INSTANT BANDITS

THE SQUADRON GAME CAMPAIGN

This is a system for using the Instant Bandits rules in an ongoing campaign – a series of
linked scenarios using continuing pilot ‘characters’. It is set in the Battle of Britain era
and the ‘squadron’ represents British pilots flying Spitfires or Hurricanes against
German aircraft. However, the system could be easily adapted to other theatres – one
that comes to mind would be a squadron of German pilots defending against US/RAF
aircraft over the Reich in 1943/44.
OVERVIEW

This is envisaged as a solo campaign. However there is nothing to prevent a second

player handling the German forces in one or more of the battles (particularly if escorting
German fighters are involved). The player will assemble his initial squadron of RAF
pilots (naming them, determining ability levels and going into as much biographical
detail as desired). He will then generate a scenario, assemble his defenders and fight out
the battle using normal Instant Bandits rules. At the end of the battle he will allocate
‘Experience Points’ to his POOR-rated pilots (this helps pilots advance in ability), change
any ability ratings accordingly or generate replacements for any pilots lost. This
continues for the specified number of battles until the campaign is over.

BRITISH SET UP

The player firstly decides which type of aircraft he will use in the campaign. He can
choose from either the Spitfire Ia or the Hurricane I (later).

The player will then decide the length of the campaign. This is measured in scenarios,
and will be the number of battles fought. This can be any number but the suggested
minimum is 15.

The player will then generate his starting roster of frontline pilots.

The British Squadron is represented by 8 frontline pilots.

Initially 4 of the starting pilots are automatically of AVERAGE ability.

The remaining 4 pilots have to draw cards from the deck to determine their ability. Draw
a card for each of the remaining 4 pilots. Any HEART drawn indicates that that pilot is
rated GOOD. Any SPADE drawn indicates that that pilot is rated POOR. A CLUB or
DIAMOND indicates an AVERAGE rating.

The player will now have his initial 8 pilots rated for ability (at least 4 of whom will be
AVERAGE). However, the pilots will each have accumulated different experiences prior
to the game (including, possibly kills) and this needs to be accounted for, as this will help
determine future advancement for the pilots.
 DETERMINING INITIAL CHARACTERISTICS

Each of the 8 initial pilots will now have an ability level (POOR, AVERAGE or GOOD –
no pilot starts at the ACE level).

For each pilot draw a card from the deck. This will determine what staring Experience
Points (XP) or Kills that pilot will have at the outset.

POOR pilots can only have XP. If the card drawn is BLACK then the pilot has NO
starting XP. If the card drawn is a DIAMOND then the pilot has 1 XP. If the card drawn
is a HEART then the pilot has the following XP depending on the value of the card
drawn. Ace of Hearts = 4 XP; K, Q or J of HEARTS = 3 XP; Any other HEART = 3XP.

AVERAGE and GOOD pilots do not have XP. However, they draw to see what, if any,
KILLS they have scored prior to the game.

AVERAGE pilots may only have Kill scores of 0 or 1. If they draw a RED PICTURE
card (K, Q or J) then they start with a Kill score of 1. ANY other card is a kill score of 0.

GOOD pilots have starting Kill Scores of between 2 and 4. If they draw a BLACK card
then they have a starting kill score of 2. If they draw a RED PICTURE card they have a
starting kill score of 4. ANY other RED card is a starting kill score of 3.

These starting characteristics should be recorded on the roster.

(For those in a hurry a sample pre-generated squadron is given at appendix 2. This has
been generated using the above procedure, with no massaging of abilities)

PILOT PROGRESSION

Pilots can improve their ability ratings in two ways.

A POOR pilot can improve his rating to AVERAGE by accumulating 5 XP.

XP is accumulated depending on actions within a scenario according to the following list:

1 XP: for participating in a scenario. This is NOT awarded if the pilot is shot down (and
survives!) for the SECOND or subsequent time (in other words this XP IS awarded for
participating in a scenario where the pilot is shot down but only for the first shootdown)

1XP: for scoring non-crippling damage on an enemy aircraft.

