Dogfight!: Rule The Skies in 20 Minutes!
Dogfight!: Rule The Skies in 20 Minutes! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Dogfight Mode (standard)
- 9 different coloured Biplanes
- 9 Player aids
- 1 double-sided Main board
- 138 Movement tiles, split into 9 coloured sets
- 2 Player bags
- 15 Damage cubes
- 2 Player screens
Advanced Scenarios
- 5 Enemy Factory tiles
- 5 Airfield tiles
- 5 Enemy Site tiles
- 5 Objective tiles
- 1 Land tile
- 1 Take Off tile
- 6 Movement tiles (for the malfunctioning Biplane, Escort scenario)
Solo Play
- 1 Solo Player aid
Overview
Dogfight is a 2-player game where you are daring World War I ace pilots duelling each other across the sky. Your aim is to get behind your opponent and hit them enough times to shoot them down. The game is over after 3 rounds or when one Biplane has been shot down.
The game can be played in a number of ways. We will first explain the standard 'Dogfight' mode, please start by learning this game before moving on to any of the advanced scenarios, explained on page 14 onwards.
Setup
- Place the Main board in the centre of the play area, with the side showing the single coloured path, face up.
- One player takes the red Biplane, the matching player aid, and the red Movement tiles.
- The other the blue Biplane, the matching player aid, and the blue Movement tiles.
- Both players take a player screen and place it in front of themselves.
- Each player should place their Biplane on a different starting space, marked with a starting-space icon, on the Main board.
- Each player should place their Player aid to the side of the Main board closest to themselves.
- Each player takes a player bag and places all of their Movement tiles in it.
- Each player draws 6 Movement tiles and secretly places them behind their screen so they are hidden from the other player.
Player aids
The Player aid tracks your Biplane's damage and shooting capability:
- A. Damage section: every time your Biplane is hit, place Damage cubes here from left to right.
- B. Total amount of damage that the Biplane can do with all its Movement tiles.
- C. Total number of Movement tiles in the bag that can be used to shoot.
- D. If a damage cube is placed on the rightmost space, the Biplane has been shot down.
- E. Number of tiles in the set at each value.
- F. How many tiles of each value can shoot and the amount of damage they deal.
Movement tiles
The red and blue Biplanes have a different distribution of Movement tiles.
Gameplay
The game is played over a maximum of 3 rounds or until one of the Biplanes has been shot down. If a Biplane is shot down, the game ends immediately and the surviving player is declared the winner! If you complete the 5th turn of the 3rd round and both Biplanes have not been shot down, the game is over and the player who has taken fewer hits is the winner. If both Biplanes have taken the same amount of damage, the game is declared a draw.
Each round you both play up to 5 turns.
Each turn consists of 2 phases:
- Planning and Movement
- Shooting
Planning and Movement
Simultaneously choose one tile to play from behind your player screen and reveal it. Move your Biplane a number of spaces equal to the value of the tile you played. The Biplane must follow the direction of the arrows around the white path (except when Looping the Loop, see below). Each circle counts as one space and the colour is important for shooting, see the Shooting section. Biplanes may move past one another and even finish on the same space, every space is always counted when moving.
Place your played tile on the next available red square, on the side of the board nearest your player aid. This helps track the number of turns that have been played.
IMPORTANT: the Exit path (blue) is only used for advanced scenarios; ignore it when playing a dogfight game.
Example: Red plays a 1 and blue plays a 4.
Loop the Loop
The '3' Movement tiles are special as they may be used in 2 ways:
- Move 3 spaces along the white path as normal.
- Move 3 spaces including along a dotted 'loop' path.
You must decide in advance which way you wish to use the tile by playing it showing your selected side. To loop the loop you must be able to use the 3 movement to reach the spaces on the loop path, if you cannot, you must play the tile showing its normal side. You may end your turn on a space on a loop path, next turn you may play any tile to complete the loop, moving as normal.
Example: Blue plays a '3' Movement tile and chooses to move along the purple loop path and moves 3 spaces around the loop, finishing 1 space behind their starting spot.
Shooting
To shoot your opponent all three of the following statements must be true:
- Your Biplane must be behind theirs (see below).
- Both Biplanes must be on spaces of the same colour.
- You must play a Movement tile showing at least one hit symbol.
Being Behind
A Biplane is considered to be behind if there is between 1 and 3 spaces between that Biplane and the one ahead in an anticlockwise direction. If both Biplanes are in the same spot or they are separated by exactly 4 spaces, then neither Biplane is considered to be behind.
