Schwarm! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Important Terms
• 1.0 Setup
  • 1.1 Game Pieces
  • 1.2 Initial Damage to the B-17
  • 1.3 The Sun
  • 1.4 Turret Setup
• 2.0 First Pass
  • 2.1 Position Check
    • 2.1.1 Procedure
    • 2.1.2 Loss of Altitude
• 3.0 The Turrets
  • 3.1.1 Tracking a Turret
• 4.0 Tactical Adjustment
  • 4.1 Lateral Adjustment of a Fighter
  • 4.2 Altitude Adjustment
  • 4.3 Turret Adjustment
  • 4.4 Aborting the Attack
• 5.0 Combat
  • 5.1 Resolving a Fighter's Attack
    • Black Attack DRMs
  • 5.2 Damage
  • 5.3 Combined Attacks
  • 5.4 The B-17's Defensive Fire
    • Red Defence DRMs
• 6.0 Other Passes
• 7.0 End of the Game
• Component Notes
  • Fighter Counters
  • Turret Markers
  • Other Counters

Important Terms

• Inertia Value: The number of black pips next to the bomber silhouette on the clock arc (for example, the 6 o'clock position has an inertia of 5).
• Clock Position / Altitude Intersection: The combination of a clock arc and an altitude (for example, 12 High).
• PT: Tactical Point.
• Zone: There are four zones: Front, Left, Right and Rear. Each zone contains 3 clock arcs (or 3 clock positions).

1.0 Setup

1.1 Game Pieces

Prepare the game by punching out the 12 fighter counters. Choose the type of fighter you will use: FW-190 or BF-109, and place them in an opaque cup to draw at random when you need to place fighters on the map (Section 2.0). Place the PT marker on the "5" space of the Scoring Track. Place the "Abort" marker and the eight B-17 damage markers on the "0" space of the Track.

1.2 Initial Damage to the B-17

Roll one die (DR) and check the result on the following table, then use the appropriate marker to indicate the initial damage on the map track:

DR	1	2-4	5	6-8	9-10
Damage	None	1 Fuselage	2 Fuselage	1 Engine	1 Tail

(For a more challenging game, skip this step. For an easy game for a beginner, perform this step twice.)

The bomber flies out of formation and heads back to Britain because it has probably suffered some damage or engine or navigation difficulties.

1.3 The Sun

Roll the die and place the Sun marker on the space with a yellow circle that corresponds to the die result. Example: If you roll a "1", place the Sun on the 11 High position.

1.4 Turret Setup

The B-17 has two rotating machine-gun turrets: the Dorsal Turret (it can only fire at fighters attacking from the High and Level positions), and a Ventral Turret (on the underside of the bomber, which can only fire at fighters attacking from the Level and Low positions). Randomly choose one of the two turret markers and place it in the Front zone. Then place the other in the Rear zone. Next, roll the die. If the result is EVEN, move the Dorsal Turret marker to the zone with the Sun marker; if ODD, leave the marker where it is. Both turret markers should be placed with their Scattered Fire side face up, where only the defensive modifiers (DRMs) (red) are shown. Turret markers on their Scattered Fire side affect all fighters in their zone, unless stacked together with a specific fighter (Section 3.0).

Scattered Fire / Guns Visible. When the Scattered Fire side is face up, the gunner scans the sky and lets loose tracers. While the Scattered Fire side is face up, the attack DRM of the marker applies to ALL attacking fighters in that zone. When the marker shows the side where the machine guns are visible, this means the gunner aims at a single fighter, and both DRMs apply but ONLY against that fighter (Section 3.0).

Translator's note: The Scattered Fire side of the turret counter in the printed components (see Section 1.4 and the component notes below) shows only red (defensive) modifiers, and Sections 3.0 and 3.1.1 describe those modifiers as defensive. The italic box above reads "attack DRM" as printed; the text has been kept as the source gives it.

2.0 First Pass

Begin the game by making a pass against the bomber. Randomly draw 2 fighters from the cup (this pair of fighters is called a pair, rueda). Do not look at the DRMs printed on their backs. Then place them one at a time, face up (aircraft side up), on a position on the map (a position is a combination of a specific clock arc and a specific altitude, for example "3 High" or "6 Low"). Both fighters in a pair must be placed in the same zone, although they can be placed in different positions within that zone. You may place a second pair, but this costs 1 PT for each pair after the first. So, if the player sends six fighters against the bomber in the first pass (3 pairs), they must pay 2 PTs. During this first pass, all pairs must be placed in the same zone. Once all fighters are placed in the zone, perform a Position Check for each fighter.

