Mustangs Rulebook

Table of Contents

Battle Manual (Advanced Rules)

Game Equipment

Gameboard: The gameboard shows decorative terrain that plays no part in the game. It shows hexagons ("hexes"), each identified by a letter-number code, used to regulate movement and positioning. A "Direction Hex" gives a reference for how the sides of all hexes are identified. Two large red and blue "giant hexagons" are marked for use in setting up games.

Playing pieces: Die-cut counters are punched out to provide the playing pieces.

Air units represent individual fighter aircraft. Allied units are printed in blue, Axis units in red. Each air unit counter shows: aircraft name, identification number, gun factor, ammunition factor, altitude & canopy, defense factor & engine type, level speed & power, dive speed, loop maneuver symbol, roll maneuver symbol, and turn maneuver symbol. Ammunition factor, altitude/canopy, defense factor/engine type, and the maneuver symbols are only needed once the Optional Rules are used.
Markers record game information. Where different, a marker's name can vary depending on which side is face up: Ammo, Hit/Fire, Impulse, Sequence, Speed/Altitude, Sun (front/back sides differ), and Turn, Roll Maneuver, Straight-or-Loop Maneuver, Tight Turn Maneuver, and Turn Maneuver (front/back sides differ). The four markers whose names include the word "maneuver" are collectively called "maneuver markers".

Control Cards: Four cards, each a different background color but otherwise identical, display information about individual air units.

Game Cards: Two identical cards display game information and are used for reference during a game.

Basic Game Rules sheet: Contains the Basic Game rules of play.

Dice: Two ten-sided ("decimal") dice, numbered "1" to "0". Always read a "0" as "10", the highest possible roll.

Battle Manual: The booklet contains examples of play, scenarios, optional rules and other reference material.

Setting Up the Basic Game

Additional setup ideas are given in the Battle Manual's Scenarios section. This is a Basic Game setup for two players.

Make a competitive die roll. The high-roll player takes the sequence marker.
Decide, in any mutually agreeable manner, which side (Allied or Axis) each player will control. Each player then selects any two identical air units available for their side (for example, the Allied player might select the two identical P-51D air units, identification #1 and #2).
Lay the gameboard out between the players, with a Game Card and a Control Card (any color) placed near each player.
On both Game Cards, place a turn marker in the "1" box of the Turn Record, and an impulse marker in the "Impulse Number" box of the Impulse Record. Place altitude markers in the "3" boxes of the "Altitude" tracks, speed markers in the "3" boxes of the "Speed" tracks, and hit markers in the "0" boxes of the "Basic Game Hits or Ammunition" tracks on both players' Control Card Aircraft Records. Other parts of the Aircraft Records are not used in the Basic Game.
Each player takes the set of eight maneuver markers matching their Control Card color.
The player with the sequence marker places all of their air units anywhere on the gameboard touching the "a" and/or "b" side(s) of the blue giant hexagon and facing direction "4" (see the Direction Hex). Then the other side places its air units anywhere touching the "d" and/or "e" side(s) of the blue giant hexagon, facing direction "1".
The player with the sequence marker places any desired maneuver marker for each of their air units, followed by the other side doing the same (see How to Move).

General Game Rules

The Sequence Marker: The sequence marker is always held by one side or the other. The side currently holding it must always go first during a Phase. Whoever holds it may, whenever desired, pass it to the opposing side at the start of any Phase, forcing the new holder to go first during that Phase and all later Phases until the marker is passed again. It may be passed back and forth as often as desired, but never more than once per Phase.

Gameboard Exits: Air units may not exit the gameboard. If necessary, to avoid the edges, shift all air units and their maneuver markers the same number of hexes in the same direction to keep their relative positions. If this is impossible, players are forbidden to mark a maneuver that would force an exit.

Air Unit Facing: An air unit's front facing must always be pointed at a hexside, not a hex angle. Except when completing a roll maneuver, an air unit may only be moved straight forward into the hex its front facing points to.

Recording Game Information: Game information is recorded by placing markers in the appropriate boxes on the Game and Control Cards, adjusting them from box to box as needed. The current Turn is shown by the turn marker's box on the Turn Record; the current Impulse by the Roman numeral box holding the impulse marker on the Impulse Record. Every air unit has a corresponding Aircraft Record on a Control Card (e.g. the player using the blue maneuver markers uses Aircraft Record #1 for air unit #1 and Aircraft Record #2 for air unit #2). An air unit's current altitude and speed are shown by markers on its "Altitude" and "Speed" tracks; in the Basic Game, the number of hits scored on it is shown by the hit marker's box on its "Basic Game Hits or Ammunition" track.