Coloured Spaces
Most of the spaces on the Main board are white. You may only be shot at by a Biplane on a space that shows the same colour as the space you are on. There are a number of other coloured spaces that work slightly differently.
- A Biplane on the brown space may not shoot at or be shot by another Biplane.
- A Biplane on the purple space may shoot a Biplane on the white/purple space but cannot be shot at. A Biplane on the purple/white space may only shoot a Biplane on a white space but may be shot at by a Biplane on a white or purple space.
- A Biplane on the blue/white space may shoot a Biplane on a white space or a blue space and may only be shot at by a Biplane on a white space. A Biplane on a blue space may only shoot a Biplane on a blue space but may be shot at by a Biplane on a blue space or the blue/white space.
Shooting (continued)
If a shoot is successful, you deal a number of hits equal to the number of hit symbols shown on the tile you played. Your opponent must place that many Damage cubes on the Damage section of their Player aid, placing each cube in the leftmost empty space. If you place a Damage cube on the rightmost space, the Biplane has been shot down and your opponent wins the game!
Example: The red Biplane is behind the blue one and the red player played a tile showing 2 hits. The blue player places 2 Damage cubes on the blue player aid.
End of a turn
Once both players have moved and had the chance to resolve a shooting, the turn is over. You do not draw any more tiles, and must therefore select a new tile from those remaining behind your player screen.
End of the round
After the 5th turn, the round is over. If this was the 3rd round the game is now over, see below. If the game has not ended, stack the 5 Movement tiles you played into one pile, with the most recently placed tile on top, face up, and set it aside. At the end of the first round, draw 5 new Movement tiles from your bag and add them to the tile that remains behind your screen. At the end of the second round draw all your remaining Movement tiles from your bag and add them to the tile that remains behind your screen.
End of the game
The game may end in one of two ways:
- If one Biplane is shot down, the game ends immediately and the surviving player is declared the winner!
- If it's the end of the 3rd round and both Biplanes have not been shot down, the player who has taken fewer hits is the winner. If both Biplanes have taken the same amount of damage after 3 rounds, the game is declared a draw.
Advanced Gameplay
Alternative Board
The other side of the board has a different layout and is more tactical. The main path is divided into 2 colours; the upper part is white and the lower part is green. Biplanes on opposite sides will not be able to shoot each other unless they are in two-coloured spots, as explained in the Coloured Spaces section.
You can play the same rules as used in Dogfight on the alternative board or use it with the Advanced Scenarios detailed below.
The Other Biplanes
Once you are familiar with the red and blue Biplanes you may try swapping them for any of the following:
Green Biplane: No special rules, just a different distribution of Movement tiles. This Biplane has lots of tiles with low and high values, but it is very limited on using loops.
Yellow Biplane: No special rules, just a different distribution of Movement tiles. This Biplane is very agile, with lots of tiles for looping but is shot down with only 6 hits instead of 7.
Black Biplane: You have a total of 18 Movement tiles, and you draw 7 tiles instead of 6 at the beginning of the game. At the end of the 1st and 2nd round you carry the remaining tiles (if any) to the next round and refill to 7 (if possible). Each time you are hit, remove 1 Movement tile from behind your screen from the game. If you have no tiles remaining behind your screen, instead remove a tile at random from your bag. If you don't have any Movement tiles behind your screen to play on your turn, you must re-use the most recently played tile as if you had just played it.
White Biplane: You may mulligan your hand at the beginning of the game. You may discard as many tiles as you want from your starting set, redraw the same number, and put the discarded ones back into your bag. If you play 2 consecutive 0 Movement tiles, your Biplane crashes and you lose the game! If your Biplane is 1 or 2 spaces behind your opponent, they must reveal their next Movement tile before you choose yours.
Brown Biplane: You may mulligan your hand at the beginning of the Game. You may discard as many tiles as you want from your starting set, redraw the same number, and put the discarded ones back into your bag. The played tile after a '0' must be either a 1 or a 2; if you can't play one of these 2 tiles the Biplane crashes and you lose the game! The corresponding White Biplane's Movement tiles show a hit icon to remind you of this. This Biplane is shot down with only 6 hits instead of 7.
Purple Biplane: This Biplane allows you to play with a hand of 7 Movement tiles. At the end of the 1st and 2nd round you carry the remaining 2 tiles into the next round. In the 3rd round you'll have only 5 Movement tiles remaining. You may only shoot your opponent if you are behind by 1 or 2 spaces.