2 XP: for scoring crippling damage on an enemy aircraft.

1 XP: for participating in ‘splitting’ an enemy Bomber Stream formation.

Note that all the above awards are ONE-TIME only awards in a particular scenario,
regardless of however many times the pilot achieves this act (e.g. if a POOR pilot
cripples three enemy aircraft in a scenario he still only receives 2XP). The awards for
damaging enemy aircraft are mutually exclusive.(e.g. if a POOR pilot lightly damages an
aircraft then cripples one then the award is 2XP).

The award for participating in ‘splitting’ an enemy Bomber Stream applies if a POOR
pilot participates in such an action by occupying an enemy Bomber Stream square at the
end of the Movement Phase and at least one enemy Bomber drops out of that formation
(see rules) as a result. Again, this award is only made once per scenario, regardless of the
number of times this is performed.

A running total of XP is kept for each POOR pilot. A POOR pilot is raised to AVERAGE
when he accumulates 5 or more XP. Note that changes in pilot ability ONLY take place
BETWEEN scenarios, never during a scenario.

POOR pilots may also increase ability by scoring KILLS, regardless of accumulated XP.
If a POOR pilot scores 1 kill he is automatically increased to AVERAGE before the next
scenario. If he scores 2-4 kills then he automatically progresses to GOOD. It is even
possible, though unlikely, for a POOR pilot to score 5 or more kills in a given scenario
and become an instant ACE.

AVERAGE and GOOD pilots do not record XP. They only progress by scoring KILLS.

An AVERAGE pilot has 0-1 Kills.

A GOOD pilot has 2-4 Kills.
An ACE has 5 or more Kills.

Remember that ability only changes BETWEEN scenarios.

KILL DEFINITION

A kill can ONLY be claimed by an individual pilot if he actually scores the Hit Point(s)
that destroys an enemy aircraft (regardless of if previous damage has been scored on it by
another pilot). Note that a kill cannot be claimed through progressive damage.

REPLACEMENT PILOTS

When a British pilot is shot down in a scenario use the ‘Bail-Out’ procedure from the
rules to determine whether he survives. If he survives then he is returned to the available
roster. If he does not survive then a replacement pilot is generated.

Normally, all replacement pilots will be rated POOR. However, the maximum number of
POOR pilots allowed in the 8 active pilots is 6. If a POOR replacement pilot or pilots
would exceed this number then, instead, draw a single card for each such pilot. Any
PICTURE card indicates a GOOD rated pilot. Any other card indicates an AVERAGE
pilot.

Whatever the rating of a replacement pilot follow the identical procedure for determining
start-up XP or Kill figures as described above for the initial set up of the squadron.

SCENARO GENERATION

You are now ready to generate the first scenario for the campaign.

GERMAN AIRCRAFT

Appendix 1 contains the German Aircraft Table (GAT). By simply drawing a card from
the deck and reading off the result the number of German aircraft to be used in the
scenario is determined.

The table is divided into three major headings. These are RED, CLUB/BLACK and
SPADE. The spade column is only used in the first third of the campaign. When you
decide the overall length of the campaign divide that number by 3, rounding up any
fractions. The result is the number of scenarios, starting with number 1, for which the
Spade column is in use. During this period the cards drawn are cross referenced under
the RED column (if a Heart or Diamond), or the CLUB or SPADE columns depending on
the suit of the card drawn. After the first third of the campaign is completed future
scenarios drop the Spade column and only use RED or BLACK to determine the German
forces.

E.g. the campaign is to last 15 turns overall. The three columns are only to be used for
the first 5 scenarios. If the campaign is to last 20 scenarios then they would be used for
the first 7 scenarios and so on.

The columns in the GAT are subdivided into ‘Intruder’ and ‘Escort’ headings.

The numbers and notations in these columns against the card drawn gives the numbers
and types of German aircraft to be used in the scenario.