Stacking, Speed and Altitude Limits:

There is no limit on the number of units and/or markers in a hex.
No maneuver may be marked or changed if, on completion, it would compute to reduce an air unit's speed below "1".
No air unit may have an altitude change made that would reduce its altitude below "0" or raise it above the altitude number printed on the counter. No altitude change may exceed what the Control Card's Change Chart allows.
No air unit may have its speed increased above its printed level speed unless it dived during the previous Change Phase; if diving, speed may exceed level speed but never exceed the printed dive speed.

Play Sequence: Games start when setup is complete and are played in "Turns" — eight Turns per game. Each Turn has six "Impulses", each performed in a sequence of Phases:

Current Impulse Phase: Adjust the impulse markers into the next numbered box on the Impulse Records on both Game Cards.
Move Phase: All air units moving at speeds in columns marked with arrows for the Impulse must be moved (see How to Move).
Fire Phase: Air units that completed a maneuver may be "fired" (see The Fire Phase).
Maneuver Marking Phase: Maneuver markers are placed (see How to Move).
Change Phase: Performed instead of the other Phases when the impulse marker moves into the "Change Altitude & Speed" box, after Impulse VI. Speeds and/or altitudes may then be changed and impulse markers adjusted for the start of the next Turn (see The Change Phase).

The Current Impulse Phase

Shift the impulse markers down on the Impulse Records on both Game Cards to show the current Impulse. At the start of a Turn, an impulse marker should be in an "Impulse Number" box; as the Turn progresses it moves down through the six boxes numbered with Roman numerals, and finally into the "Change Altitude & Speed" box to finish the Turn. For example, an impulse marker is shifted from the "Impulse Number" box to the "I" box (showing it is now Impulse I), then from the "VI" box to the "Change Altitude & Speed" box, etc.

To the right of an Impulse's box, note which columns contain arrows. Air units moving at speeds corresponding to the numbers at the top of columns marked with arrows are the only ones moved during that Impulse. For example, during Impulse II there might be arrows over columns "2", "5" and "6" — only air units moving at those speeds are moved during Impulse II.

How to Move

Winning requires maneuvering air units to fire and evade fire. Maneuvers are marked during Maneuver Marking Phases and performed during Move Phases, so knowledge of the movement rules is needed for both Phases.

General Movement Rules: The dice do not determine movement — they are used only for firing. Players may move any or all of their units as desired, in any order, subject to the limits found elsewhere in the rules. An air unit may be moved from hex to hex in any direction or combination of directions permitted by its movement capabilities. Hexes may not be skipped or jumped.

The Move Phase: Check the Impulse Record on the Game Card. All air units moving at the speeds in columns marked with arrows for the current Impulse must be moved. Air units moving at speeds in columns not marked with arrows are not, and may not be, moved during that Impulse. All air units are always moved exactly one hex straight ahead, and, for some completed maneuvers, also pivoted within the hex entered or shifted to an adjacent hex.

When a maneuver is completed, its maneuver marker is immediately removed from the gameboard and the air unit's speed reduced where necessary (see Half Loop and Tight Turn Maneuvers below). Maneuver markers are removed only when a maneuver is completed or if its air unit is eliminated.

The Maneuver Marking Phase: New maneuver markers are placed on the gameboard at the game's start and, during play, for all air units that completed a previous maneuver and had that maneuver marker removed during the Move Phase. All maneuvers are marked by placing a desired maneuver marker in front of an air unit, in the hex where the air unit will complete the maneuver.

The Maneuvers: Air unit movement (their maneuvers) is marked during Maneuver Marking Phases and performed during Move Phases.