Grey Biplane: If you play a Movement tile with 3 hits, the gun becomes jammed! To unjam the gun you must play a Movement tile with 0 hits. Whilst the gun is jammed you must ignore all hits on any Movement tiles you play. This Biplane is shot down with only 6 hits instead of 7.
Advanced Scenarios
In each of the 4 Advanced Scenarios one player will be set a specific mission. The other player's task is to stop that player from achieving their mission. The alternative board, with the white and green paths, makes it easier for the player with the mission. Players must agree which side of the board they wish to use for any game before they start.
Regardless of your chosen Biplane, you may mulligan your hand at the beginning of the game. You may discard as many tiles as you want from your starting set, redraw the same number, and put the discarded ones back into your bag.
Except for the 'Escort' scenario, all the scenarios are not limited to 3 rounds. If at the end of the 3rd round neither player has won, return all Movement tiles to the player bags and start a new round as if it were the 1st round. If playing with the Black Biplane, you must remove a number of tiles at random from the bag equal to the number of hits you have taken, before drawing your new tiles at the beginning of the 4th round.
In all the scenarios one player must get their Biplane past the 'Exit' space to win. Whilst on the blue spaces they may still be shot at by the other player, providing they are also on a blue or blue/white space.
Espionage
One player acts as the spy and the other as the defender. The goal of the spy is to take photos of 4 Enemy sites while the goal of the defender is to shoot down the spy before they can do that.
Setup
Place the 5 Enemy Site tiles face up (2 cameras) in the 5 designated spots. Choose one player to be the spy. They must choose one of the following Biplanes: red, brown, black, or white. The defender may choose any of the 8 remaining Biplanes. They then choose a starting space to place their chosen Biplane on. The spy places their Biplane on the remaining starting space. The spy's Biplane starts with 1 damage, so place 1 Damage cube on the player aid to show this. If they selected the black Biplane, they do not lose a Movement tile as a result of this damage.
Gameplay
If the spy's Biplane stops at an Enemy Site tile when playing a '0' or a '1': they take a perfect photo. Remove that tile from the game.
If the spy's Biplane stops at an Enemy Site tile when playing a '2': they take a blurred photo. If the Enemy Site tile is face up, turn it over to show its 1 camera side. If it already shows 1 camera, remove the tile from the game.
Winning the game
If at least 4 Enemy Site tiles have been removed, the spy must now exit from the board by moving through the Exit space on the board. If they do so, the spy wins the game!
The spy's Biplane is not armed, so it cannot shoot the defender.
The defender wins if they shoot down the spy's Biplane before it Exits from the board.
Bombing
One player acts as the bomber and the other as the defender. The goal of the bomber is to bomb the 4 Enemy Factory tiles while the goal of the defender is to shoot down the bomber before they can do that.
Setup
Place the 5 Enemy Factory tiles on the matching 5 spots at random. Choose one player to be the bomber. They must choose one of the following Biplanes: brown, yellow, black, or purple. The defender may choose any of the 8 remaining Biplanes. They then choose a starting space to place their chosen Biplane on. The bomber then places their Biplane on the remaining starting space.
Gameplay
If the bomber's Biplane stops at an Enemy Factory tile by playing a Movement tile matching the number shown on that Enemy Factory tile, they destroy the target. Remove the Enemy Factory tile from the game.
The defender is tougher and it takes 1 more hit to be shot down than normal. Place the first Damage cube to the left of the Player aid.
Winning the game
If at least 4 Enemy Factory tiles have been removed, the bomber must now exit from the board by moving through the 'Exit' space on the board. If they do so, the bomber wins the game! The bomber can also win the game by shooting down the defender as normal.
The defender wins if they shoot down the bomber's Biplane before it Exits from the board.
If the Bomber destroys 4 Enemy Factory tiles but it is shot down before exiting the board, the game ends in a draw.
Rescue
One player acts as the rescuer and the other as defender. The Goal of the rescuer is to rescue people while the goal of the defender is to shoot down their Biplane before they can do that.
Setup
Place the 5 Airfield tiles in the matching 5 spots at random. The rescuer player may choose either the brown or white Biplane. The defender may choose any of the 8 remaining Biplanes. Place the Biplane on one of the two starting spaces. The rescuer places their Biplane on the remaining starting space.
The rescuer shuffles the Objective tiles to form a face down stack and draws 1 tile in secret. Keep the drawn tile behind the player screen. The selected Objective tile shows a number which represents the target airfield where they have to land to rescue the person.
