From: "nnse@sn.no" Subject: Tongue in cheek RAF - long. I recently found some notes from playing the solitaire game RAF. It appears I wrote them up some years ago and can only find one page. For those unfamiliar with the game its a solitaire design that works well. You play the RAF at the individual squadron level. The game system, primarily card driven, runs the Luftwaffe. The game is played in "days", each starts with weather and LW effort. This decides how quickly the clock will go - the more the LW effort, the slower time goes and the more raids per day. As RAF supremo you receive varying levels of intelligence on incoming raids that equates to how quick you can react and thus which units can intercept. As time goes on your squadrons become fatigued and depleted in the grind. The game is quite suspenseful, as you juggle your limited forces not knowing where/when the next raids may strike. Other unknowns such as special events further heighten the thrill. The system works well and the longer scenarios effectively portray the attrition and cost of day in, day out aerial attacks. I had obviously seen Jeeves & Wooster! or some such thing prior to writing the following notes:- The Thin Blue Line contd. 01 Sept. 1940 Weather cloudy, Jerry effort light. 0600 - Raid developing over the South coast, no warning, one Gruppen. Ruddy heck they're on top of us before we get time to think! - heading for Kenley. Luckily the raid causes no damage, the Gruppen of fighter bombers only straffed up the runways. Threw the cat among our pigeons though and some flaming idiot up at High Wycombe ordered all our patrols to land early! 14.00 - Some medium warning alerts us about a raid coming in over the west country, but poor intelligence lets us down as to the raids composition. We decide to take no chances - SCRAMBLE!! - 234, 249 and 87 squadrons. Well we sent the Bosch packing alright, but all the 3 bally squadrons engaged end up fatigued. Gin arriving tomorrow. 02 Sept. 1940 Weather cloudy, Jerry effort is stepped up to normal. 0600 - Just get back to the quarters when all bally heck breaks loose!! A major show seems to be developing. We get medium warning of the impending raid and some vague intelligence estimates 11 Gruppen approaching, pass that flying helmet and SCRAMBLE!!!. We get 56 squadron airborne in time and divert patrols from 41, 609 and 32 sqdn's. Luckily the Hun can't hold formation in the heavy clouds and ends up dispersed. Our chaps biff some 109's and send them scurrying. The bombers are made of sterner stuff though and they make it to Hornchurch where they bed our ruddy Blenheims!! 1000 - Just getting the kettle on after all that lot and news of another major raid comes in!!. Luckily our observers and radar (oops who said that?!?) chaps are on the ball, and we get early warning. Intel bods can't provide us much gen about who they are though. High Wycombe wants a big wing up this time so we SQUADRON SCRAMBLE!! 222, 64, 303 and number 1. Patrols are also diverted from 32, 145, and 41 sqdn's. However once up there our chaps can only find a motley 4 bomber Gruppen and 1 jager Gruppe from the much battered Luftflotte 2. Well stone the crows - its got to be a bally diversion! We pull 3 sqdn's back to patrol and dive on the jerries. Tally-ho! - right thru' the 109's and torch a whole squadron of Ju88's! Cancel the blasted champers though - some Stukas have sneaked through and hit ruddy London!! Whats more we're more than a little exposed for the rest of the day - 7/11 sector is laid bare and the neighbours can only field 1 squadron each!! 1200 - As if that lot weren't enough another raid develops. The observers and carrot eaters give us some top hole early warning and we go for another big wing defence. The Debden wing: SCRAMBLE!!(85, 257 and 25 sqdn's) and we'll divert 222 and 303 sqdns, even if they say they're tired. Bally intel bods need to pull up their blasted socks though, its a blooming ruddy false raid!!! Luckily old Heinz seems as keen as I am to get down the mess today and we don't see anymore of him. 03 Sept. 1940 Clear weather, Jerry effort normal. 0600 - Gosh close those curtains, Bally-heck sweetie the clouds have gone, must be off! Before heading off to the mess for brekkers we get a nice curtain of patrols airborne all around the South East coast. I drop the tea pot though when the sky fills with the roar of Daimler-Benz power. Well I ask you, late warning of a raid in bound, is this absolutely necessary? (Radar bods's gin must've turned up yesterday too!) The intel boys are back on the ball however, their gen is spot on - 5 gruppen, and mostly all 109's. Old man Dowding see's this as a bit of Hun trickery and decides to save our effort. No squadrons are alerted, well heavens above!! The ruddy Bosch have a field day, and ripped up Tangmere to a band playing. 601, 602 (there'll be hell to pay from those bally Scotsmen) and 266 sqdns all end up reduced. 1300 - More Luftflotte 2 activity - got to hand it to them! Medium warning comes in of a medium sized 7 Gruppen raid heading for our coasts. And blimey if old Dowding doesn't read the tea leaves on this one. Luftflotte 2 is totally out of bombers so he decides it's got to be another feint. Try telling the chaps at Kenley that one!! A pack of bandits come screaming along the garden fences and we loose a whole parked squadron of Hurri'birds for the day! -o0o- Unfortunately thats all I can find for the time being, the game comes highly recommended. Andrew. -- - nse@sn.no