The codes represent B = Bombers; FB = Fighter Bombers and F = Fighters. Thus ‘4B’ =
four Bombers. There may be two entries for a given type. For example a notation of ‘4B,
6B’ represents two DIFFERENT types of BOMBERS being four of one type and six of
another.

Note that if there is an ‘x’ in the sub-columns then no aircraft of that type is present.
GERMAN AIRCRAFT TYPES

Only the following Aircraft types are allowed in the campaign:

BOMBERS FIGHTER BOMBERS FIGHTERS

Dornier Do 17 JU87B Stuka Messerschmitt Me Bf109E (later)

Heinkel HE 111 Messerschmitt Me110C
Junkers JU88 (early)

If Fighters are indicated from the GAT then these will ALWAYS be Me BF109s. If there
are multiple types of Bombers allocated then draw a card for each type with the highest
value card(s) indicating there inclusion in the scenario. In the event of tied cards use the
suits to break the tie in the following priority order: HEART; CLUB; DIAMOND then
SPADE.

(e.g. if the scenario calls for two different types of bomber then draw one card for each of
the three bomber types with the two highest cards drawn representing the two selected
types).

If the two types of Bombers have different numbers of aircraft present then, using the
same cards drawn as above, allow the HIGHER card to represent the type with the most
aircraft. (e.g. If the GAT indicates a scenario including 6B and 4B then the highest of the
cards will allocate the type with 6 aircraft and the other allocated type receiving 4
aircraft).

Note that if Fighter-Bombers are indicated in the ‘Intruder’ column these are ALWAYS
Ju87B ‘Stukas’. If FBs are allocated under the ‘Escort’ column then these are ALWAYS
Me110Cs.

OPTIONAL GERMAN RATINGS

If the player(s) wish they can go on to allocate pilot/crew ratings to the selected German
aircraft. Draw a single card for each of the German aircraft. If any card other than a
HEART is drawn then the aircraft is rated AVERAGE. If a HEART is drawn then the
German Aircraft has the following ratings:

ACE = ACE (F & FB only, if a Bomber this represents AVERAGE)

PICTURE CARD (K, Q or J) = GOOD
OTHER HEART = POOR.

Note that at least ONE aircraft in EACH German type allocated must be at least
AVERAGE grade. If all aircraft of one type are allocated as POOR then upgrade one to
AVERAGE automatically.
Alternatively players may automatically declare ALL German aircraft as AVERAGE or
apply the allocation procedure above ONLY to Fighters and Fighter Bombers.

Whichever method is decided must apply to all scenarios in the campaign.

GERMAN BOMBER STREAMS

German Bombers will automatically belong to a Bomber Stream at the start of a scenario
(see Bomber Stream formation rules). If a particular German bomber type contains up to
6 aircraft then they will form a single Bomber Stream AUTOMATICALLY. If a particular
type has more than 6 Bombers allocated then draw a single card. If the Card drawn is a
HEART then the aircraft are split into two Bomber Streams of equal numbers. Any other
suit indicates a single Bomber Stream for that type (note that the GAT will never allocate
more than 12 bombers of the same type).

BRITISH AIRCRAFT ALLOCATION

Once the German aircraft have been allocated for a scenario then it is time to select the
British aircraft that will oppose it in the upcoming game.

Draw a single card from the deck:

King, Queen = 8 Aircraft

Jack,10,9,8 = 6 Aircraft
7,6,5,4,3 = 4 Aircraft
2, Ace = 2 Aircraft.

At this stage count the TOTAL number of GERMAN aircraft (all types) due to be
deployed in the forthcoming scenario (ignoring potential reinforcements).

If the German total is 12 aircraft or more ADD 2 British Aircraft to the total allocated.
If the German total is 6 or less DEDUCT 2 British Aircraft to the total allocated.

Note that the number of British Aircraft cannot exceed 8 or be less than 2, despite the
above modifications.

BRITISH PILOT ALLOCATION

Once the number of British aircraft is established pilots need to be allocated from the
squadron list. Obviously, if 8 aircraft have been allocated then ALL the available pilots
will be used!