The rescuer takes the 'Land' and 'Take Off' tiles. Place the tiles next to the player aid.
Gameplay
To rescue a person the rescuer must land on the target Airfield tile by playing a '0' or a '1'. Whenever the rescuer plays a '0' or '1' tile and ends their movement at an Airfield, they must place the 'Land' tile next to their location as a reminder they might have landed at that Airfield. Whilst landed the Movement tiles the rescuer plays have different effects:
- '0' - No effect. The rescuer remains at the Airfield.
- '1' or '2' - Take Off! If this airfield matches the Objective tile, the rescuer has successfully rescued the person and now takes off. Remove the Airfield tile and place the 'Take Off' tile next to that location as a reminder. Keep the Airfield tile to one side until the end of the game. They then move a number of spaces as normal. If the airfield does not match the objective the rescuer just moves as normal. At the beginning of their next turn they place both the 'Land' and 'Take Off' tiles back next to their player aid.
- '3' or higher - Abort! The rescuer takes off and retrieves the 'Land' tile immediately. They may choose to do this if the Airfield matched the Objective tile or not. This may have been a bluff to deceive the defender or they consider the rescue too dangerous at this time. The person is not rescued and play continues as normal.
End of the round
At the end of each round, if the game is not over, the rescuer must draw 1 Objective tile.
Winning the game
The rescuer may choose to exit the game as soon as they have rescued at least 1 person, however the result is determined by the number of people they rescued:
- 1 person rescued - the game ends in a draw
- 2 people rescued - the rescuer wins
- 3 people rescued - the rescuer wins a major victory!
The rescuer may also end the game by shooting down the defender as normal, but the result is determined by the number of people rescued as outlined above (if no people were rescued, the defender wins the game).
The defender wins if they shoot down the rescuer's Biplane before it Exits from the board.
The defender is tougher and it takes 1 more hit to be shot down than normal. Place the first Damage cube to the left of the Player aid.
Escort
One player acts as an escort for a 3rd malfunctioning biplane while the attacker needs to shoot that Biplane down.
Setup
The escort player chooses a Biplane for themselves and also collects the malfunctioning Biplane, its Player aid and Movement tiles. Place the 6 Movement tiles for the malfunctioning Biplane behind your player screen.
The escorting Biplane starts with 1 damage, place one Damage cube on the leftmost space of your player aid. If the Black Biplane is the escort Biplane, you do not lose a tile.
The attacker chooses a starting space to place their Biplane. The escort player places both their Biplane and the malfunctioning Biplane on the remaining starting space.
Gameplay
During the Planning and Movement Phase the escort player must also choose a Movement tile for the malfunctioning Biplane which is revealed at the same time. The chosen malfunctioning Biplane Movement tile remains face up next to their selected tile and can't be used again that round.
The escort Biplane moves using its selected Movement tile, as normal. The malfunctioning Biplane however moves based on the combined movement value of both selected tiles. To determine the combined movement value, add or take away the number indicated on the Movement tile for the malfunctioning Biplane from the Movement tile selected for the escort. If the combined movement value is negative, consider it to instead be a 0.
Example 1: The escort plays a '5' for themselves and '-2' tile for the malfunctioning Biplane. The escort Biplane moves 5 spaces. The combined movement value is 3, so the malfunctioning Biplane moves 3.
Example 2: The escort plays a '1' for themselves and '-2' tile for the malfunctioning Biplane. The escort Biplane moves 1 space. The combined movement value is -1 (considered to be 0), so the malfunctioning Biplane does not move.
If the escort starts on, travels around, or ends on a loop, the malfunctioning Biplane must also follow the same loop if possible.
Malfunctioning Biplane Movement tiles that show a hit symbol, allow the malfunctioning Biplane to shoot at the opponent, using the normal rules (see the Shooting section). If both the escort and the malfunctioning Biplanes are behind the attacker, only the closest one may shoot the attacker. If the defender is behind both the escort and the malfunctioning Biplanes, only the closest Biplane is hit.
If both the escort and the malfunctioning Biplanes are in the same spots and are hit, the damage is assigned as evenly as possible. If an odd number of hits is dealt, the attacker decides which Biplane is hit with the remaining hit.
End of the round
At the end of each round the escort player retrieves all the Movement tiles of the malfunctioning Biplane. The same 6 Movement tiles will be used in all 3 rounds.
