
In every mission, the player aims to hit the target ship with a torpedo.
Event deck. At the start of the game, set aside all Event cards to form the Event deck.
Target Ship deck. At the start of the game, set aside all Target Ship cards to form the Target Ship deck.
Resolution cards. Choose cards from here as needed to form a deck.
Distance track. Place the Event cards you draw here one at a time (up to 7). Stack them to the right, starting from "7 (Distance 7)".
Mission track. Place the Mission cards you draw here one at a time (up to 10). Stack them to the right, starting from "1 (first mission)".
Resolution deck (red card backs). When a check is needed, form a resolution deck from a set number of Hit cards and Miss cards. Specifically, the deck is used for: escort by a friendly fighter (4.2), resolving anti-aircraft fire (4.3), enemy fighter attacks (4.4), torpedo attack (4.5), and the repair check (6.0). Rebuild the deck for every check, including the cards that were used in earlier checks.
Target Ship deck (green card backs). At the start of the game, shuffle all Target Ship cards face down to form the deck. The cards depict the ships that were attacked by SM.79 torpedoes during the war. Each Target Ship card shows the ship type, the number and type of Event cards it adds to the Event deck, and some Target Ship cards also print a medal icon that is earned for a hit.
Event deck (blue card backs). At the start of each mission, form the Event deck from the 7 basic cards plus the additional cards from the mission and target ship (see 4.1).
Target ship card area. Place the selected Target Ship card here.
Experience and Damage cards. Set to "0" at the start of the game. When the value changes, rotate the card, or turn it over to show the new value.
Unused cards. Keep cards that are not used or not needed out of the way.
3.0 Campaign
The Mission deck consists of 13 Mission cards. To begin the game, the player draws the top card of the Mission deck, places it face up on the "1" space of the mission track. Each new mission then adds its drawn Mission card in order.
When one mission ends, the player receives Experience and repairs the aircraft. Then the next mission begins. After ten missions in total, decide victory or defeat according to 7.0.
4.0 Missions
A Mission card shows the mission name, the number of Target Ship cards, and the type and number of Event cards to add to the Event deck. Draw Target Ship cards from the Target Ship deck equal to the number of Target Ship icons, and choose one of them as the torpedo target. If you drew several Target Ship cards, turn the cards you did not choose face down and return them to the bottom of the Target Ship deck.
Exception: when the mission is Gibraltar, the aircraft carrier Indomitable cannot be chosen as the target. Also ignore the AA icons on Target Ship cards.
4.1 Event Deck
In every mission, form the basic Event deck from the 7 cards shown on the next page: one Sun, one Clouds, one Waves, two Fly and two Anti-Aircraft Fire (7 cards in total).
Add Event cards for the current mission, target ship and experience. Shuffle the basic 7 cards together with the additional Event cards to form the Event deck, and place it on the play mat.
The player draws the top card of the Event deck, places it face up on the "7" space of the distance track, and resolves the event. Then the player does one of the following:
- Abort the mission (4.6), or
- Retry the mission (4.7), or
- Make the torpedo attack (when at a distance where the target ship can be hit; 4.5), or
- Draw the top card of the Event deck to continue the mission. Place the drawn Event card face up on the next space of the distance track and resolve the event. Repeat this process until the player aborts the mission or makes the torpedo attack.
During one mission the player draws at most nine Event cards: one per distance track space (seven in total), one Escort card, and then, after a torpedo attack, one final card regardless of its result (4.5).
Event deck composition. The diagram on the next page shows the basic Event deck, plus cards added from:
- the icons on the Mission card;
- the icons on the Target Ship card;
- the Fly cards earned from experience (1 or 2 cards).
4.2 Event Cards
The Event deck consists of up to seven kinds of Event card. When you draw an Event card, follow the description below (and 4.3 and 4.4).
Sun. The next time anti-aircraft fire is resolved, reduce by one the Hit cards placed in the resolution deck (anti-aircraft fire becomes harder to hit). The effect is cumulative, but a Sun card's effect applies only to the next anti-aircraft fire.