Maneuver markers: An individual air unit's maneuvers are marked using its set of four maneuver markers, which are the same color as the player's Control Card and numbered the same as the air unit. During a Maneuver Marking Phase, an appropriate maneuver marker is placed in front of an air unit in the hex where the maneuver will be completed. During a Move Phase, when an air unit is moved into a hex that does not contain its maneuver marker, the maneuver is not completed on that Impulse and the marker remains on the gameboard. When an air unit is moved into the hex containing its maneuver marker, the maneuver is completed on that Impulse and the marker is removed from the gameboard.
Maneuver movement requirements: To perform any maneuver, an air unit must be moved a certain number of hexes, and completion may take more than one Impulse — even spread over more than one Turn. Use the Control Card's Maneuver Chart to find the number of hexes needed, by cross-referencing the air unit's maneuver symbol (printed on the counter) with its current speed.
Straight maneuvers: Although not printed on the air unit counters, the straight maneuver symbol for all air units is always a red circle. The air unit maintains its facing after entering the hex that completes the maneuver.
Half loop maneuvers: Performed using an air unit's loop maneuver symbol. The air unit is pivoted three hexsides (180 degrees) after entering the hex that completes the maneuver. Completing this maneuver reduces the air unit's speed by one; adjust the speed marker to show one less speed on the "Speed" track.
Turn maneuvers (right or left): Performed using an air unit's turn maneuver symbol. The air unit is pivoted one hexside (60 degrees) to the right or left, matching the marked maneuver, after entering the hex that completes the maneuver.
Tight turn maneuvers (right or left): Also performed using the turn maneuver symbol. The air unit is pivoted two hexsides (120 degrees) to the right or left after entering the hex that completes the maneuver. Completing this maneuver reduces the air unit's speed by one, so adjust the speed marker down one box.
Roll maneuvers (right or left): Performed using an air unit's roll maneuver symbol. After entering the hex that completes the maneuver, the air unit is shifted exactly one hex to the right or left (matching the marked maneuver), keeping its facing.

The Fire Phase

Firing is resolved as follows:

Firing Possibilities: Only an air unit that just completed a maneuver (its maneuver marker was removed during the Move Phase) may fire its guns, forward, at an opposing air unit, if desired and possible. An air unit may fire only once per Fire Phase and at no more than one target unit.

A firing air unit can be no more than one altitude level higher or lower than a target, and the two units must be positioned and faced so their relative positions appear on the Game Card's Firing Position Modifier Diagram (the red silhouette shows the location and facing of a target air unit, blue pictures show the possible positions for a firing unit). Intervening air units do not block firing.
If firing is possible against more than one potential target, the firing player chooses which to fire at.
Air units in the same hex and same altitude may not be fired at each other.
Air units in the same hex but no more than one altitude apart (firing modifier 6c1.2 applies) may be fired at each other regardless of facing.

Firing Announcements: If firing is possible, the firing player, in any order desired, announces that one of their air units is "firing" and its single opposing "target" unit. Further firing announcements by other air units are delayed until after that firing is resolved.

Firing Modifiers: Modifiers are added or subtracted to the numbers rolled to resolve firing. They come from the involved air units' factors and situations, and are all cumulative, combined into a "total firing modifier".

Attacker's modifiers: add the firing air unit's gun factor; apply a "-2" if the target is one altitude level higher or lower than the firer; apply the modifier shown on the Firing Position Modifier Diagram for the attacker's and target's relative positions.
Target's modifiers: add the target's defense factor; subtract "-1" for each hit previously scored on the target air unit (even earlier in the same Impulse).

Firing Numbers: After totaling each side's firing modifier, both players roll a die and add their side's total firing modifier to the roll. The result is that side's "firing number". A firing number modified below "1" counts as "1".

Firing Resolution: Compare the opposing firing numbers:

Target is equal or more: no hits — a miss.
Attacker is more (but not two or more times as much): one hit is scored.
Attacker's firing number is a multiple of the target's: the number of hits equals the whole-number multiple (e.g. exceeding the target's number by two but not three times scores two hits; by three but not four times scores three hits, etc.).

Recording Hits: Damage is recorded and applied immediately as each air unit is fired.

Marking Basic Game hits: adjust the hit marker in the target's "Basic Game Hits or Ammunition" track to show the current total hits.
Air unit elimination: an air unit is eliminated and removed from the gameboard (with its maneuver marker) when its total hits equal or exceed its printed defense factor. An air unit eliminated before its chance to fire does not fire.

The Change Phase

Performed instead of any other Phase at the end of a Turn. Move the impulse markers into the "Change Altitude & Speed" boxes on the Impulse Records after completing Impulse VI. Speeds and/or altitudes of all air units may be changed during this Phase.

Engine Power Definitions: An air unit has "high" engine power if the level speed number printed on its counter is in outlined white, and "normal" engine power if in black. In the Basic Game, any air unit with one or more hits recorded is defined as having "damaged" engine power.

