303 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Elements of the Game
• Preparing to Play the Game
• The Aim of the Game
• The Rounds of the Game
• The End of the Game
• Fuel Gauge
• The Fighters
  • The move phase
  • The shot phase
  • Determining the outcome of a shot
  • The end of the duel
• The Bomber
  • The bomber's shot
  • The bomber's move
  • Shooting down the bomber
• Example of Play
• Damage and Repairs

Elements of the Game

• Game board based on the RAF Fighter Command Headquarters plotting table
• 12 double-sided tokens representing aircraft: 6 RAF fighters, 5 Luftwaffe fighters, 1 Luftwaffe bomber
• 3 shoot dice whose sides represent, respectively: 1 x British Royal Air Force, 1 x Czechoslovak Air Force (within the RAF), 1 x Polish Air Force, 3 x Luftwaffe
• 12 shot markers
• Fuel consumption indicator with fastener

Preparing to Play the Game

1. Spread the game board in the center of the table.
2. Choose the sides of the conflict you will play on. The RAF player sits at the north end of the map; the Luftwaffe player sits at the south end.
3. Position the aircraft as demonstrated in the diagram.
4. The RAF aircraft positioned outside the map represent the Polish pilots and will be introduced into the battle at the Northolt airfield during the course of the game.
5. Place the fuel consumption indicator on the first mark of the fuel gauge.
6. Place the shot markers and dice next to the game board within easy reach of both players.

The Aim of the Game

The aim of the game is different for each player. Luftwaffe's aim is to bomb London. To succeed, the German bomber must reach one of the three fields representing London. RAF's aim is to prevent the raid by shooting down the bomber or delaying its flight towards London.

The Rounds of the Game

During combat, the pilots of the 303 Squadron demonstrated excellent reflexes and powers of observation, as well as nerves of steel. But before coming to sit in the cockpits of fighter planes, the pilots learned discipline in the tough "Eaglets' School" in Dęblin near Warsaw. Learning the rules of the game will require a time investment. However, if you persevere, you, too, may become a flying ace.

The game is divided into eight rounds. Every round is marked off by means of the fuel consumption indicator on the fuel gauge in the top right-hand corner of the board.

Every round consists of eight phases. Before the first air duel takes place, only phases 2, 4, 6, and 8 are played.

1. Possible repairs of Luftwaffe fighters (p. 13).
2. Luftwaffe fighters' moves (p. 7).
3. Luftwaffe fighters' (p. 7-9) and bomber's shots (p. 10).
4. Bomber's move (p. 10).
5. Possible repairs of RAF fighters (p. 13).
6. RAF fighters' moves (p. 7).
7. RAF fighters' shots (pp. 7-9).
8. Moving the fuel consumption indicator and, in rounds 4 and 6, positioning one more plane at the Northolt airfield (p. 6).

The End of the Game

"303" has three possible endings:

a) Luftwaffe wins if the bomber pilot succeeds in bombing London, i.e. putting the bomber token on one of the three fields representing London. b) RAF wins if the pilots manage to shoot down the bomber. c) RAF also wins if, for eight rounds, its pilots manage to keep the bomber from reaching London.

Fuel Gauge

One of the greatest problems faced by the Germans during the Battle of Britain was the limited flying range of their fighters. So as not to run out of fuel, the Luftwaffe had to avoid long confrontations with RAF fighters, or to simply give up fighter protection for bombers attacking targets in the interior of Great Britain. This gave the allies the strategic advantage of having airfields close at hand.

Fuel consumption is marked off at the end of every round on the fuel gauge in the corner of the board. At the end of the round, the RAF player moves the fuel consumption indicator to the next mark. When the indicator reaches the red mark (in rounds 4 and 6), RAF gains one plane, which is then immediately positioned at the Northolt airfield. If an aircraft token is already positioned on the field representing Northolt, the newly produced plane has to be shifted to another airfield. If all airfields are occupied by aircraft tokens, the RAF loses the latest supply of equipment.

The Fighters

Both the British and the German fighters were fast and maneuverable. Given the enemy's numerical advantage, the classic surprise attack from above, from the direction of the sun, was the most effective. 303 Squadron pilots often attacked by approaching the German aircraft close enough "to see the whites of the enemy's eyes". This increased their shooting accuracy and force, but, having fired, they needed to make a sudden turn to avoid collision. In the course of such duels, which took place at the speed of 500 km per hour, within a split second one might find oneself in the thick of battle or far away from the fighting. Since many individual air duels took place simultaneously, one never knew where the next attack was coming from, or where to look for the enemy.

The move phase

During a single round every fighter may, but is not required to, move one, two, or three fields in any direction. Aircraft cannot fly over or stop on a field already occupied by another aircraft token. During the move phase, an unlimited number of aircraft can fly through an empty field.

The players decide on the order of moving the fighters, but they must remember that once all the aircraft have been moved and the shot phase begins the tokens must remain in place.