Waves. When a torpedo attack is resolved during this mission, reduce by one the Hit cards placed in the resolution deck (the torpedo becomes harder to hit). The effect is cumulative.
Clouds. The next anti-aircraft fire card drawn is nullified (treated the same as a Fly card). This card has an effect only on Anti-Aircraft Fire cards.
Important: the effect of a Sun card remains until it is used. For example, if you draw a Sun card, then a Clouds card, and then an Anti-Aircraft Fire card, the Anti-Aircraft Fire card is nullified by the Clouds card. Later, when you draw another Anti-Aircraft Fire card, you can use the Sun card.
Escort (friendly fighter). This is a special card. When you draw it, keep it in front of you, then draw a new Event card and place it on the distance track to resolve the event. If you have an Escort card in hand when you draw an Enemy Fighter card, resolve the attack by the escort fighter:
- Form a resolution deck of 2 Hit cards and 2 Miss cards and draw one at random.
- On a hit, the enemy fighter is shot down. Place the Escort card on top of the Enemy Fighter card, place both on the distance track, and the event is complete.
- On a miss, process the enemy fighter's event (4.4). Then place the Escort card under the Enemy Fighter card and place both on the distance track.
- In either case, the Escort card cannot be used again during this mission.
4.3 Anti-Aircraft Fire Cards
When you draw an Anti-Aircraft Fire card, prepare a resolution deck according to the distance from your aircraft to the target ship. See the Anti-Aircraft Fire table at the back of the rulebook. The number of Hit cards increases with the damage state, and decreases by the number of Sun cards drawn so far. Once the resolution deck is formed, draw one card at random.
Miss. No damage.
Hit. Rotate the Damage card to increase its value by 1. The aircraft can withstand up to four points of damage, but a penalty is added for each point of damage. If the damage reaches 5, the aircraft is shot down!!
The effects of damage are as follows (see also the Damage table at the back):
- Damage 1: no penalty.
- Damage 2: when resolving anti-aircraft fire, add one Hit card to the deck.
- Damage 3: when resolving anti-aircraft fire, add one Hit card to the deck. Torpedo attacks are possible only at distance 1-3.
- Damage 4: when resolving anti-aircraft fire, add one Hit card to the deck. Torpedo attacks are possible only at distance 1-2.
[Translator's note: the printed Damage table at the back gives "Miss card -1" for damage 4, while the printed text above says "add one Hit card" for damage 4. Both are transcribed as printed. The table at the back also lists no torpedo range for damage 2.]
4.4 Enemy Fighter Cards
When you draw an Enemy Fighter card and you do not hold an Escort card, resolve the check with an AA resolution deck of 2 Hit cards and 1 Miss card. No modifiers apply to this deck. Shuffle the deck and draw one card to determine the result. The result is the same as for Anti-Aircraft Fire. If you hold an Escort card, first resolve 4.2.
4.5 Torpedo Attack Resolution
The player's aim is to hit the target ship chosen for each mission with a torpedo. A torpedo attack can be made only once per mission, because the SM.79 carries only one Whitehead torpedo. Prepare the torpedo resolution deck according to the distance at which you attack (see the Torpedo table). If your experience is 8 or more, add one Hit card. If you have drawn Waves cards earlier, reduce the Hit cards by one or two. Shuffle the torpedo resolution deck and draw one card.
Miss. The torpedo fails to fire, or misses because the aim was poor. Place the Target Ship card at the bottom of the Target Ship deck.
Hit. The torpedo hits the target ship. The mission is a success!
Whether or not the torpedo hit, the player must draw one final Event card. If it is not an Anti-Aircraft Fire or Enemy Fighter card, it has no effect. An Enemy Fighter card is resolved as normal. An Anti-Aircraft Fire card is resolved as if fired from the distance of "the torpedo attack distance minus 1".
4.6 Aborting a Mission
After drawing one Event card from the Event deck, the player may abort the mission.