Why all in the same zone? The swarm has just swooped down on the bomber in this initial attack. Therefore, this pass represents fighters forming an arc from a variety of angles.

2.1 Position Check

After the fighters are placed, check to see whether any fighter changes to a new clock position. A change means that the fighter changes its angle of attack, either as a result of the B-17's defensive fire, a sudden maneuver, or some other unforeseen factor. Check each fighter separately.

2.1.1 Procedure

Choose a fighter and roll a die. Add 1 if a turret marker is stacked with the fighter. If the result obtained with the die is greater than the inertia value of the clock position, the fighter must change its position toward the tail of the bomber. A fighter will keep changing, moving from one clock position to the next toward the 6 position, spending the inertia points marked on each clock position until the total value of the die result is used up. Inertia is spent to leave a position, not to enter it. As a fighter changes from one clock position to another, keep track of the accumulated inertia points; if the total inertia spent to leave a clock position would exceed the die result, the fighter stays in that position and does not change.

If a fighter changes toward the 6 position and still must keep changing, it must continue moving in the same direction (for example, if it changed from 5 to 6, and must change again, it would change to the 7 position). If a fighter's starting position is the 6 or the 12 position, you must roll a DR to determine the direction of change: EVEN result - it changes clockwise; ODD result - it changes counterclockwise.

2.1.2 Loss of Altitude

If a fighter changes 2 or 3 clock positions it must also lose one altitude level (from High to Level or from Level to Low). If a fighter is already at Low altitude and must lose even more altitude, then it aborts the attack (it is returned to the cup). If a fighter is forced to change 4 clock positions, it must lose two altitude levels.

Example of Movement, Change and Loss of Altitude: A fighter is placed at 1 High. The die result of the Position Check is "7". This position has an inertia value of 3, so the fighter moves to the adjacent clock position 2 (spending 3 inertia points). This new position has 2 inertia points. As 3+2 does not exceed the die result of 7, the fighter keeps moving toward the 6 position, spending another 2 inertia points to move from position 2 to position 3 High. This new position has an inertia value of 1. The fighter moves again to position 4 High, spending 1 inertia point. A total of 6 inertia points have now been spent (3+2+1), still less than the 7 of the die result. This new position has an inertia value of 3 (3 points). Changing again would mean the total inertia spent would be 9 (6+3), exceeding the result of 7 obtained with the die. Therefore, the fighter ends its change movement at position 4 High. As the fighter changed at least 2 positions, it must also lose one altitude level (in this example, from High to Level). Its final position would be 4 Level.

3.0 The Turrets

When the player places a fighter for the first time in a zone with a turret marker, immediately stack the turret marker on top of the fighter's counter if the fighter is at the correct altitude (Section 1.4). If a turret marker is already stacked on a fighter, the marker remains on that fighter even if another fighter is placed in that zone. When a turret marker is stacked on a fighter, turn the turret marker over to its side where the machine guns are visible, where both DRMs for attack (black) and defence (red) are printed, and these modifiers apply only to that fighter. If for any reason the turret marker is no longer stacked with the fighter, turn the turret marker back over to its "Scattered Fire" side. A Turret on its Scattered Fire side will affect ALL fighters in its zone. The Ventral Turret with its Scattered Fire side face up affects all fighters at the Level and Low altitudes of its zone, while the Dorsal Turret with its Scattered Fire side face up affects all fighters at the Level and High altitudes of its zone.

3.1.1 Tracking a Turret

A turret marker stacked with a fighter will remain on the fighter while the fighter changes position and/or makes any change of altitude. If the fighter's movement takes it to an adjacent zone (for example, from the Front zone to the Left zone), the turret marker stays in the fighter's original zone (in this example, it would stay in the Front zone). If a fighter drops its altitude from Level to Low, a Dorsal Turret marker "loses" the fighter. If a turret marker "loses" a fighter, turn the marker over to its "Scattered Fire" side (its defensive DRMs must now be applied to ALL fighters attacking in its zone).

Translator's note: As printed, only the Dorsal Turret is named in the sentence on losing a fighter from Level to Low. The Dorsal and Ventral markers are both described above as covering different altitudes, so the printed sentence has been kept as it is.