The shot phase

During a single round, one fighter can only attack one enemy aircraft, but an attack can be carried out by means of two or more aircraft. The outcome of an attack is determined by rolling the dice. Note: the farther the aircraft flies, the less time remains for shooting. This means that after moving three fields a fighter cannot shoot (and, consequently, it cannot fly past the attacker - see p. 9). If the aircraft has moved two fields, the pilot can shoot by rolling one die. Having moved one field, the pilot can roll two dice. If the aircraft did not need to be moved because the enemy aircraft was in an adjacent field, the player can roll all three dice (see diagram).

Since the players can only roll the dice after moving all the fighters, remembering who is to shoot at whom and with what force can be tricky (particularly when the player has decided to put all the planes into action). To make matters easier, the game comes equipped with 12 shot markers. During the move phase you may put the appropriate number of shot markers on top of the attacking plane to remind you how many dice to roll. After carrying out the shots in the desired order, remove the shot markers from the attacking planes. Although using the markers is optional, it does help to carry out complex attacks.

Determining the outcome of a shot

Dice are thrown to determine the outcome of a shot. When you throw the symbol of your own air force on a die - the cross in the case of the Luftwaffe, or one of the allied forces' symbols in the case of the RAF - you have a hit. The token of the fighter which has been hit should then be turned to the "damaged" side. Two hits mean that the plane has been shot down and is removed from the game. Extra shots do not count. You can see examples of shot outcomes in the diagram.

The end of the duel

Duels between fighters were very dynamic and the situation in the air changed every few seconds. Sometimes, caught up in their deadly duels, the pilots would fly almost at ground level. Civilians watching these maneuvers from the ground would often respond with ovations when a German machine went down in flames.

Though this part of the game may initially cause the players some problems, it does effectively show the dynamic nature of air battles.

After firing a shot, the aircraft passes its target and, irrespective of the outcome of the encounter, it has to fly to the opposite field. The diagram shows the situation when, having shot down a Messerschmitt, the RAF player flies to the other side of the fallen machine.

When another plane, or the edge of the board, is located across from the target, choose one of the two fields adjacent to both the target and the field across from the target (fields 2 or 3 in the diagram). If these fields are also occupied, choose one of the two fields adjacent both to the target and the field from which the shot was taken (fields 4 or 5). If all five fields adjacent to the target are occupied, the plane, after firing, does not move (and remains in field 6).

If more than one aircraft declares the intention to shoot at the same target and the target is hit in the first attack, all the attacking aircraft make the obligatory move of flying to the opposite side of the target.

The Bomber

Many fighters were sent out to escort a single bomber, since bombers were slower and less maneuverable. But even without an escort bombers were not entirely defenseless. Gunners shooting from the bomber could force an enemy pilot to jump out of a burning machine.

The bomber's shot

The bomber shoots by rolling only one shooting dice, and, unlike the fighter, does not fly to the other side of the adversary after firing. The bomber shoots during the same phase as the fighters, but it makes its move only after all the outcomes of all the shots have been determined, i.e. in the next phase.

The bomber's move

The bomber's move is the last action in the Luftwaffe player's round. It may move at the rate of one or two fields per round.

Shooting down the bomber

Since the bomber is a heavily armored aircraft, to be shot down it must be hit at least twice in one round. It may be hit by more than one aircraft. If the bomber is only hit once during a round, nothing happens. If it is hit twice during a round, the game automatically ends. Hits from previous rounds do not count in subsequent rounds.

Example of Play

The diagram shows the climactic moment of an exemplary game (phase 6). After making a move in phase 2, the Luftwaffe bomber was unable to shoot at the allied fighters though it came within their shooting range. The RAF player decided on a frontal attack involving all four aircraft. Note that aircraft 1 and 2 are attacking one target together.

In phase 7, fighters 1 and 2 succeeded in damaging the Messerschmitt. Aircraft 3 has hit twice and thus eliminated the enemy machine from the game. Pilot 4 has missed. Note the positions of the RAF aircraft following the confrontation. In phase 8, the RAF player moves the fuel consumption indicator to the next mark.

The Luftwaffe player opens the next round of the game. In phase 2, this player counter-attacks using all undamaged aircraft (1, 3, 4, 5). The damaged machine 2 is retreated from the battlefield.

During the Luftwaffe shot phase (phase 3), fighter 1 scores one hit and manages to damage an RAF machine. Aircraft 3 has missed. Thanks to the joint effort of fighter 4 and bomber 5 the Luftwaffe player has managed to shoot down a Hurricane. During its move phase, however, the bomber has to veer from its course set on London.

What are the RAF's chances of ending the game during this round?

Damage and Repairs

During the Battle of Britain, teams of mechanics performed miracles to make the bullet-torn machines combat-ready once more in the shortest time possible.

If a fighter is hit during a confrontation, the aircraft's token must be turned upside down. Damaged fighter can no longer fight and attack other aircraft, but it is not lost provided the player manages to repair it on the home airfield.

To repair a damaged aircraft, the move must end at the airfield. In the next round, the aircraft can be turned to the "undamaged" side.

An aircraft undergoing repairs may be attacked by an enemy aircraft.

Once repaired, an aircraft is ready for further action. In the diagram, a newly repaired RAF fighter shoots with full force at an enemy aircraft in the adjacent field. Only one aircraft can occupy the airfield at a time.