Wings of War

Infobox Game
title = Wings of War
subtitle =
image_link =
image_caption = "Wings of War: Famous Aces"
designer = Andrea Angiolino
Pier Giorgio Paglia
illustrator = Vincenzo Auletta
Dario Calì
publisher = Nexus Editrice
players = 2 – 8
ages = 10 and up
setup_time = 5 minutes
playing_time = 30 minutes
random_chance = None
skills = Simultaneous action selection
footnotes =
bggid = 9203
bggxrefs =

"Wings of War", by Andrea Angiolino and Pier Giorgio Paglia, is a modular boardgame collection published by Nexus Editrice and dedicated to air combat.

The games mix card game, board game, and miniature wargaming mechanics to simulate air combat in the 20th century. The first collection is dedicated to the First World War, while a second collection is about the Second World War. The air images and cover scenes are by Vincenzo Auletta, and the landscapes on the cards are by Dario Calì. The graphic design is by Fabio Maiorana. The illustrations are based on extensive historical research.

First released in Italian in 2004, the game has an official English edition by Fantasy Flight Games. Other official editions have appeared in German, Greek, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian and Polish, besides translations into other languages.

Game mechanics

Each plane is depicted on a card and has a set of maneuver cards specifically designed for it, with large arrows on them. The player controlling it plans his turn choosing three of them in sequence and putting them face down on the gaming mat. All players reveal at the same time the first card for the turn, put it in front of the plane and move the latter so that the little arrowhead on the rear matches the one in front of the maneuver. Planes can then "fly" on the table or the floor. A ruler is used to see if a plane has enemy cards in his field of fire: if so, the player chooses one target that must take a damage card with a random amount of points (optional rules cover special damages too). Short range fire (up to half ruler of distance) mean two damage cards instead than one. Maneuvers available, firepower and number of damages sustained before being eliminated depend on the airplane chosen.

Basic sets and booster packs

The first two sets are "Wings of War - Famous Aces" (Nexus Editrice 2004) and "Wings of War - Watch your back!" (Nexus Editrice 2005). The first one includes a selection of fighters with personal colors of the most renowned aces of WWI: the planes are Fokker Dr.I and Albatros D.Va for Central Empires and SPAD XIII, Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Triplane for the Allied. "WoW - Watch your back!" adds other fighters and some two-seaters allowing bombings, recon missions and other special scenarios. "WoW- Burning Drachens" (Nexus Editrice 2005) is the newest set in the WWI series. It includes drachens, AA guns, machine guns, air-to-air Le Prieur rockets, trench systems, and optional altitude rules. "WoW- Burning Drachens" includes rules for solo play as well as multi-player dogfights, bombing runs, and strafing or recon missions.Each set allows 2/4 people to play; the number can increase using more than one set.

The two booster packs "Wings of War - Recon Patrol" and "Wings of War - Top Fighters" (both Nexus Editrice 2006) add new plane models to the game, giving additional maneuvre decks, but can only be used by owners of at least one set. The "Wings of War - Immelmann booster" and "Wings of War- Dogfight booster" allow players to use other famous planes such as Max Immelmann's Fokker Eindecker.

"Wings of War - Dawn of War" (Nexus Editrice 2007) allows 2/6 players to engage in dogfights with the most famous fighters and ground-attack planes of 1939-1943. The game system is quite different from the one of the WWI collection, so it can not be mixed with other sets. Upcoming "squadron" booster packs for the WWII series are "Wings of War- Eagles of the Reich" and "Wings of War- Flying Legend".

"Wings of War Miniatures"

"Wings of War Miniatures" adds war game miniatures to "Wings of War" by introducing model airplanes on 1/144 scale that are used in place of the airplane cards. The miniatures are made of pre-painted pewter and plastic and come with a gaming base and a set of maneuver cards. A number of different miniatures have been created, and serve as an extension to "Wings of War - Famous Aces", "Wings of War - Watch your back!", and "Wings of War - Burning Drachens". [ [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/22510 "Wings of War Miniatures" on BoardGameGeek] ] [ [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/wwminis.html "Wings of War Miniatures" on the Fantasy Flight Games official site] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.wingsofwar.it Official site]
* [http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/wow_nexus/ "Wings of War" fan discussion group]