Speed and Altitude Change Procedure: On the Control Cards' Change Charts, cross-reference a desired altitude change with the air unit's engine power type to find the possible speed changes for that altitude change. For example, an air unit with "high" engine power diving one altitude level might have its speed changed from "-1" to "+3", limited by the air unit's printed dive speed.

Advance: On both Game Cards, after all air unit changes are made, advance the turn markers into the next numbered boxes on the Turn Records and shift the impulse markers to the "Impulse Number" boxes on the Impulse Records.

Winning the Game

If the eighth Turn has been completed, or if all air units on one side are eliminated, the game is over — count 10 victory points per eliminated enemy air unit and 1 victory point per hit scored on uneliminated air units. The player with the most total victory points wins (or a "tie" if equal).

See rule 12 in the Battle Manual for detailed examples of play.

Battle Manual (Advanced Rules)

This manual contains information that supplements the Basic Game rules. Read the Basic Game rules before using this manual.

The Scenarios

General Scenario Setup Information: Each scenario is an alternate to the Basic Game Setup, and is a separate way to set up a game. To start a game, select a scenario, use any mutually agreeable method to assign sides, and (for the point-based scenarios) use the AIR UNIT POINT VALUES CHART at the back of this manual. Experienced players can design their own scenarios using these as guidelines.

Standard scenario setup steps (replacing Basic Game rule 2): hold a competitive die roll for the sequence marker (with a further competitive roll between teammates in multi-player games); select air units for each side; lay out the gameboard, a Game Card and the needed Control Cards; set up both Game Cards' turn and impulse markers; set up Control Card altitude/speed/hit/ammunition markers as directed by the scenario; place the sun marker if Optional Rule 15b3.4 is used; select maneuver marker sets; then the side with the sequence marker places all its air units on the gameboard, followed by the other side, and finally the side with the sequence marker places initial maneuver markers for all its air units, followed by the other side.

Determining Victory in the Scenarios (replacing Basic Game rule 8): A game ends when the eighth Turn is completed or when all air units on one side are off the gameboard. Players accumulate "victory points" for their side, and the comparison at game's end determines the winner:

Absolute Victory: the winning side has the most victory points at the end of the final Turn, has eliminated at least one enemy air unit, and has had no friendly air unit eliminated.
Marginal Victory: the winning side has the most victory points, has lost at least one friendly air unit, and has eliminated at least one enemy air unit — or, alternatively, has fewer air units eliminated even if victory points are equal.
Tie: neither side had an air unit eliminated (even with unequal victory points), or neither side meets the conditions for an absolute or marginal victory.

Victory points are gained three ways: eliminated air units are worth their listed point value (see the Point Values chart; a P-51D or K is worth 13, for example, modified by pilot quality and bailing out if those options are used); a hit scored on an uneliminated air unit is worth 1 point; and some scenarios award special points as noted in their own special rules.

Scenario One — A Basic Game: Essentially duplicates and expands the Basic Game setup in scenario format; not necessarily well balanced, but quick to start, and playable with only the Basic Game Rules for two players. Equal numbers of players per side (the multi-gamer option, 17a, is required for four players). Each player selects any pair of identical air units for their side. Two placement options are given for each side (facing the blue giant hexagon from the "a"/"b" side at direction "4", or the "d"/"e" side at direction "1", or offset variants of the same), with all units starting at speed "3" and altitude "3" (Option One) or speeds "2" through level speed and any altitude up to half the printed altitude number (Option Two).

Scenario Two — Equal Point Choice: Uses the point variant Optional Rule 14 for a more carefully balanced game. Equal numbers of players per side (2 or 4; the multi-gamer option is required for four players). Players agree on a selection point total, then each player selects any pair of identical air units whose combined point values are exactly equal between the two sides. Placement follows the same options as Scenario One, with starting speeds and altitudes chosen freely within the same bounds as Scenario One's Option Two.

Scenario Three — Unequal Numbers: Exploits the point-choice system to allow an odd number of air units, matching quality against quantity; requires Optional Rule 14. Three or four players, varying by point totals used (the multi-gamer option is required for four players); a side may end up controlling only one air unit. Selection and placement otherwise mirror Scenario Two, with one side possibly getting four air units (two identical pairs) against the other's three (one pair plus one odd unit), point values kept exactly equal.

