Volume 36, Number 10
Rick Edges Ethan to Claim 3rd Indy Crown
Rick scored a pilot hit and inflicted a fatal wound. Ethan scored a pilot hit but the result was a no effect wound. That was the difference between a landslide victory for Ethan and a narrow win for Rick in the Indy Squadron's 36th annual Armistice Day Fits Tournament held on November 9 in Lewisville, Indiana. The sides rolled up as follows:
Dory Oda, Sopwith Snipe
Stephen Skinner, Sopwith Camel 150 hp
Ethan Skinner, SPAD XVII
Bob Meister, Fokker DVII 185 hp
Rick Lacy, Seimens Schuckert DIV
Rick Edges Ethan to Claim 3rd Indy Crown
Rick scored a pilot hit and inflicted a fatal wound. Ethan scored a pilot hit but the result was a no effect wound. That was the difference between a landslide victory for Ethan and a narrow win for Rick in the Indy Squadron's 36th annual Armistice Day Fits Tournament held on November 9 in Lewisville, Indiana. The sides rolled up as follows:
Dory Oda, Sopwith Snipe
Stephen Skinner, Sopwith Camel 150 hp
Ethan Skinner, SPAD XVII
Bob Meister, Fokker DVII 185 hp
Rick Lacy, Seimens Schuckert DIV
Ethan, who has been playing expert-level Dawn Patrol lately, had been warning all day that he would win his second straight Victory Medal and he would do it in a SPAD. And he nearly did, but the Germans got a quick start that set the Allies back badly.
On the first turn of the game, Stephen's Camel fired on Bob's Fokker. He missed and worse yet, Rick's Schuckert hit his pilot with a fatal chest wound. The 3-to-2 numerical advantage of the Allies was gone the moment the game began. Nevertheless, Dory and Ethan scored heavily in the first two game turns and Bob's Fokker bore the brunt of the punishment. He suffered an early critical hit that crippled his DVII's turning ability and would plague him for the remainder of the fight.
On the first turn of the game, Stephen's Camel fired on Bob's Fokker. He missed and worse yet, Rick's Schuckert hit his pilot with a fatal chest wound. The 3-to-2 numerical advantage of the Allies was gone the moment the game began. Nevertheless, Dory and Ethan scored heavily in the first two game turns and Bob's Fokker bore the brunt of the punishment. He suffered an early critical hit that crippled his DVII's turning ability and would plague him for the remainder of the fight.
Bob flew a masterful game under difficult circumstances, more than once maneuvering in such a way as to avoid being shot down while offering his wingman, Rick, a chance to score. Dory's Snipe kept dishing out punishment but she was unable to capitalize on her numerous chances to roll doubles for a pilot hit. Ethan's luck was little better when one of his guns jammed after a hot shooting spree to start the game. Rick's Seimens Schuckert afforded him the opportunity to engage at will while climbing above the fray when initiative numbers weren't in his favor.
Just as the game became strung out and slow on Turn 12, Bob flew his damaged Fokker back into the fight in dramatic fashion and scored a 9 hit burst on Dory's otherwise pristine Sopwith Snipe. Her engine was knocked out and she glided to a landing in Allied lines. Ethan fired on Bob the next turn and scored a pilot hit, which reset the entire game for the three remaining players.
Bob had a solo kill and was now a factor in scoring although he suffered a yet-to-be-determined pilot hit and heavy damage to his Fokker. Ethan had finally cleared his SPAD's gun jam and would easily win the game if he could just finish off Bob's DVII. And Rick was clinging to his early kill over Stephen's Camel and hoping to hang on for a win.
Just as the game became strung out and slow on Turn 12, Bob flew his damaged Fokker back into the fight in dramatic fashion and scored a 9 hit burst on Dory's otherwise pristine Sopwith Snipe. Her engine was knocked out and she glided to a landing in Allied lines. Ethan fired on Bob the next turn and scored a pilot hit, which reset the entire game for the three remaining players.
Bob had a solo kill and was now a factor in scoring although he suffered a yet-to-be-determined pilot hit and heavy damage to his Fokker. Ethan had finally cleared his SPAD's gun jam and would easily win the game if he could just finish off Bob's DVII. And Rick was clinging to his early kill over Stephen's Camel and hoping to hang on for a win.
At this point, two major developments altered the game's outcome. Bob rolled his wound and it was a "no effect," robbing Ethan of a potential solo kill... and then he then broke Ethan's tailing attempt by performing a large loop.
The group came back together moments later when Ethan fired on Bob to score 3 hits, and Rick scoring 5 hits on Ethan's SPAD. By some miracle Bob's stricken Fokker remained aloft (with 4 critical hits and only 1 hit factor remaining in his right wing and 2 in the left!) and Rick's final shot broke what would have been a tie game and put him up by four points. Poor initiative numbers for Ethan allowed the Germans to escape and end the game, with Rick posting a narrow, four-point win.