Otherwise draw a card for each of the eight pilots. The highest cards drawn will go on to
fill the allocated spaces (use the suit priority to separate ties HEART, CLUB, DIAMOND
then SPADES).
IMPORTANT: Once the British pilots have been allocated examine their ability ratings.
There MUST be one AVERAGE OR BETTER–rated pilot for each FOUR AIRCRAFT or
part thereof (i.e. if 2 or 4 Aircraft, one pilot must be average or better. If 6 or 8 aircraft,
two must be average or better).

If the allocation is shown to breach this rule then one or two POOR pilots must be
dropped and replaced with better pilots. Drop the POOR pilot(s) with the lowest value
allocation card(s) and replace with the AVERAGE or better rated pilot(s) with the higher
value card(s) on a one-for one basis.

Once the British allocation procedure is concluded go on to determine the final scenario
conditions.

ENVIRONMENTAL

ALWAYS use the sun zone.

For clouds draw a single card and HALVE its numerical value (rounding DOWN).
The result gives the TOTAL number of cloud squares that will feature in the game (a
maximum of six). For the purposes of this campaign these will automatically be
individual cloud squares (although, of course, cloudbanks may be formed if clouds are
deployed in adjacent squares). Note that clouds will always take priority over sun
squares.

GAME LENGTH

This is split into normal, long and short.

Draw a single card to determine game length for the scenario.

If a CLUB or SPADE is drawn then the scenario will last a standard 8 turns.

If a HEART is drawn then the game will be longer. If the HEART is a picture card (K, Q
or J) then the game will last 12 turns. Any other HEART indicates 8 turns.

If a DIAMOND is drawn then the game will be short. A DIAMOND picture card is 4
turns. Any other DIAMOND represents 6 turns.

LEAVING THE MAP

In any scenario any CRIPPLED aircraft may make a permanent exit from the map at any
time.

If the scenario is SHORT (4-6 turns) then there may be NO TEMPORARY exits from the
map.
If the scenario is LONG (10-12 turns) then any aircraft may temporarily exit the map.

If the scenario is NORMAL length (8 turns) then draw a single card to determine whether
temporary exits are allowed. A RED = ‘yes’ and a BLACK = ‘no’.

PLAYING A SCENARIO

FORMATIONS

German and British Fighters and German Fighter-Bombers always deploy in Contact
Formations on the first turn. Up to four aircraft of the same type will deploy in a single
Contact Formation. More than four aircraft will split into two equal Contact Formations.

Note that Tactical Formations are NOT ALLOWED in this campaign (it was too early for
such tactical refinements).

German bombers, as discussed, are deployed in one or more Bomber Stream Formations
and will remain in such unless obliged to drop out as per the Bomber Stream rules.

GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS

Certain entries on the GAT contain an asterisk (*). This indicates that the German side
MAY receive reinforcements during that scenario.

German reinforcements are always Me Bf109 Fighters. They may not appear if the
scenario is SHORT (i.e. 4 or 6 turns in length), In this case the asterisk is ignored.

Otherwise, once the scenario is more than halfway through a card is drawn at the start of
the next and each subsequent turn (e.g. in an 8-turn scenario draw for reinforcements
from turn 5 on). If a PICTURE card (K, Q or J) is drawn then the German receives
reinforcements. The Germans only receive reinforcements ONCE in a scenario.

The German receives either 2 or 4 Fighters depending on the picture card drawn. If it is a
King he receives 4 Fighters; if it is a Queen or Jack he receives two Fighters. These have
pilot ability determined in the normal way and enter the game in a single Contact
Formation on the turn of arrival. They follow normal deployment rules thereafter.

GERMAN HONOUR SYSTEM

This is envisaged as a solo campaign. If there is no player to take the German side in a
given scenario or scenarios then it is the responsibility of the soloist to fight the Germans
to their best advantage and not ‘pull his punches’ when moving or fighting the German
aircraft. This is the German Honour system – there are no automated solo rules for
German aircraft provided for this campaign.
POST SCENARIO TASKS

After the scenario is complete the player will record any XPs or Kills for the British
pilots and update any ability levels accordingly. He will generate any replacement pilots
to replace those lost in the scenario.

