Eindekker Play Through

While reading through various air combat rules, I decided to try some out. Over the next few days I'll post my experiences.

THE GAME

First up is Eindekker from Minden Games. It recreates German fighter missions over France in 1915.

MY PLAY THROUGH

Set Up

Instead of using one of the famous aces, I decided to bring back an old character. Karl von Schmutzer featured in an aborted Eindekker campaign from 2013. He completed 3 missions then I abandoned the campaign. Von Schmutzer is an ace with the initiative and gunner abilities.

Normally you can choose which mission to undertake but I rolled randomly. The result was Combat Patrol, which involves patrolling friendly territory.

The Mission

Here is the progress of his mission, by turn.

Turn 1

• Random Event - I roll a 44 on D66, This event only applies if there was a dogfight in the prior turn. In this situation, nothing happens.
• Movement - Karl can move one area or one altitude level (there are 2 levels - Low or High). He chooses to climb to High altitude.
• Victory Points - Karl gets 1 VP for every turn patrolling at High Altitude in the Friendly Territory (FT) Zone. He's still in the Friendly Bases (FB) zone so he gets 0 VPs.

The mission map

Turn 2

• Random Event - Roll = 55. It only applies over the Trench line or in enemy territory, so nothing happens.
• Movement - Karl moves to Friendly Territory (FT)
• Victory Points - Karl is in FT at high altitude so he gets 1 VP.

Turn 3

• Random Event - Another 44 so no event.
• Movement - Karl continues to patrol the FT zone at high altitude
• Victory Points - Another 1 VP

Turn 4

• Random Event - Roll = 53. It only applies to planes over the trench lines, so no event.
• Movement - Stay in FT at high
• Victory Points - Another 1 VP

Turn 5

• Random Event - Roll = 21, enemy fighters. I roll 3 with no special skills
• COMBAT! Now we resolve the encounter
• Round 1 - fight the first plane only.
• For each plane, roll D6 + plane's Combat Strength + mods - damage
• The enemy rolls a 5 + CS of 3 = 8
• Karl rolls 1 + CS of 4 + 1 Ace mod = 6
• But, Karl has the Initiative skill so he can roll again in the first turn. His revised score is 3 + 4 + 1 = 8
• They tie, so nothing happens
• Round 2 - The second plane joins in.
• Start with the first plane.
• Karl rolls 2+4+1=7 vs. 1+3=4
• Karl wins so he rolls on the Damage table to determine the result.
• Roll 2D6. He rolls a 2
• Cross reference against the gun's weapon type and the roll differential.
• The differential is 3 but Karl's Gunner skill bumps that up by 2.
• The result = a moment of triumph. The first enemy goes down.

Yes, I know that's not an Eindekker, but it's what I have. ;)

• Now Karl fight the second plane.
• Karl rolls 6+4+1=11 vs. 2+3=5.
• However, Karl already attacked this turn; he cannot attack twice. This means plane 2 tried to attack but Karl outmaneuvered him.
• Round 3 - the third plane joins.
• Karl squares off vs. plane 2.
• Scores are 1+4+1=6 vs. 4+3=7
• Damage roll = 11, engine. Bullets rip into Karl's engine. It begins to sputter.
• Plane 3 attacks
• Karl scores 6+4+1 and subtract 1 for the engine hit = 10
• Note: the rules say add 1 for damage but that does not seem correct. I subtracted 1 instead 
• Plane 3 scores 3+3=6.
• Again, Karl already engaged so he cannot attack this round.
• Karl does not like his chances with a damaged engine so he decides to flee. The enemy gets one parting attack against him.
• Karl's modified roll is greater than the enemy so he escapes without further damage
• Movement - the dogfight leaves Karl at low altitude
• Victory Points - He gets 10 VP for destroying an enemy aircraft

Turn 6

• Random Event - Another 55, which does not apply
• Movement - Karl moves into the Friendly Base (FB) zone. Because he is at low altitude, he can land. His mission is over
• Victory Points - 0 VP for this turn

Post Mission Actions

• Tally up his VPs for the mission. He gets 13. This essentially equates to a draw for the mission.
• Tally up total VPs for the game. He previously had 62 so now goes up to 75.
• Repair damage. Karl needs a 3 or better on a D6 to repair the engine hit. He rolls a 1. Fail!

On to Mission 5

I can choose to fly the mission with a damaged plane or wait for repairs. I choose to wait but again roll too low to fix the engine!

The Decision

Should Karl try more repairs or fly damaged? He needs 5 more for a draw or 25 more for a win. 25 VPs in one mission is a stretch so he leans towards flying. But you'll have to wait and see what happens next.

ANALYSIS

What I Like

• Fits into a small space
• The mechanics are simple and easy to grasp. 
• Game play is not too long.
• It delivers tension and suspense.

What I Don't Like

• Organization - While the rules are simple, they are scattered throughout the book. I found myself "flipping" around a lot, which is especially hard to do with a PDF! Eindekker could really use a quick reference sheet.
• Narrow focus - You fly an Eindekker. That's your only option. 
• No differentiation between enemy aircraft - Along the same lines, the rules clump enemy planes into 2 broad categories - fighters and bombers/recon planes. There is no differentiation. Now, I am a fan of clumping. I think most games go overboard in making fine distinctions that don't matter much. But this is a bit extreme even for me.
• Use of differences in combat - The combat result depends on the differential between rolls. This means you need to add up all applicable modifiers for every roll. Often, I will roll and only add modifiers if the result is close. If one side rolls a 6 and the other a 1, I don't need to do all the math. But this approach doesn't work if the differential matters.
• Use of damage table - You roll on a table for damage results. Furthermore, the results are not the same across columns. For example, a roll of 10 is an engine hit in column B5, a miss in column B6, and 2 structure hits in column B7. I prefer simple tables I can memorize, but in this situation I have to refer to the table every single time.
• Lack of tactical thought in dogfights - you just roll dice to see if you outmaneuver the enemy. There are no decisions to make. All of Eindekker's decisions focus on resource management., such as 
• How long do I stay in combat? 
• Do I head home once I take damage or do I stick it out?

Final Analysis

it's not a bad game. I can see myself playing it now and then. However, it is not exactly what I'm looking for. I may steal ideas from it, but I'm going to continue to experiment with different systems.