If the player decides to abort, draw one last Event card from the deck. Cards other than Anti-Aircraft Fire or Enemy Fighter have no effect. Resolve Anti-Aircraft Fire and Enemy Fighter cards as normal. Then proceed to the experience step (5.0).
4.7 Retrying a Mission
If you have not yet made a torpedo attack, the player may retry the mission.
If the player decides to retry, draw one last Event card from the deck. Cards other than Anti-Aircraft Fire or Enemy Fighter have no effect. Resolve Anti-Aircraft Fire and Enemy Fighter cards as normal. If you are not shot down, restart the mission from distance "7". Shuffle the Event deck again, including all cards drawn so far. In a retried mission, remove one Miss card from the anti-aircraft resolution deck. A mission may be retried only once, and a retried mission may also be aborted. Damage carries over. Retrying a mission does not change your experience.
Designer's note: a retry represents re-plotting the torpedo course. After drawing two Waves cards, for example, a retry may be the right choice.
5.0 Experience
During one mission, if you advance to distance 4 or beyond (1-3 on the track), you gain one Experience point at the end of the mission, before repairing. Rotate the Experience card to increase its value by 1.
6.0 Damage
Each time the aircraft takes damage, the anti-aircraft resolution deck and the possible torpedo distances are affected. See the Damage table.
At the end of each mission, after gaining experience, the player may attempt to repair damage taken from anti-aircraft fire or enemy fighters. Form a resolution deck according to the Repair table and draw one card at random.
Miss. Repair not possible (due to a lack of parts or time).
Hit. Repair 1 point. Reduce the value of the Damage card by 1.
When repairs are finished, the next mission begins.
7.0 Victory and Defeat
If you complete ten missions without being shot down, the player wins. At the end of each mission, use the Medal table to check whether you have been decorated. Place any Medal card you earn on the game mat.
Have you earned the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare, the highest medal?
Medal table (功績表).
| Medal | Cumulative hits (ships) |
|---|---|
| Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare (戦功十字章, Cross of War Merit) | 3-4 |
| Medaglia di Bronzo al Valor Militare (戦功銅勲章, Bronze Medal of Military Valour) | 5-6 |
| Medaglia di Argento al Valor Militare (戦功銀勲章, Silver Medal of Military Valour) | 7-8 |
| Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare (戦功金勲章, Gold Medal of Military Valour) | 9 or more |
The Japanese medal names are transcribed as printed in the rulebook. The English names in parentheses are translations of the Japanese names.
Play Example
The following example is the player's third mission. So far the player has gained 2 Experience and has 0 Damage points. In the previous two missions, the player hit the heavy cruiser (CA) Liverpool and the tanker Turbo with torpedoes. One more ship hit would earn the lowest-rank medal, the Croce di Guerra.
The card drawn from the Mission deck is "Convoy Chase". The Target Ship cards are two, and it adds one Waves card, one Clouds card, one Escort card and two Enemy Fighter cards to the Event deck. Drawing two Target Ship cards, the player found the aircraft was undamaged, so the player chose the large Indomitable (aircraft carrier) as the target. The Mission card is placed on the "3" space of the mission track. The Indomitable is placed in the Target Ship box, and the unchosen Manchester is returned to the bottom of the Target Ship deck.
The Event deck is the basic set of 7 cards (Sun, Waves, Clouds one each, and Anti-Aircraft Fire and Fly two each), plus from the Mission card one Clouds, one Waves, one Escort and two Enemy Fighter cards, and from the Target Ship card three Anti-Aircraft Fire cards and two Enemy Fighter cards. The 17 cards are shuffled to form the Event deck, which is placed in the Event deck area of the game mat. The mission is now ready.
The first Event card drawn was an Enemy Fighter. It was placed on the "7" space of the distance track. Regardless of distance, a resolution deck of 2 Hit cards and 1 Miss card is formed. The player drew a Hit. The Damage card is rotated to show "1" on top. Damage has no effect yet.
The player decided to continue the mission and drew the next Event card. It was Clouds, which makes the next Anti-Aircraft Fire card drawn ineffective. The Clouds card was placed on the "6" space of the distance track.