The next scenario will be generated as and when the player likes. This will continue until
the allocated number of scenarios is played and the campaign finishes.

VICTORY

There is no mechanism for determining whether the player ‘wins’ – either for individual
scenarios or for the overall campaign. It may be possible to look at the British losses
versus enemy aircraft shot down as a guide.

However, it is hoped that the player will have a ‘history’ of his squadron to look back on
– its triumphs and disasters.

If, as the British player, you start to identify with your pilots; perhaps feeling anxious
when your ace goes up against 4 Me109s or punching the air triumphantly as your
POOR-rated new recruit bags a brace in his first scenario, then the aim of this system will
have been achieved and you can consider yourself the ‘winner’.

DESIGNER NOTES

I have always thought that WW2 was ripe for this kind of system.

It may be a little ‘cosmic’ for starting players as there is the possibility of large numbers
of aircraft being generated which may swamp a newcomer. I would recommend that new
players look at reducing the number of aircraft by adjusting the German Aircraft Table if
they wish. It would be reasonably easy to adapt this to other theatres. By the way, the
reason for the additional column on the GAT only being in play for a limited time is to
reflect historical German tactics (such as the early withdrawal of Stukas).

This is not a campaign that is likely to be over in a few weeks. It should be easy enough
to pick up and put down over a period of months as desired.

And, finally, the use of POOR rated British replacement pilots (and indeed the Germans)
is intended to reflect a lack of experience rather than any slight on their inherent skill.

After all, it was ‘the few’ who saved us all…

Nigel Lancaster 2007

 APPENDIX 1

CARD RED BLACK/CLUB SPADE (1st THIRD)

INTRUDER ESCORT INTRUDER ESCORT INTRUDER ESCORT
K 8B : 6B 4F x 10F x 8F
Q 12B 6F 10B 6F* x 6F*
J 10B 4F 4FB x 6B : 4FB 4FB
10 6B: 6B 6F x 8F 8FB 4F
9 8B: 4B 4F 4B:4B 6F 6FB x
8 8B:6B x* 8B:4B x* 4FB 4FB
7 8B 2F 12B x* 8B 4FB
6 6B x* 6B 4F 6B : 4FB 2FB*
5 4B:4B 2F 4B x* x 8FB
4 4B:2B 2F 6B 4FB 4B 4FB
3 4B 4F 6B:4B 2F* 6FB 4F
2 4B 2F 2B 2FB 4B x*
A 4B x* x 4FB 2B 6F

GERMAN AIRCRAFT TABLE (GAT)

KEY

B = BOMBER FB = FIGHTER BOMBER F= FIGHTER x = NONE

* = POSSIBLE REINFORCEMENTS

Preceding number = number of that aircraft type (e.g. ‘4B’ = 4 x Bombers)

 SPECIFIC TYPES

Fighters are ALWAYS Me Bf109.

FBs in INTRUDER column are ALWAYS JU87 Stukas.

FBs in ESCORT column are ALWAYS Me110.

Determine BOMBER types by drawing cards for each type available in campaign – highest
card(s) are allocated. If more than one type present with differing numbers of aircraft then
highest of the original allocation cards gets the largest number of aircraft.

APPENDIX 2

SAMPLE BRITISH SQUADRON

(Generated as per rules – with additional biographical detail added)

266 SQUADRON based at RAF BRUMTON

Flying Spitfires

PILOTS

Don Fanshawe: aged 28 b Nottingham, England

Ability: GOOD Kills 4

Jan Strepsil: aged 24 b Brno, Czechoslovakia

Ability GOOD Kills 2

William McThomsett: aged 21 b Fife, Scotland

Ability AVERAGE Kills 0

Ifor Gwilliams: aged 19 b Llandrillo, Wales

Ability AVERAGE Kills 0

Danvers Jardine-Douglas: aged 32 b Harrow, England

Ability AVERAGE Kills 0

Colin Bull: aged 20 b Wolverhampton, England

Ability AVERAGE Kills 0

Michael Smiles: aged 28 b London, England

Ability AVERAGE Kills 0

Hughie Browne: aged 22 b Newcastle, England

Ability AVERAGE Kills 0

APPENDIX 3

EXAMPLE OF CAMPAIGN SET – UP AND FIRST SCENARIO

This uses the pre-generated British squadron in Appendix 2 and is generated as per the
rules with no fudging for the example.