The victory earned Rick his third Victory Medal in 23 tries. Ethan's total of 103 points was the highest second-place score since 2010. Bob fought his way back from near disaster to score a solid 75 points and earn third place. Dory fought hard but couldn't get a pilot hit when she needed one, and Stephen barely fought at all after going down on Turn 1.
The group came back together moments later when Ethan fired on Bob to score 3 hits, and Rick scoring 5 hits on Ethan's SPAD. By some miracle Bob's stricken Fokker remained aloft (with 4 critical hits and only 1 hit factor remaining in his right wing and 2 in the left!) and Rick's final shot broke what would have been a tie game and put him up by four points. Poor initiative numbers for Ethan allowed the Germans to escape and end the game, with Rick posting a narrow, four-point win.
The victory earned Rick his third Victory Medal in 23 tries. Ethan's total of 103 points was the highest second-place score since 2010. Bob fought his way back from near disaster to score a solid 75 points and earn third place. Dory fought hard but couldn't get a pilot hit when she needed one, and Stephen barely fought at all after going down on Turn 1.
Final scores:
Rick Lacy (Seimens Schuckert DIV) 107
Ethan Skinner (SPAD XVII) 103
Bob Meister (Fokker DVII 185) 75
Dory Oda (Sopwith Snipe) 49
Stephen Skinner (Sopwith Camel 150) 0
Rick Lacy (Seimens Schuckert DIV) 107
Ethan Skinner (SPAD XVII) 103
Bob Meister (Fokker DVII 185) 75
Dory Oda (Sopwith Snipe) 49
Stephen Skinner (Sopwith Camel 150) 0
Rule Changes Considered for Armistice Day Fits Tournament
Other than a 25 round ammunition limit, the Indy Squadron uses standard shooting rules for its tournament events. But discussions at the last gaming day opened up new possibilities to speed the game up without significantly altering the overall scores.
Here is the new rule proposal that Stephen will submit at our next gaming day regarding all local tournaments:
So we still have the same 25 rounds of ammunition that we had before. We still have the same chance of gun jams we've always had. And gun jams still result in reduced damage.
However, the reduction in damage is easier to calculate. Tournaments will be shorter because there is no delay in clearing gun jams - every jam is immediately and automatically resolved in time to allow the pilot to fire again on the next turn. Yet we still have just enough risk and randomness to gun jams to spice up the game and make outcomes less predictable.
A random sampling of Stephen's mission logs from 6 Indy Squadron events between 2018 and 2022 gave the following results:
Indy's tournament scoring has been consistent for thirty years. We don't want to make changes too quickly or without proper consideration. So think this over and be prepared to discuss it at our next gaming day in December.
Other than a 25 round ammunition limit, the Indy Squadron uses standard shooting rules for its tournament events. But discussions at the last gaming day opened up new possibilities to speed the game up without significantly altering the overall scores.
Here is the new rule proposal that Stephen will submit at our next gaming day regarding all local tournaments:
- Each pilot can shoot:
- 3 long bursts (12 ammo points)
- 3 interrupted bursts (9 ammo points)
- 2 short bursts (4 ammo points)
- All gun jams result in 50% reduction in hits scored (rounded up in the shooter's favor)
- All gun jams are automatically cleared prior to the next turn.
So we still have the same 25 rounds of ammunition that we had before. We still have the same chance of gun jams we've always had. And gun jams still result in reduced damage.
However, the reduction in damage is easier to calculate. Tournaments will be shorter because there is no delay in clearing gun jams - every jam is immediately and automatically resolved in time to allow the pilot to fire again on the next turn. Yet we still have just enough risk and randomness to gun jams to spice up the game and make outcomes less predictable.
A random sampling of Stephen's mission logs from 6 Indy Squadron events between 2018 and 2022 gave the following results:
- Average number of shots taken, 7 - since the proposed new system allows 8 shots per player, this number should remain unchanged.
- Average numbers of shots hit, 5.7 - as a derivative of the total shots taken, this number also remains unchanged.
- Average hit factors scored, 25.2 (4.4 scored hf's per shot) - this number may increase slightly because fewer short bursts are available for use under the proposed system.
- Average rounds fired, 17.8 - this number should increase slightly, again, because fewer short bursts are available.
- Average number of game turns, 14.8 - this number should decrease significantly because under the proposed new rule, gun jams are resolved automatically and no one can shoot more than 8 times in a game.
Indy's tournament scoring has been consistent for thirty years. We don't want to make changes too quickly or without proper consideration. So think this over and be prepared to discuss it at our next gaming day in December.
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