The next Event card was an Escort card. The player keeps it in hand and draws a replacement card from the deck. It was a Fly card, which was placed on the "5" space.
The next Event card was Anti-Aircraft Fire. It was placed on the "4" space. Normally the Anti-Aircraft Fire would be resolved at distance 4 (one Hit card and three Miss cards), but because of the Clouds card drawn at distance 6, this Anti-Aircraft Fire is nullified.
The next Event card was Waves. It was placed on the "3" space. It is not a good card, but it is better than Anti-Aircraft Fire.
The player continued the mission and drew the Event card at distance 2, which was Anti-Aircraft Fire! At distance 2 the resolution deck consists of 2 Hit cards and 1 Miss card. The player drew a Hit. The total damage is now 2, and until the aircraft is repaired one Hit card is added to the Anti-Aircraft Fire resolution deck.
Since two Anti-Aircraft Fire cards have already been drawn, and an Enemy Fighter may still be drawn while the Escort is in hand, the player decided to close to distance 1. The Event card at distance 1 was an Enemy Fighter! The Escort resolves the attack with a resolution deck of 2 Hit cards and 2 Miss cards. The player drew a Hit and succeeded in neutralising the Enemy Fighter. It is time to release the torpedo.
At distance 1, the resolution deck is 3 Hit cards and 1 Miss card. But because a Waves card was drawn, one Hit card is removed. The player drew... a Miss. Worst of all.
The last Event card drawn after the torpedo attack was Clouds.
In this mission the aircraft took 2 points of damage and the torpedo did not hit, but the aircraft advanced past distance 4, so it gained 1 Experience (total 3). The Experience card is adjusted. Then the repair is checked. Because this is the third mission, the player forms a resolution deck of 4 Hit cards and 2 Miss cards. The player drew a Hit and repaired 1 point. The Damage card is rotated to show "1" on top.
With that, the third mission is over, and the player now faces the fourth mission.
Card Notes
Supplementary notes on the cards. For historical background, see the article in this magazine.
Mission cards
| Name | Target ships | Additional Events | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Africa | 1 | Sun / Clouds | An attack in the direction of Alexandria |
| North Africa | 1 | Sun | An attack in the direction of Tobruk |
| North Africa | 1 | Sun / Enemy Fighter | An attack in the direction of Algeria |
| Aegean Sea | 2 | Waves / Escort / Enemy Fighter 2 | An attack in the direction of the island of Crete |
| Aegean Sea | 1 | Waves / Enemy Fighter 1 | An attack in the direction of the island of Crete |
| Convoy Chase | 2 | Waves / Clouds / Escort / Enemy Fighter 2 |
Note: the printed table lists Free Chase as "2枚" (2 cards) on a single row, which makes 14 Mission entries against the 13 Mission cards in 2.1. Transcribed as printed.
Target Ship cards
The printed heading of this table reads 任務カード (Mission card). Its contents are the Target Ship cards, so the heading is transcribed as printed and the entries are read as Target Ship cards.
| Name | Ship type | Additional Events | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indomitable | Aircraft carrier | Anti-Aircraft Fire 3 / Enemy Fighter 2 | Silver medal (戦功銀勲章) |
| Nelson | Battleship | Anti-Aircraft Fire 3 | Silver medal (戦功銀勲章) |
| Manchester | Heavy cruiser | Anti-Aircraft Fire 3 | - |
| Kent | Heavy cruiser | Anti-Aircraft Fire 3 | - |
| Glasgow | Light cruiser | Anti-Aircraft Fire 3 | 戦功動勲章 (as printed; this is not one of the four medal names in 7.0, which lists 戦功銅勲章) |
| Liverpool | Light cruiser | Anti-Aircraft Fire 2 |
Note: the printed table lists 13 ship rows against 14 Target Ship cards in 2.1. Transcribed as printed.