I have decided on a campaign length of 18 scenarios. This means that the SPADES
column on the GAT is active for the first 6 scenarios only.

Further, I have decided that all German BOMBERS will be AVERAGE. German Fighters
and Fighter Bombers will draw for ability.

FIRST SCENARIO

GERMAN AIRCRAFT

Using the GAT in appendix 1 I draw a single card and read off the result. Card drawn is K
of HEARTS. This gives the Germans a force of 8B, 6B and 4F.

I draw cards to determine the Bomber types:

Do17 draws 10 Clubs; HE111 draws Ace Spades; JU88 draws 6 Spades.

Therefore the German Bomber force is 8 x Do17s and 6 x JU88s, escorted by 4 x Me

Bf109s.

The Ju88s will form a single Bomber Stream of 6 aircraft. A card is drawn for the Do17s
to see if they form two separate Bomber streams (a Heart would indicate this). The card
drawn is a Diamond so the JU 88s are also in a single Bomber Stream Formation.
Four cards are drawn for the ability ratings of the Me BF109s. These are KS, 7D, 3H and
5H. The Hearts drawn indicate POOR pilots. Therefore two of the escorting Fighters are
AVERAGE and two are POOR.

BRITISH AIRCRAFT

A card is drawn to determine the number of Spitfires for this scenario. It is 3 of Spades.
This gives 4 aircraft. This number is modified to 6 aircraft as the total number of German
aircraft is 12 or more and therefore two Spitfires are added.

BRITISH PILOT SELECTION (using the sample list in appendix 2)

A card is drawn for each British pilot with the following results:

Don Fanshawe 10D

Jan Strepsil 6S
William McThomsett 3S
Ifor Gwilliams 8C
Danvers Jardine-Douglas QH
Colin Bull 3C
Michael Smiles 7D
Hughie Browne QC

As a result of the above pilots McThomsett and Bull do not participate in this scenario.
The British will have 2 GOOD and 4 AVERAGE pilots.

SCENARIO

Environmental: The sun-zone is always included. A card is drawn for clouds and the
value HALVED (round down). The card drawn is Ace of Diamonds (value 1). This is
halved to give NO CLOUDS in this scenario.

Scenario Length: Card drawn = King of Hearts. This indicates a LONG game of 12 turns.
ANY aircraft may make a temporary exit from the map in this scenario as a result.

TO SUMMARISE:

SCENARIO 1 of the Campaign will pit 6 Spitfires (2 GOOD, 4 AVERAGE) against 8

Do17 Bombers and 6 JU88 Bombers, escorted by 4 Me Bf109s. All the German Bombers
are rated AVERAGE. The Me109s are rated 2 AVERAGE and 2 POOR.
The game will last 12 turns. There is a sun zone and no clouds. Temporary exits from the
map are allowed.

The Do17s will form a single Bomber Stream and the JU88s will also form a single
Bomber Stream. The Me Bf109s will deploy in a single Contact Formation of 4 aircraft
on turn 1. The Spitfires will form two Contact Formations for Deployment on turn 1 (it
will be for the player to decide how these are constituted).

INITIAL BRITISH THOUGHTS:

The British player licks his lips. He is superior to the escorting Me109s both in terms of
quality and numbers. The scenario is long enough to try and see off the escorts before
concentrating on the bombers.

A reasonable expectation is for at least two Me109s to be either crippled or shot down
and (optimistically perhaps) the destruction of four bombers. A loss of one Spitfire in
such circumstances would be acceptable.

Tally Ho!