If the escort is shot down, discard the -2, -1, and the 0 without hit symbol for the escorted biplane. The malfunctioning Biplane now only moves with the '0', '+1', and '+2' (as if they played a '0' Movement tile). After the Movement Phase, the escort player returns the Movement tile used for the malfunctioning Biplane back to behind their player screen, they will always have 3 Movement tiles to choose from.
Winning the game
The escort player wins if the malfunctioning Biplane exits from the board. This can only happen during the 3rd round. The escort can also win the game by shooting down their opponent as normal.
The attacker wins if he shoots down the malfunctioning Biplane.
Solo Play
The four advanced scenarios can also be played solo. You will have the mission to complete, whilst an automated bot player will try to defeat you by shooting you down!
Setup
Set up your chosen advanced scenario as described in the rules above except for the following changes:
- You must play on the single-coloured side of the board.
- You may select any Biplane for the bot, as explained in the scenario set up.
- The bot uses a player aid and bag but does not need a player screen. Place the Solo Player aid next to the bot's Player aid.
- You must place your Biplane on the bottom right starting space.
- Draw Movement tiles according to your chosen Biplane (except if playing with the purple Biplane, when you draw 6 and not 7).
- Draw 1 tile from the bot's bag and place it face up in the left hand slot at the top of the Solo Player aid.
Biplane Selection
For an easier game, select the red, blue, or white Biplane for the bot as they are more predictable. Bot does not apply any special effects of any Biplanes, positive or negative. If you select the white Biplane, and you are 1 or 2 spaces behind the bot, there is no effect.
Gameplay
Each turn follows this sequence:
- Select your Movement tile and move accordingly.
- Draw 1 tile from the bot's bag and place it face up on the right hand slot of the Solo Player aid. Select one of the Movement tiles as follows:
- If either or both Biplanes are on a loop space (brown or purple), select the right hand tile (the one just revealed from the bag).
- If the bot Biplane is behind your Biplane, or both Biplanes are 4 spaces apart, select the tile showing the lower movement value. If the tiles are of the same value, select the one with more hits if the bot Biplane will be able to shoot you. If not, select the one with fewer hits.
- If your Biplane is behind or on the same spot as the bot, select the tile showing the higher movement value. If the tiles are of the same value, select the one with more hits if the bot Biplane will be able to shoot you. If not, select the one with fewer hits.
- If the selected tile is a '3' and would allow bot to enter a loop, toss the tile (as if you were tossing a coin). If the tile lands showing the loop side then bot will move along the loop, otherwise it will ignore the loop and continue moving around the main path.
- If bot's Movement tile shows any number of hits and bot is behind you and able to shoot it will. You take damage as normal.
- Place the selected tile onto the next available red square space on the side of the board closest to the Solo Player aid.
- If the bot's Player bag is now empty, place all used Movement tiles back into the bag. Do not place the revealed tile back into the bag.
- If the remaining bot Movement tile is in the right hand slot, slide it into the left hand slot.
The bot's Biplane cannot be shot down, therefore you must complete your mission to win the scenario. If you get shot down then you have lost!
Escort Scenario
During the escort scenario the bot will refer to the malfunctioning Biplane when selecting Movement tiles and shooting.
Adjusting Difficulty
As well as not using the red or blue Biplanes for the bot, there are two further distinct ways to increase the difficulty of the solo mode. You may combine both for a much harder game.
Smart "3"
Whenever the bot selects a '3' tile you must first check the board state. If either following a loop path or not following a loop path would allow the bot to position its Biplane behind yours, and would therefore be able to shoot you, the bot selects that option. It is never the case that both options would result in a position that would allow bot to shoot at you. If neither option would allow bot to shoot, flip the tile as normal, to decide which path bot takes at random.
Movement Tiles
Adjust the contents of bot's Player bag by removing the following tiles that show no hits:
| Biplane | Tiles removed |
|---|---|
| White | 0, 2 |
| Grey | 3, 3 |
| Green | 1, 5 |
| Purple | 1, 5 |
| Yellow | 2, 3 |
| Black | 2, 4 |
| Brown | 2, 4 |
Credits
- Game Design: Carlo A. Rossi
- Game Development: Federico Latini
- Artist: Paul Sizer
- Graphic Design: Nick Avallone
- Rules Editor: David Digby
- Game Production: Emma Goudie
- Executive Producer: Will Townshend
Contact us:
PSC Games Units 13-15 Henfield Business Park Shoreham Road Henfield West Sussex BN5 9SL United Kingdom