Scenario Four — "Bounce": Simulates a side set up on the red giant hexagon being surprised and caught at a disadvantage; requires the point variant options (Optional Rule 14). Two, three or four players, varying with the point totals used (the multi-gamer option is required for three or four players). The side with the sequence marker sets up inside the red giant hexagon (rear sides touching the "g"/"h" sides, facing direction "4" or "5"), starting at speed "2" and/or "3" and low altitude; the other side sets up anywhere touching the blue giant hexagon, facing any direction, and may start at any legal speed and altitude. As a special rule, the side that starts with the sequence marker earns a bonus of up to 10% (rounded down) of the opposing side's selection points as bonus victory points, and if the starting number of air units was unequal, the side that started with fewer gets 3 bonus victory points per excess air unit the opponent started with.

World War II Fighter Combat

The Battle Manual gives background on the historical air war that the game recreates: how fighter tactics centered on getting into a favorable firing position on an enemy's tail while avoiding the same from them, how the two-plane "element" (a leader and a wingman) was the basic fighting unit, and how flexible, mutually supporting formations (trail, echelon, line abreast) let a pair of fighters cover each other and set up crossfires.

Aircraft Notes: The fighter types included are all in common use during 1944-45. American fighters (Chance Vought F4U-1A Corsair, Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, Lockheed P-38L Lightning, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, North American P-51 Mustang) were noted for powerful engines and rugged construction. German fighters (Focke-Wulf FW-190 "Wurger"/"Butcher Bird", Messerschmitt Me-109G-6 "Gustav", Messerschmitt Me-262-1a "Schwalbe" jet) tended to be lighter due to less efficient aviation fuel. Japanese fighters (Mitsubishi A6M5a "Zero-Sen"/"Zeke", Kawanishi N1K1-Jb "Shiden"/"George", Nakajima Ki.84-Ia "Hayate"/"Frank") were, by 1944, roughly comparable to their Allied opponents. The manual gives a paragraph of service history and notable pilots for each type, along with the following named variants (each changes only the listed factors from its base air unit; see the Point Values chart for point totals):

FW-190A-4, A-5 or A-6 (of the FW-190A-8): Gun Factor 7, Ammunition Factor 6.
Me-109G-10, K-2 or K-4 (of the Me-109G-6): Gun Factor 7, Ammunition Factor 4.
P-47M (of the P-47D/G): Ammunition Factor 8, green-shield turn maneuver symbol.
P-47N (of the P-47D/G): green-shield turn maneuver symbol.
P-51H (of the P-51D/K): Ammunition Factor 6, green-shield loop maneuver symbol.
F4U-1C (of the F4U-1A): Gun Factor 8, Ammunition Factor 5.
A6M5 Model 52 (of the A6M5a): Gun Factor 4.
A6M5c Model 52c (of the A6M5a): Gun Factor 6, Ammunition Factor 5.
Ki.84-Ib (of the Ki.84-Ia): Ammunition Factor 5.
Ki.84-Ic (of the Ki.84-Ia): Gun Factor 9, Ammunition Factor 4.

Hints on Play

Mustangs rewards an aggressive attitude: a fighter pilot's job is to survive while destroying enemy aircraft, and air units should stay pointed at the enemy so their guns can bear — even a head-on pass is usually better than exposing a tail to the enemy. Coordinate a two-plane element as one flying team rather than two separate aircraft, using a loose formation a few hexes apart (possibly at two adjacent altitudes) to trap enemies in crossfires, keep "tallies" on opponents (see Spotting Rules), and cover each other's tails. Play to the specific strengths of the aircraft in hand — its turn rate, roll rate, firepower and toughness compared to the enemy's — and decide accordingly when to hold or pass the sequence marker: higher speed hinders maneuverability but buys more Fire Phases and a harder target, while a slower, more maneuverable opponent can be countered by keeping speed up. Finally, plan several Impulses ahead, watching not just the next Fire Phase but the one after it, while staying willing to improvise — predictability is the one fatal habit to avoid.

Examples of Play

The Battle Manual's Examples of Play section walks through two full Turns of a two-player Basic Game between a pair of P-51Ds and a pair of FW-190D-9s, Phase by Phase, to demonstrate the flow of setup, the Current Impulse Phase, Move Phase, Fire Phase and Maneuver Marking Phase, including a worked firing resolution (an attacker's gun factor and position modifier combining into a "+2" total firing modifier against a defender's "+4" defense-factor modifier, with the compared die-roll totals producing one hit), and a Change Phase in which both sides dive a level and adjust speed under the Change Chart. Players new to the game are encouraged to lay out the components and "play along" with a similar practice Turn before their first real game.

