Shrapnel Games Blog

Duel in the Dark (Z-Man Games)

“…aerial warfare admits of no defense, only offense. We must therefore resign ourselves to the offensives the enemy inflicts upon us, while striving to put all our resources to work to inflict even heavier ones on him. This is the basic principle which must govern the development of aerial warfare.”

So wrote Italian aviator and World War One veteran Giulio Douhet in The Command of the Air, his collection of essays during the twenties arguing that in the next war the strategic bomber would be the key to victory. In his mind a fleet of self-protected bombers, penetrating deep into the enemy’s homeland, would be able to wreak havoc on military, industrial, and civilian targets and bring the enemy to the surrender table far quicker than any land or naval offensive.

While members of his home nation never took his theories to heart they were well received by the United States and Great Britain, giving rise to the strategic air war that was waged against the Axis during the Second World War. During the aerial bombardment campaign on the Third Reich the United States advocated daylight raids against military targets, while the British initial modus operandi was to attack civilian targets at night. One air force wanted to break the Germans militarily, the other hoped to shatter the populace. Together, these disciples of Douhet had hoped that the combination would win the war from the air. In hindsight it had little effect on either the industrial output of Germany, or in breaking the morale of the population.

Duel in the Dark, published by Z-Man Games and developed by Pilot Games, is a light game on a heavy topic: the British air war against Germany during 1943. While ostensibly manifesting itself as a wargame with hexes and nightfighter and flak pieces, in reality Duel in the Dark (henceforth referred to as Duel) is a pure strategy game wrapped with a consim shell. There are no combat result tables, or even the dice that would be used to determine victory on the CRT. In Duel victory or defeat, determined by a victory point track, rests solely on how well the players have planned their actions

Each session of Duel represents a single night of Bomber Command bombing a German city. While the box states an average play time of a hour, in practice once both players have grasped the strategic nuances of the game thirty minutes (or even less) is a more realistic time frame. Because of this Duel lends itself well to playing it as a ‘campaign’ game, with players battling it out over several nights.

A game begins with the German player placing his four fighter squadrons consisting of three ME-110 groups and one DO-217 unit on the map, a stylized depiction of the eastern half of Great Britain and the northern reaches of Germany. The fighters function exactly the same with the exception that the Dornier has better endurance, making it very useful for laying in wait for returning bombers.

Once the German player bases his air force the British player draws a weather card which dictates the phase of the moon, wind direction, cloud and fog cover, and possibly whether it will be a summer night. Using a set of thick, die-cut clouds attached to plastic stands the weather is distributed on the map, creating a nice visual effect that’s a lot more exciting than if a bunch of counters were simply dropped down.

The moon, clouds, and summer all affect how victory points are scored. A full moon makes target location much easier, and thus increases how the Brits are awarded victory points when they bomb. At the same time it also makes it easier for the Germans to intercept the bombers, and in turn increases interception points. Clouds can make interception more difficult, but also alters the bomb run. Summer is a timed event, and careful British planning can avoid the problems when dealing with summer. As the British player examines the weather to plot his raid he needs to take all the above into consideration, but there are also three other factors that he needs to look at.

First, how is the weather at the German airfields? Squadrons having to take off or land in fog or a thunderstorm award victory points to the Brits. Will the night begin with the German player giving up points from the get-go? If so, does the British player use these points as a safety net buffer or as a bonus?

Second, will the weather change? An advanced rule, this allows for possible shifts in wind (and thus clouds) at certain points during the game. When the weather changes the way it is altered is randomly determined; the weather may remain unchanged or there may be a shift. Is your target at risk to becoming hidden?

Third, which way does the wind blow? While having no effect on the way the British player conducts his moves, wind has a tremendous impact on the Germans. Normally a fighter squadron consumes two units of fuel per move, but flying into a headwind increases this to three units. Flying with a tailwind allows fighters to either move their normal one hex distance but at a cost of only one unit, or move two hexes for two units of fuel consumed. Obviously Bomber Command is better served trying to take a route that will force the Germans to consume as much fuel as possible.

With all those factors to take into consideration the British player also faces the unknown, as he will not know the disposition of the ground defenses until take off. So as carefully as the route is planned, and every potential victory point mentally tallied, there still is a X factor that can totally change how the raid unfolds.

The actual planning of the raid is fairly simple. The British player has a deck of cards that he uses to program his flight path, with one card drawn for each hex the raid is moving through. There is a limitation of fourteen total cards to get there and back. In the event it is summer the seasonal effects take place after the eighth card, allowing players to avoid the situation by planning a shorter route.

After the raid route is determined the German player places his ground defenses consisting of flak, searchlights, radar, fuel trucks, smoke screens, civil bunkers, balloon barriers, and fire departments. These defenses are represented by forty double-sided counters, with an inherent mix limitation of what can be placed. Flak is the only active defense, while the rest either work in concert with other defenses (radar works with interception, searchlights help with flak, interceptions, and by blinding the bombers) or interacting with scoring. For example, fire departments lessen the number of points scored by the Brits when they bomb the target city.