Event cards
| Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Waves | When a torpedo attack is resolved, reduce by one the Hit cards in the resolution deck. Waves card effects are cumulative. |
| Clouds | The next Anti-Aircraft Fire card drawn is nullified. |
| Sun | The next time anti-aircraft fire is resolved, reduce by one the Hit cards in the resolution deck. Sun card effects are cumulative. |
| Fly | No event. |
| Anti-Aircraft Fire (AA) | Resolve anti-aircraft fire. See the Anti-Aircraft Fire table. |
| Enemy Fighter | Attacks with (2 Hit + 1 Miss). |
| Escort | Kept in hand. When an Enemy Fighter appears, attacks with a (2 Hit + 2 Miss) deck, and if it hits, the Enemy Fighter is nullified. Can be used once. |
Flowchart
The printed flowchart, transcribed as its labelled steps.
- Game start: build the Mission deck and the Target Ship deck.
- Mission start: draw one Mission card. Choose one target from the Target Ship cards drawn, equal in number to the Target Ship icons on the Mission card.
- Build the Event deck.
- Draw one Event card and resolve it. If it is Anti-Aircraft Fire or Enemy Fighter, resolve that attack.
- Decision after each Event card: Abort the mission? / Retry? / Torpedo attack? / Continue (approach the target)?
- Torpedo attack: resolve the torpedo.
- Mission end: Gain Experience, then Repair check, then Next mission.
Legend (as printed):
- Sun: the next anti-aircraft fire resolution, Hit card -1 (the legend prints 成功, success, for Hit).
- Waves: torpedo attack resolution, Hit card -1.
- Clouds: the next anti-aircraft fire card is nullified.
- Escort: against an Enemy Fighter, attack with (2 Hit + 2 Miss).
- Anti-Aircraft Fire: resolve by distance.
- Enemy Fighter: (2 Hit + 1 Miss) attack.
- Fly: no event.
- An Event card is drawn and anti-aircraft fire or enemy fighter attacks are resolved accordingly (marked by the burst symbol).
Reference Tables
Anti-Aircraft Fire table (対空射撃表).
| Distance | Hit cards | Miss cards* | Sun cards | Damage state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-1 | 3 | 1 | Hit -1/-2 | Hit +1, or Miss -1 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Hit -1/-2 | Hit +1, or Miss -1 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | Hit -1/-2 | Hit +1, or Miss -1 |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | Hit -1/-2 | Hit +1, or Miss -1 |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | Hit -1/-2 | Hit +1, or Miss -1 |
* When a mission is retried, Miss cards -1.
As printed, the Sun-card and Damage-state cells are merged across distances 0-5, so the entries above are repeated for each row to show that they apply to the whole block.
Torpedo table (雷撃表).
| Distance | Hit cards | Miss cards | Waves cards | Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Hit -1/-2 | Experience 8+: Hit +1 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Hit -1/-2 | Experience 8+: Hit +1 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | Hit -1/-2 | Experience 8+: Hit +1 |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | Hit -1/-2 | Experience 8+: Hit +1 |
| 5-7 | Out of range: torpedo attack not possible |
As printed, the Waves and Experience cells are merged across distances 1-4, so the entries above are repeated for each row.
Escort attack: Hit 2 + Miss 2. Enemy Fighter attack: Hit 2 + Miss 1.
Damage table (損傷表).
| Damage | Anti-aircraft resolution deck | Torpedo distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - |
| 2 | Hit card +1 | - |
| 3 | Hit card +1 | Distance 1-2-3 |
| 4 | Miss card -1 | Distance 1-2 |
| 5 | Shot down!! |
Repair table (修理表).
| Missions | Hit cards | Miss cards |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 3 | 1 |
| 3-5 | 4 | 2 |
| 6-7 | 3 | 2 |
| 8-9 | 2 | 2 |
Experience table (経験値表).
| Experience | Added to Event deck |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | None |
| 3-5 | Fly card +1 |
| 6-7 | Fly card +2 |
| 8-10 | Fly card +2 / Hit card +1 on torpedo attacks |
Medal table (功績表). See 7.0.