Optional Rule: Ammunition and Damage Options

Ammunition: When used, this limits how many times an air unit may fire during a game.

The ammunition factor printed on an air unit shows how many times it can be fired.
During setup, place ammunition markers on the "Basic Game Hits or Ammunition" "0" boxes.
Each time an air unit fires, move its ammunition marker into the next higher box. Once the box matching its ammunition factor is reached, the air unit is out of ammunition and cannot fire again. (For example, a P-51D has an ammunition factor of 7; after firing seven times it is out of ammunition.)

Hit Types and Effects: Replaces Basic Game rule on recording hits. Hits are marked differently, and an air unit is not automatically eliminated once total hits equal its defense factor.

Marking specific hits: Hits are marked in the "Specific Hits" sections of the Aircraft Records instead of the Basic Game Hits track, showing the number and type of hit (engine, crew, fuel, wing, fuselage, rudder). If a "fire" starts, flip a hit marker to its fire side. The target's "-1" firing modifier per hit (from the Fire Phase rules) still applies, even once total specific hits exceed the air unit's defense factor — determine whether the air unit is eliminated separately.
Determining specific hits: each hit scored is rolled for and assigned to a specific location per a hit-location table on the Control Card.
Effects of specific hits:
- One engine hit: use the "Damaged" column of the Change Chart for the rest of the game (for single-engine air units; multi-engine air units use it only once both engines are hit).
- One engine hit on a single-engine air unit: immediately re-roll the die — a "fire" starts on a roll of "1" for jet or radial engines (defense factor underlined) or "1"/"2" for inline engines (not underlined).
- One crew hit: no altitude change may exceed one level per Turn during a Change Phase.
- One fuel hit: immediately re-roll the die — a "fire" starts on a roll of "1", "2" or "3".
- Wing hits: no extra effect for the first; after a second wing hit, no tight turn, half loop or roll maneuvers may be performed, and the air unit is eliminated immediately if marked for one of those maneuvers when the second wing hit is scored.
- Fuselage hits: no extra effect for the first two; after the third, no half loop or roll maneuvers may be performed, and the air unit is eliminated immediately if marked for one when the third fuselage hit is scored.
- One rudder hit: treat all maneuver symbols as one line lower on the Maneuver Chart than normal when plotting new maneuvers (a tan triangle stays a tan triangle; a red circle is treated as a white diamond, etc.).
Fires: Once started, a fire eliminates the air unit if not extinguished during the same Turn. During each Change Phase, immediately after changing altitude/speed, attempt to extinguish each fire marker showing by rolling a die; a roll of "9" or more (modified "+2" per altitude level just dived that Change Phase) extinguishes it, flipping the marker back to a normal hit.

Bailing Out: Especially useful with Optional Rules 14 and/or 18. No bailing out is possible from an air unit with two crew hits. Otherwise, once an eliminated air unit's specific hits are determined, both sides roll a die; the eliminating side's pilot successfully bails out if their modified roll exceeds the opponent's roll, modified "-3" per crew hit and "-2" per fire on the air unit.

Bailing out over a friendly area reduces the eliminated air unit's victory point value by 5.
Bailing out over a neutral area reduces it by 3.
Bailing out over an enemy area reduces it by 2.

Optional Rule: Air Unit and Pilot Point Variants

Air Unit Point Values: Every air unit has a point value used both as its "selection point value" when setting up a scenario and as its "victory point value" if eliminated. Values for all air units, including variants, are given in the Air Unit Point Values chart at the back of this manual (see Point Values, below). This value may vary with pilot quality and may be reduced if a pilot bails out.

Pilot Quality: Allows variation in the skill of the pilots flying the aircraft.

Green pilots have very low training: an air unit with a green pilot is worth 2 fewer selection/victory points, has a "-2" spotting modifier, and may not perform half loop or tight turn maneuvers.
Inexperienced pilots are somewhat better trained: worth 1 fewer point, "-1" spotting modifier, may not perform half loop maneuvers.
Average pilots are standard: normal point value, may perform all maneuvers.
Experienced pilots are well trained: worth 1 more point, "+2" modifier to firing and spotting, may perform all maneuvers.
Ace pilots are masters: worth 2 more points, "+4" modifier to firing and spotting, may perform all maneuvers.