4.0 Tactical Adjustment

The player may spend PTs to adjust the position of the fighters. The B-17's rotating turrets may also adjust their orientation to attack nearby fighters.

4.1 Lateral Adjustment of a Fighter

The player may spend 1 PT to adjust an attack angle: a single fighter may change 2 clock positions, or two fighters may each change 1 clock position. If 2 PTs are spent, a total of 4 clock positions may be changed (with up to 4 fighters, but the total of 4 changes among all the changed fighters must not be exceeded).

4.2 Altitude Adjustment

The player may spend 1 PT to change a fighter up one altitude level. If 2 PTs are spent, 2 fighters may each change up one altitude level, or a single fighter may change up 2 altitude levels. A fighter may change altitude down without spending any PT (for example, from 4 High to 4 Low).

4.3 Turret Adjustment

If a turret marker is currently in a zone with no fighters, the turret marker is moved to an adjacent zone. Move it to a zone that has some fighter (which can be targeted, see Section 1.4). If no zone has a fighter, or if both adjacent zones have a fighter that can be targeted, determine the turret's new zone at random with a DR. If the result is EVEN, move the marker clockwise; if ODD, move it counterclockwise. When a turret moves in this way, it can only use its Scattered Fire side in this pass. Determine the movement of the Dorsal and Ventral Turrets separately.

4.4 Aborting the Attack

A player may voluntarily abort the attack of a fighter that is in an unfavourable position (this is free, costs no PT, and the fighter is returned to the cup). For every 2 fighters that abort, the player gains 1 PT (this includes fighters that aborted due to loss of altitude). Note that in the first pass, the player may only gain 1 PT for aborting, and only if they spent 1 PT to add a second pair.

5.0 Combat

After the position of each fighter has been adjusted, resolve each attack separately. If two fighters occupy the same space, they combine their attack (Section 5.3). Resolve an attack by selecting a fighter and turning it over to expose its black attack modifier and its red defence modifier. Then roll both dice and apply the modifiers to see whether the fighter scores a hit on the B-17, or whether the fighter is hit by the bomber's turrets and other machine guns. Before rolling the dice, the player may decide to "press the attack" by spending 1 PT. This option adds +1 DRM to both dice.

5.1 Resolving a Fighter's Attack

Resolve an attack by selecting a fighter and turning it over to expose its black and red DRMs, then roll the dice. The black attack die determines a hit on the B-17; a modified DR of 10 or more means a hit (Section 5.2). Modify the die result with all applicable black DRMs (see below). Each clock arc has its own Damage Table. Look up the modified attack DR in that table to determine the damage inflicted on the B-17.

The printed Damage Table for the 9 clock arc, as shown in the rulebook illustration:

Result	Damage
10	Right Machine Gun
11-12	Fuselage
13	Engine
14+	Any

Translator's note: The per-arc damage tables for the other eleven clock positions are printed on the playing surface and are not part of this PDF, so they are not reproduced here. Only the table shown above appears in the source.

Black Attack DRMs

Modify the attack die result with the black numbers printed on the fighter's position, those on the back of the fighter counter, and any turret marker in the zone or stacked with the fighter. If the fighter is on a position opposite the Sun marker (the position opposite on the clock and altitude), it is considered to be attacking into the sun and suffers a DRM of -2. Example: If the Sun is on the 11 High position, the opposite position would be 5 Low; the position opposite 8 Level would be 2 Level. Also, if the attack is pressed, add another DRM of +1.

5.2 Damage

Record hits on the B-17 on the Scoring Track using the appropriate damage marker: Cockpit, Fuselage, Engine, Tail, or Machine Guns of the zone. The B-17 is considered destroyed when it has suffered 2 cockpit hits, 3 tail hits, 4 engine hits, or 6 fuselage hits.

Example: Say the fighter is in position 12 High and the player obtains an attack result of 7. The fighter's black modifier is revealed and is a 1. So the modified die result is 10 (7 from the die, +1 from the fighter's modifier, and +2 from the position modifier). According to the table for position 12, a modified result of 10 is a hit on the nose machine gun.

Hits on machine guns do not destroy the B-17, but every 2 machine-gun hits reduce the B-17's defence DRM by 1 for attacks in that same zone.

For every 2 hits obtained (of any type), the player gains 1 PT (increase the PT marker by 1 on the Scoring Track). For a more challenging game, increase the PT track by one after every third hit.

