Japanese Bettys "Sweating" It Out After Bomb Run

Our formation of "sweaty" Betty bombers, and Allen's escorting Zeros

Check Your 6! is one of those games that we play only about once a year. So, invariably, we spend the first half hour trying to re-learn the rules. Mike S had cooked up a scenario featuring a flight of Japanese Betty bombers escorted by 6 Zeros. A U.S. force of 5 Wildcats and 2 P-39 Airacobras were attacking them after the Bettys had completed their bomb run.

My two Zeros take a left turn to sweep around and come in behind the Wildcats -- or so we thought!

I ended up controlling two Zeros flown by Veteran pilots. As we were filling out our sheets, I noticed our "robustness" -- how much damage we can take under the CY6! system -- was appropriately enough, a "0." That is a really fragile plane. So, I decided to take my two Zeros on a sweep to come in behind the Keith's Wildcats after they had made their run. I underestimated how quickly they could close with the bomber formation and ended up out of the fight for a good length of time.

Our enemy -- three of the five Wildcats and two P-39 Airacobras in the distance

In fact, I had no idea that they would simply dog-pile into the middle of the bomber formation and essentially be invulnerable under the CY6 system (and Mike S' really bad die rolls!). So, as I was hurriedly trying to close with the scrum in the middle, Bettys kept falling from the skies. I think that our defensive fire from bombers accounted for one damaged Wildcat in the entire game. Maybe that's accurate -- I don't know. Keith was clever and dove under their formation where they had fewer guns to bear, and Brett hung on the edges and shot in, but Steve just flew straight into the middle of the formation, guns blazing.

Yes, you must be bald to play in this game...ha, ha! Keith, Brett, and Mike S analyze the scrum (guess whose two fighters those are way out of the fight...?)

Slowly, my fellow Japanese Zero pilots (Joel and Allen) closed with the U.S. fighters. One by one, we began to damage or drop their fighters, too. I made a diving turn and got into fight (right onto the Wildcats' tails, as I'd planned) two turns before the end of the game. I managed to shoot down one damaged Wildcat. I never took any fire, but felt somewhat like I'd bungled my job as bomber escort. Oh well, dead men tell no tales!

The Wildcats boldly jump right into the formation of Betty bombers, ignoring the Zeros lurking on the edges

I do think that perhaps slightly larger hexes are needed. The bomber formation was simply a mass of airplanes and looked kind of silly, I thought. Of course, if it was fighter-on-fighter action, it likely wouldn't have looked as out of scale.

Okay, this looks a little silly, in my opinion...an argument for larger hexes with this scale planes

I learned some lessons about how to do bomber escort, which I will doubtless forget in the ensuing year before we play again...ha, ha!

One Betty bomber remains, but will soon be shot down. Zeros close in...too late!