Aircraft Variants: World War II aircraft were often built with engine and/or armament changes similar enough to other marks in their series to allow their use in the game with a little care (see World War II Fighter Combat, above, and the Point Values chart). A variant's name is indented and marked with an asterisk under the standard air unit used to represent it. The "Variations" column shows how a variant differs from its standard air unit — only the noted factor(s) change; everything else printed on the standard counter still applies. Differences are abbreviated as, for example, "8G, 5A" (gun factor 8, ammunition factor 5) or "GS TURN" (green-shield turn maneuver symbol).

Optional Rule: Firing and Spotting Options

Head-On Firing: Because of their relatively simple gun sights, World War II fighters closing head-on at high speed had little chance of scoring hits. If a firing air unit occupies one of the Firing Position Modifier Diagram's hexes marked with a special symbol, and the combined speeds of the firing and target units total "8" or more, firing is not possible.

Spotting Rules: To fire at an enemy aircraft, a pilot must first be able to "spot" it. This option makes all opposing air units "unspotted" at the start of a scenario.

The Spotting Phase occurs during each numbered Impulse between its Move and Fire Phases; spotting is only possible then. Any air unit may attempt to spot an opposing air unit.
Spotting possibilities: during a single Spotting Phase, an air unit may attempt to spot any one enemy air unit of the spotting player's choice, regardless of position or distance (it is possible to "see" an air unit it is not possible to fire at). Attempts by air units that have already "tallied" one or more opposing units are also possible. The spotting player announces which of their units is spotting and which enemy unit is the target; further announcements may be delayed until the current attempt resolves.
Spotting modifiers (all cumulative, applied only to the spotting player's roll): pilot-quality modifiers (as above); "-2" per altitude level of difference between spotter and target; "-1" per hex of range; "-5" if the target faces the sun marker's arrow direction and is both closer to the sun marker and at a higher altitude than the spotter; "+2" if the spotting air unit has an all-round vision canopy (a circled altitude number on its counter); "-3" if the target lies in the spotting unit's rear sector.
Spotting numbers: both players roll a die; the spotter adds their total spotting modifier (the target's is always "0"). A result below "1" counts as "1".
Spotting resolution: if the target's spotting number equals or exceeds the spotter's, the attempt fails. If the spotter's number is higher, the attempt succeeds and the spotting air unit gains a "tally" on the target.
Recording spotting: record successful tallies on scratch paper.
Losing a tally: an air unit used to fire loses all tallies except on its target; an air unit used as a fired-upon target loses all tallies except on the firing unit(s) it already had a tally on; lost tallies are erased at the end of the Fire Phase.
Effects of wingmen: pairs of identical air units may be designated as wingmen at the start of a game; a tally recorded by one wingman may also be recorded for the other during the same Spotting Phase.
Effects of spotting: to fire at an opposing air unit, the firing unit must have a tally on it, or firing is not possible; if the target does not have a tally on the firing unit, an additional "+4" attacker's firing modifier applies.

Optional Rule: Breaking Contact

Either or both sides may attempt to "break contact" with one or more air units during a Turn's Break Contact Phase, representing disengaging into cloud, mist or background. No breaking contact may be attempted during Turn One. All attempts must be announced by both sides before any are resolved, and each individual attempt is resolved before the next.

One attempt per air unit per Turn is allowed. Both sides roll a die; the attempting side's roll is modified per the current Turn's break-contact modifier (printed on the Turn Record — for example, "-6" on Turn 2 and "-3" on Turn 5). If the attempting side's modified roll exceeds the opponent's roll, the attempt succeeds: the air unit is removed from the gameboard, having disengaged, and takes no further part in the game. Otherwise it fails. An air unit that breaks contact is not considered eliminated, but any damage already marked on it still counts toward the opponent's victory points at the scenario's end.

Optional Rule: Multi-Player Rules

Multi-Gamers: Suggested rules for more than one player per side.

Player assignment: each player controls specific air units only they may maneuver, move and roll for; wingmen (identical pairs) should always be controlled by the same player.
Communications between players: players on a side may plan freely before the game, but afterward may only communicate through simulated "radio" — written notes, sent by folding a slip with the current Turn number and addressee's name, then a competitive die roll with no modifiers; a roll equal to or higher than the opponent's delivers the message at the start of the next Change Phase, otherwise it is not delivered (a later attempt is allowed).
Sequence marker holding: players on a side should hold the sequence marker in rotation so different players decide when to pass it.
Larger games: limited to four air units per side and two of a type due to component limits, unless extra sets are available, in which case up to six or eight per side (using multiple maneuver-marker sets of the same color, individually marked to tell them apart) or more than two of a type (using different Control Card colors) become practical.

