Bomber Command: The Night Raids

About this board game

Bomber Command: The Night Raids is a two-player game of the night war over the Reich in World War II, with raids typically resolving in two hours or less.

One player directs the RAF’s great bombing raids against the heart of Germany, while the other manages the Luftwaffe’s night-fighter arm. Based on a raid-scale air-combat system derived from Downtown and The Burning Blue, the game focuses on the tactics and confusion of night fighting.

The German player must coordinate flak, Himmelbett zones, Wild Boar, and Tame Boar tactics as bomber streams cross the Reich. RAF main-force raids can be supported by Mosquito diversions, decoy raids, and “Gardening” operations that mine the seaways.

• Two player-specific card decks resolve electronic countermeasures, radar, and other operational factors.
• Special operations include Mahmoud patrols, Flower raids, and Beleuchter illumination units.
• A detailed bombing system portrays the difficulty of marking targets and conducting area bombing at night.

The game includes two scenarios covering different phases of the campaign. Berlin spans the raids from the 1943 Hamburg firestorm through the Battle of Berlin and the RAF’s defeat over Nuremberg in March 1944.

Downfall covers the period from summer 1944 to the collapse of the Luftwaffe amid fuel shortages and the RAF’s “bomber support” effort. Across both scenarios, Bomber Command presents the operational pressures, defensive tactics, and unpredictable results of the night raids in a fast-playing format.