Last updated 6th October 2012
"Strike Hard, Strike Sure"
- Bomber Command Motto
BOMBER
COMMAND is a game of the night war in the skies
over the Reich in World War II.
March 1944. More than 700 British bombers are dispatched to the distant city of Nürnberg. As the bomber stream crawls across the German Reich, it is set upon by swarms of nightfighters. Following the bombers' contrails the fighters infiltrate the stream in great numbers and before the moon can set they start to pick off bomber after bomber. The mauled stream makes a desultory attack on the target city, scattering much of their payload harmlessly into the surrounding countryside. Then the raid struggles back towards England while fresh nightfighters snap and bite at the retreating formation. More than ninety bombers fail to make it home safely. Soon after, the C-in-C of Bomber Command, Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, calls off the Battle of Berlin.
Bomber Command is a 2-player game of the night war
over the German Reich. It recreates the great Royal Air Force
bombing raids against Germany and the bitter defence mounted by
the Luftwaffe nightfighter arm. As the British player you battle
past flak and fighters to find the Reich's industrial cities and
set them ablaze. As the German player you are engaged in a
desperate struggle to stop these 'Terror Fliers'.
Bomber Command details the techniques of night
fighting, including flak, Himmelbett zones, Wild Boars and Tame
Boars. The British Main Force raids may be accompanied by
Mosquito bomber diversions, sea mining operations and the decoy
aircraft of 100 Group (Bomber Support). A deck of 110 cards is
used to resolve the complex interactions of electronic
countermeasures, radars and communications, along with other
operations such as Mahmoud patrols, Flower raids, and Beleuchter
illumination units. A detailed bombing resolution system depicts
the challenges of attacking targets at night and the evolution
of precision bombing in darkness.
There are two scenarios: 'Berlin' covers raiding from the Battle of Hamburg up to the great defeat over Nürnberg. 'Downfall' recreates the period from the Summer of 1944 to the end of the war, during which time the nightfighter arm is in decline. Easy to pick up and fast to play, games can be played in 90 to 150 minutes.
Bomber Command is published by GMT Games and can ordered HERE. It is designed by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood.
ILLUSTRATION: The 22 x 34" playtest map for the Berlin scenario.
ILLUSTRATION: The front of the 5/8" countersheet.
ILLUSTRATION: One of the city maps used to
resolve bombing. This map divides the city into City Centre,
Residential, Industrial and Transportation areas. Areas
outside this are fields and countryside where bombs fall with
no effect.
Here are the updated rules for Bomber Command:
FAQ & Errata (106 KB). A
list of errata and Frequently Asked Questions. To download click
on the .pdf icon or HERE.
Bomber Command Rules, version 1.1 (4.5 MB).
The updated rulebook. To download click on the .pdf icon or HERE.
We are working on a set of campaign rules for Bomber Command. These rules are in playtest. Please send all feedback to the designer. Especially appreciated are breakdowns of the VP scored in each raid of a campaign:
Berlin Campaign, version 1.2 (291 KB). A
set of campaign rules for recreating the Battle of Berlin.
Includes Short Campaign and Long Campaign options. To download
click on the .pdf icon or HERE.
Players have permission to photocopy the Bomber Command raid tally sheet and planning map included in the game; however you can print these out from your computer if you download these files:
Planning Map - Berlin (209 KB).
The planning map for the Berlin scenario. To download click on
the .pdf icon or HERE.
Planning Map - Downfall (209 KB).
The planning map for the Downfall scenario. To download click on
the .pdf icon or HERE.
Raid Tally Sheet (90 KB). The
raid tally sheet if using the optional fog of war rules. To
download click on the .pdf icon or HERE.
6th October 2012. The Bomber Command errata and FAQ has been revised. A new copy of the rulebook, with high-quality pictures, can be downloaded from the link above or HERE.
A set of prototype campaign rules for Bomber Command can be downloaded from the link above or HERE.
Bomber Command Shipping15th March
2012. Bomber Command is being shipped to pre-order customers
by GMT
Games.
28th January 2012. Bomber Command
is designed to be able to be played with Nightfighter.
Both games can be played as stand-alone titles. However, Bomber Command playthroughs
can be used to generate scenarios resolved by playing Nightfighter. The module for
linking the games together will appear in a forthcoming C3i
magazine.
All questions and enquiries should be directed to the designer Lee Brimmicombe-Wood at: leebwood at googlemail dot com (Note that this address has been modified to protect against web spiders and other malware.)
Bomber Command copyright © Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, 2004-2012. All rights reserved.