Blue Max Game and Updates

Well, I got in a game lately and took photos too!  

Last weekend, Dave S & Adam J ran two Blue Max games using the new board game rules.  I got in two games with the group at Adam J's table.  It probably has been close or just over 20 years ago since I played Blue Max last.  The basics are similar from what I remember, but you use cards instead of chips for damage now.  Back in the day, I played Blue Max in St Louis and in Memphis when I lived there.  I use to really hate Blue Max, not for the mechanics, but just about 75% or better of the games I played I always drew a "Pilot Killed" or "Fuel Explosion" during the game.  Also, I rarely ever got any kills because someone else would put the final hit on an the plane that I had been shooting up all game...I even threaten one of my allied players that the next time he did that I was going to shoot at him instead...(he had a nasty habit of cutting between me and cripple target so I couldn't shoot and he could, and yes, I did finally had to shoot him to realize that was starting to get me PO'ed.)  Anyways, I like the system.  I still like Wings of Glory too, so I play both.

So the first game was a two on two engagement.  The Germans were Ray R & Ravi R flying Fokker Dr I's.  The British were myself and Bob S flying Royal Navy Sopwith Triplanes.  We had attitude advantage and were determine to keep it.  Bob & Ray started to traded shots as I made a hard left blank away and started to turn back into the fight to trade shots with Ray.  Ravi's Fokker got between me and Bob's Sopwith's coming in at Bob's 10 o'clock and I was coming in Ravi's 6 o'clock high.  I did a long burst and rolled really well ripping Ravi's tail off and sent him spinning into the earth.  Unfortunately, I jammed my gun and never got it cleared again to tangle with Ray before he fled from getting heavy handed by Bob.  Bob was also in bad shape, but I was totally unscratched and Ray decided running away was a wiser move.

I am trading shots with Ray (Green Fokker) and Ravi (Red Fokker) is just about to fly right into the front of my gun (Sopwith with the red stripe

History books need to be changed!  I shot down the Red Baron!  But I didn't shoot no deputy!

 In the second game, we had a three on three game.  The Germans were flying Albatrosses under the command of Adam, Ray, and Johan H (our local Swede).  The French were piloting Neiuport 24's under Ravi, Bob, and me.  At the start of the game, Bob was flying in middle of our formation, with Ravi on the right and me on the left.  Both Ravi and I broke off to go wide and come back in towards the fight in the center as it seemed to work so well before.  I got Adam lined up in my sights to fire and figured out that I was one hex too far out even with a long burst.  So cranked it up and flew in to the center and got Ray in my sites instead and fired off a good roll with a medium burst.  However, Johan came up on my 4 o'clock and did a long burst with only one Blue (minor) damage hit...however it was a horrible hit for me!  It only did two hits to my fuselage, but it destroyed my only machine gun!  (Blast you, Johan!  However, justice smiled on me as Johan later told me that his machines guns were jammed for the rest of the whole game after that shot!)  So I decided to bug out of the fight, which I was successful at with only allowing Ray to get one shot at me (with no effect) before I broke free from the fight.  But in this game, there was several mid-air collisions, luckily for the pilots all managed to only have minor damage in all of the collisions.  Bob was extremely unluckily to be around as he was responsible for two of the three collisions!  Including one with his own team mate too!  In the end, the Germans won this round as Bob was finally shot down, Ravi and I both ran away.  But Johan also fled the field and Ray & Adam where both in bad shape, but they controlled the air.  

Opening attack!  Johan is the white tail Albatross, Ray is the one in the middle, and Adam is in the red one.  Ravi is in the most top Neiuport, Bob is in the green one, and I am in the bottom right corner.

Double Collision!  Bob runs into Ray and Ravi runs into Johan!  I  just lost my gun the turn before and starting to run away while Adam is too far back to catch me.

Bob is at it again!  Bob collides with Ravi.

So in other news, I finished off King Leopold's Ghost.  What a depressing book.  It is a must read, but be ready to be depressed.  I also finished off Weird War II: Wunderwaffe by Timothy Brown.  I also listened on audiobook to Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Charlie Chan in the Pawns of Death by Bill Pronzini and Jeffery Wallmann, and great classic, Who Goes There? by John Campbell.  I am getting ready to start reading Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada by Peter Vronsky.  This is to get all of the details to redo my 15mm Battle of Ridgeway project from 20 or so years ago.  This is the book to read if you want uniform information and detail accounts & information.  For my listening pleasure, I am going to start listening to one of my favorite top cops, Chief: My Life in the LAPD by Chief Daryl Gates and Diane Shah.

 As a side note, I picked up a book on Ebay that I am still waiting on, but I am really looking forward to reading (mostly likely right after I finish Ridgeway!).  It is Strange Soldiering: Major Lawson's own dramatic story of his experiences with the Third Nigerian Brigade by Sir Richard Lawson while he was a Major seconded to the Nigerian Army with the UN forces in the Congo during 1961-62.  The Congo in the 1960s is one of my favorite periods to study.  To find any accounts in English that is not on the Mercenaries, the Irish UN troops, or about Operation Dragon Rouge are hard finds in my opinion.  So I am looking forward to reading about the Nigerian UN troops.

Be seeing you

Sapper