Umpired Games: An extra, non-playing "umpire" runs the game for added realism and "fog of war" — best combined with the Spotting option (15b). Players/teams are kept apart (separate rooms or partitions), each with their own copy of the game showing only their own side's information; the umpire keeps a master copy showing both sides and relays only the information each side is entitled to know (their own damage but not the enemy's, their own tallies but not other players' tallies, "radio" messages, and so on), handling all die rolls without revealing modifiers.

Optional Rule: Campaign Games

Players may link scenarios into a "campaign" using the same pilots from game to game.

Setting up: balance both sides with an equal number of selection points, as for a large scenario, and record available aircraft and pilots (each selected air unit represents a paired "pilot" and "aircraft", tracked separately using the Campaign Log). Determine the campaign's length in "days" (a "day" may take several sessions to play).
Scheduling missions: a "day" can be divided into parts (e.g. morning/afternoon), each with several missions located over friendly, neutral or enemy territory; both sides secretly assign available aircraft/pilots to missions, which are then resolved on the gameboard in any order. Any aircraft or pilot not scheduled is "resting"; a side may also send no one to a mission.
Resolving missions: each mission is set up as a scenario using the assigned air units; a competitive die roll with no modifiers picks which side selects the placement option, drawn from the Scenario Three, Scenario Four or (for a lopsided roll) Scenario Four "Bounce" placement rules.
Campaign victory points: the normal victory-point rules apply per mission, plus: an unopposed side gets 20 points; an absolute victory earns 10 bonus points; a marginal victory earns 5 bonus points. The campaign's winner is whoever has the most campaign victory points when the final "day" ends.
Gaining experience: a "kill" is credited to whichever pilot last fired into an eliminated air unit. A pilot improves from green to inexperienced by surviving two missions; to average by scoring one kill or surviving five missions total; to experienced by scoring two total kills; to ace by scoring five total kills.
Losses: eliminated pilots/aircraft, and pilots who bail out over enemy territory, are permanent losses. Pilots who bail out over neutral territory sit out the rest of that "day" but return the next; those who bail out over friendly territory may fly again later the same day. Damaged aircraft sit out the rest of the "day".
Replacements: at the end of each campaign "day", eliminated aircraft are replaced by identical aircraft, and eliminated pilots by inexperienced pilots able to fly the same aircraft types.

Reference: Point Values

Air Unit Point Values Chart (used with Optional Rules 9a2.2 and 14):

Name	Variations	Points
FW-190A-8	—	12
*FW-190A-4, A-5 & A-6	7G, 6A	12
FW-190D-9	—	13
Me-109G-6	—	11
*Me-109G-10, K-2 & K-4	7G, 4A	12
Me-262-1a	—	14
Ki.84-Ia "Frank"	—	12
*Ki.84-Ib	5A	12
*Ki.84-Ic	9G, 4A	13
N1K1-Jb "George"	—	13
A6M5a "Zeke"	—	11
*A6M5	4G	10
*A6M5c	6G, 5A	11
F4U-1A Corsair	—	12
*F4U-1C	8G, 5A	13
F6F-3 Hellcat	—	12
P-38L Lightning	—	13
P-47B or C Thunderbolt	—	13
P-47D or G Thunderbolt	—	13
*P-47M	8A, GS TURN	13
*P-47N	GS TURN	13
P-51B or C Mustang	—	11
P-51D or K Mustang	—	13
*P-51H	6A, GS LOOP	13

Point Cost Variables Chart (used with Optional Rules 9a2.2, 13c and 14b):

Pilot quality	Selection/victory point change
Green pilot	-2
Inexperienced pilot	-1
Average pilot	0
Experienced pilot	+1
Ace pilot	+2

Bailing out	Victory points saved by the opponent
Over friendly area	-5
Over neutral area	-3
Over enemy area	-2

Credits

Design, Development & Rules: S. Craig Taylor, Jr. Graphic Art, Gameboard Art & Pasteup: Charles Kibler. Cover Art courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution. Published by The Avalon Hill Game Company, a division of Monarch Avalon, Inc., Baltimore, MD.