Example: Say a bomber has 1 hit to the cockpit, 3 hits to the machine guns of the Front zone, 2 engine hits, 1 hit to the machine guns of the Rear zone, and 3 fuselage hits. Because of the damage to the Front zone's machine guns, all defensive fire in that zone is reduced by a DRM of -1 (0 becomes -1). One more hit to the Front zone's machine guns and the modifier would be -2. Also, the total number of hits to the bomber is 10, which means the player has gained 5 PTs so far.

5.3 Combined Attacks

If two fighters occupy the same position, turn both fighters over simultaneously, and then roll the dice for each attack separately. Instead of using the black number of each fighter, use only the more advantageous of the two black modifiers for both fighters' attacks. When resolving the B-17's defensive fire (Section 5.4), however, each fighter must use its own defence DRM (red).

Example: if one fighter has an attack DRM of +1 and the other has an attack DRM of 0, both fighters attack with a DRM of +1. However, each must use its own defence DRM.

Only two fighters may combine in this way. If a third fighter occupies the same position, it must use its own modifiers. If four fighters occupy the same position, each pair may combine. The pair(s) must be selected before turning the fighter counters over.

Why only two fighters? This simulates the Luftwaffe practice of flying in pairs, a leader and a wingman (compañero de ala, translator's note).

For purists, add this condition to the rule: only fighters that were initially placed together in the same position may combine their attack, but only if they occupy the same position after the Position Check and the Tactical Adjustment.

5.4 The B-17's Defensive Fire

The defence die determines a hit on the fighter. If the modified die result is 10 or greater, the B-17 scores a hit on the fighter. Modify the die result with all applicable red numbers (see below). A hit on a fighter destroys that fighter, ending the game (the player loses). However, a fighter can be saved if the player immediately spends 1 PT. Saving a fighter in this way simulates the pilot diving away at the last moment, which also means that any hit scored by that fighter against the B-17 is also cancelled (do not apply that fighter's damage).

Red Defence DRMs

Modify the defence die result with the red numbers printed on the fighter's position (which are themselves modified by the hits to the machine guns of that zone), as well as with what is shown on the turret marker and the red number printed on the fighter counter. Also, if the attack is pressed, add another DRM of +1. If the fighter attacks from the Sun (that is, the Sun marker is on the same position as the fighter), subtract -2 from the defence die.

6.0 Other Passes

After all fighters have made their attacks and survived the defensive fire, remove the fighter counters and return them to the cup. Turret markers remain in their current zone, on their Scattered Fire side face up. The player may now make an additional pass. This is carried out in the same way as the first pass, but this costs 1 PT for each pair placed. During a third (or later) pass, it also costs 1 additional PT for placing a FW-190 in a "High" position (1 PT per pair). The BF-109 does not suffer this altitude penalty.

7.0 End of the Game

The game ends when the B-17 is destroyed, a fighter is eliminated, or when the player has zero PTs after all combat is resolved at the end of a pass. Running out of PTs simulates a series of possibilities: that the fighters run out of fuel, that the B-17 reaches an area with escort fighter cover, or that the bomber hides in the clouds.

Component Notes

The following values are read from the counter sheet printed on the last page of the source PDF.

Fighter Counters

Each fighter counter has a back with an attack value (black number) and a defence value (red number). To avoid confusion, note that the two fighter types have different insignia. The backs carry the insignia for their fighter type.

Fighter type (insignia)	Backs, attack (black) / defence (red), in the order printed left to right
FW-190 (yellow shield)	1 / 0; 3 / 1; 3 / 0; 5 / 1; 2 / 0; 4 / 0
BF-109 (diamond cross)	1 / 0; 3 / 1; 3 / 0; 0 / 1; 2 / 1; 4 / 0

The source does not number the counters; the values are listed in the order they appear on the counter sheet.

The rest of the counters have no back, except the 2 turret markers. It is easy to see which is the back of each turret.

Turret Markers

Marker	Back (guns visible): attack (black) / defence (red)	Front (Scattered Fire): defence (red)
Dorsal	-1 at Level; -1 at High (each with red 1)	1 at Level; 1 at High
Ventral	-1 at Level; -1 at Low (each with red 1)	1 at Level; 1 at Low

Other Counters

Sun; Tactical Points (PT); Aborts (2 = 1 PT); B-17 damage markers: Cockpit, Fuselage, Engine, Tail, Machine Gun Left, Machine Gun Right, Machine Gun Tail, Machine Gun Nose.

Counter size = 2.5 x 2.5 cm.