Once all defenses are placed the British player places his units (one bomber fleet and one Mosquito squadron) on their starting airfields in England which he chose while planning the night’s raid. After that it’s chocks away!

At this point Duel shifts into a traditional sequence of play. The British player moves and performs actions with his Mossie squadron, the German moves his interceptors, and then finally the bombers move. These three steps are then repeated until the end of the raid.

The Mossie can move one or two hexes and can drop target marking flares or bombs. The British player has six of these markers, with one side being a bomb and the other a target marker. Bombs neutralize ground defenses and impact airfields, while marking flares provide bonuses during the bomb run on the target city. The Mossie can also combat German fighters, although this only occurs when a German squadron moves into the Mossie’s hex.

Deciding the Mossie’s path is an interesting dilemma for the British player. If the Mossie sticks close to the bombing stream it can provide escort. If it loiters at German airfields this gives the Brits points, but may place the Mossie out of position. Bombing ground defenses can be useful, especially to negate tough hexes that the bombers will have to fly over, but boosting target victory points by marking it can be good. And what about marking a false target in order to trick the Germans? A good option, but at the expense of using those markers for real. Resources are limited, and the Mossie can’t do everything, everywhere. What will have the greatest impact?

With the Mossie moved and actions performed the German player can then maneuver his fighter squadrons. Just like the British player with his Mosquito squadron, the German player faces a number of possibilities each turn. When is the right time to launch? Are the squadrons in the right place? What will the wind do for fuel? Is the Mossie acting as a pathfinder or a spoof? What are the ideal sites for making contact (e.g. ones with plenty of radar and searchlights)? For the German player it’s not enough to think in the present, they must plan at least two moves ahead. There’s nothing worse than realizing that the perfect interception plan is about to fail because the squadron will have exhausted its fuel.

The bombers, being on a programmed course, don’t face any decisions. They just move along their path, a path the controlling player hopes is a fairly risk-free one. There is one initial decision with the bombing group, that being the choice of whether they will fly at low altitude or high. Once chosen the flight is locked into that altitude for the night. Low altitude provides some nice bonuses when bombing, while at the same time making it easier for flak. High altitude is safer, but sometimes you just need to go for those extra points.

Speaking of points as previously mentioned Duel is a game that is purely about earning victory points though the player’s actions. Sometimes these actions are active, other times passive. Every time the bomber fleet moves into a hex containing German squadrons points are awarded to the German player. When those same squadrons move into a hex with a Mossie points are awarded to the British player. When a German squadron takes off from a fog shrouded field points are awarded to the Brits, while every civil bunker in a target city subtracts from the target’s total victory point amount.

Since there are no random elements to how points are calculated players need to always seek out how to best nullify their opponent’s take during a phase. The British player knows that they will be crossing a hex with two flak units and they’re flying at low altitude during a full moon. This will give the German player six points. The Mossie could bomb the flak and eliminate the points, or it could bomb one, reducing the points to three, and then dropping four flares on the target city for four points, allowing the British side a net gain of one point.

Surprisingly, instead of reducing the game to feeling mechanical the way it plays is very organic. Each player essentially exerts control on how their opponent will react, with one poke leading to a reaction of events that in turn dovetails back into more reactions. This is a game of bluff and counterbluff, of action and reaction, of foresight and daring.

Because the game is only simulating nightly raids there are no rules for the technological and doctrinal changes that occurred as the war progressed. Simulating later periods and the changes would be fairly easy to add as house rules, although one would assume that chances are there will be expansions that will officially change the game. Already there are some new pieces for sale, such as rail flak and acoustic mirrors.

The only real issue with Duel is with the manual. Translated from German to English there are a few rough sections, but nothing that can’t be figured out by taking into account the overall context. It also helps that there is a play-by-play session transcribed in the manual, along with accompanying diagrams.

Duel in the Dark is a fascinating title. While by no means a simulation, it does accurately abstract the British bombing campaign and the problems the Germans faced defending against it in a manner that wargamers will appreciate. Strategy gamers of all kinds though will enjoy the duel of wits between opponents. From the moment the game begins players are faced with choices, choices, choices, all of which have the potential to create a ripple effect through the game. What a great system.

Multi-Night House Rule Suggestions: If playing a multi-night session game there are two things we’ve experimented with that I wanted to share. These house rules should be considered works in progress.

(1) To represent damage to a city each time it is bombed reduce its total potential victory points by 10%, rounded down.

(2) Instead of the German player being allowed to move all his defenses around each day the German player rolls 1d6 and adds the current German VP total (0 if the track is currently British positive) to the result. That is how many defenses he can reposition.

We’ve also considered if playing with the medal rules use medals in conjunction with the above rule. Each medal spent could move two defensive pieces, in addition to the number rolled. Another thought we’ve had but haven’t tried is a formula of the German player can reposition up to 20 pieces minus the current British victory point level.