Game: Ace of Aces - Handy Rotary Series

Thread: Re: What ho Biggles!

Awfki — 2008-06-26T20:46:57+00:00

These games would be great to play-by-email, or better yet via instant messenger.

Thread: Re: What ho Biggles!

leroy43 — 2008-06-26T03:57:10+00:00

Rindis wrote:
A wonderful game, and always one of my favorites.

Every once in a while I think, "I should try the intermediate or advanced games." And then common sense kicks in. It's a light, fun, fast game. Don't spoil the mood with details.

I've tried the intermediate and advanced rules (back in the 80's!), and you're right - the amount of work involved is greater than the pleasure derived!

What is a lot of fun is having multiperson dogfights - but it gets really chaotic! :-)

Thread: Re: What ho Biggles!

Rindis — 2008-06-25T17:10:03+00:00

A wonderful game, and always one of my favorites.

Every once in a while I think, "I should try the intermediate or advanced games." And then common sense kicks in. It's a light, fun, fast game. Don't spoil the mood with details.

Thread: Re: What ho Biggles!

Eldard — 2008-06-25T16:14:13+00:00

IMHO, Ace of Aces is still the King of Aerial Combat Games. I started with the Handy Rotary series (Red book), and added the Powerhouse series (Blue book); they are completely compatible. The dissimilar aircraft battles (red v. blue) are great, pitting maneuverability against speed. When the game emerged in the late '70s, it was extremely innovative, getting the players away from "God's eye" perspectives provided by a gameboard, and putting the player in the cockpit. It is by far the best tactical air non-computer game.

Thread: Re: What ho Biggles!

swandive78 — 2008-06-25T12:52:24+00:00

I totally agree with you on all points concerning this game. I've had my copy for over twenty-five years, and it's always a hit when I introduce it to a new player. Every year I make it my goal to acquire and give away a copy of this game to someone. Gets a little tougher every year. Why isn't anyone reprinting this classic?

Thread: Re: What ho Biggles!

TrotskyTrotsky — 2008-06-25T09:11:12+00:00

This one always goes on holiday with us - played whole campaigns on long car journeys.

Thread: What ho Biggles!

tomster — 2008-06-25T08:17:38+00:00

Ace of Aces – Handy Rotary Series
Sopwith Camel vs Fokker Dr 1

“If you can fly a Sopwith Camel you can fly anything”
Biggles

This game is from my deep dark past. It has survived more than 20 years and I still go back and keep playing it. It is the only game that I've had to cover with protective plastic to protect the box and game from enthusiastic players. When I introduce it to people they often struggle at the start to grasp what is happening but then once the light bulb comes on they just want more. What more can I say? The game is Ace of Aces....

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1. Introduction

Ace of Aces is a unique air combat game based in WW1. Each player flies a plane, either an Allied Sopwith Camel or a German Fokker Dr 1. The game is played using two books which have a picture of the view from their planes cockpit looking towards their opponent.

At the bottom of the page are the various manoeuvres that you can choose from. Each plane (as there were several different sets available) has its own special “tricks”, such as rotary turns for these babies that emulates the advantage of using their rotary engines to flick the plane around on the right.

Each manoeuvre has a page number underneath which is cross referenced with your opponents choice to come to a final page that is the final outlook from your cockpit. Each player should end up on the same page just to make sure you've got it right! It is really easy and fast. Half the fun is seeing how the system handles combining your move with your opponents.

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2.Components

These are great and very unusual for a game; two books and a protective sleeve along with a very thin chart book. The pictures are black and white line drawings that capture the feel of the era perfectly. As I've mentioned, my books and sleeve are covered with clear protective plastic just to survive over 20 years of play.

When you first look at them you may be underwhelmed – but just start playing.... it's like an Indiana Jones film. The glow starts to come out of the pages.... Anyway my books haven't come apart at the binding after more than I would think nearly a thousand flights. Pretty good!

3.Rules

The rules are very clearly written and the basic game takes about 2 minutes to explain. There are also rules for advanced play, multiple players and campaigns just in case you get bored or want to extend the system. I've played all and they all work well and are very clear.

4.Fun

Is it fun? You bet! The game plays quickly and involves both players. Decisions are fast and furious. You can almost feel the wind in your face and smell the burning oil. The game plays out in about 20 minutes and it is a great filler. As I've mentioned before one of the interesting things, apart from trying to shoot the other fella down, is watching the system combine the moves and give you the final result. The game is about bluff, tactics and trying to get inside your opponent's head. Sound like fun? Terrific stuff.

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5.Replayability

If only these were real flying hours I'd have my pilots license by now. Yes the system is immensely replayable. The main reason for this is that you are playing your opponent and it feels that way – not the system or a gimmick. There are also the options of advanced rules, campaign play, etc. The short time to play is also a great advantage as its easy to squeeze a game in.

6.Conclusion

What more can say? I love it and always enjoy a game. Unfortunately the game is long out of print so can be hard to find. If you want a fast, fun and involving game about WW1 fighter planes look no further.

I'd better go and get my goggles and put my silk scarf on. My plane's ready to go....

Image

LankyEngineer — 2008-06-09T11:29:11+00:00

US patent number US4378118

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces – It’s All In The Book!

Aussie550 — 2008-02-25T12:53:46+00:00

Nice work- the original game was the best and I played hundreds of games when this first came out...it was a kind of quantam leap in gaming that is the same feeling as when CDG's and CCG's appeared.

I have recently gotten into playing Wings of War, and my early training in this game has helped visualise where in the sky the aircarft is going to end up at the end of its third card...

Love those snap turns and Immelmans.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces – It’s All In The Book!

Jim Marshall — 2008-02-25T12:45:24+00:00

Only one I've played (still have my copy) is Flying Machines. Not having played the others it's hard for me to directly compare, but I found this to be a lot of fun.

The two machines (Allied DH2, German Fokker Eindekker) have different weapon configurations, leading to different approaches.

The Fokker has a fixed gun, meaning that (like the planes in the other versions) the plane has to be lined up directly pointing at the DH2.

The DH2 has a swivel-mounted gun which means it can shoot to the side to an extent, so it doesn't have to be pointing directly at the Fokker to do damage. However, the DH2's gun is weaker than the Fokker's, and has a shorter range.

Hence, the DH2 tries to keep close to the Fokker, building up a number of lower value hits often at a slight angle, while the Fokker tries to evade and line itself up for the harder to achieve but more effective direct shots.

The Fokker pilot sometimes feels that he is trying to evade and swat an irritating fly, while the DH2 pilot can find his hard work in building up damage on the Fokker is undone if the German can get in a couple of high impact shots.

I don't think it adds a lot of complexity, but it does add an interesting disctinction between the two planes.

Recommended!

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces – It’s All In The Book!

steamrunner — 2008-02-25T09:36:35+00:00

Nice review! Why oh why did I get rid of that game?

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces – It’s All In The Book!

leroy43 — 2008-02-25T03:14:20+00:00

Nice review. I absolutely agree with you that the advanced rules are more of a pain in the neck than they're worth - what I've always loved about Ace of Aces is that it's a nice simple quick game.

I also like your campaign rules - nice and simple.

One thing worth noting to add to your review is you can combine sets (either multiple sets of Handy Rotary or a mix of Handy Rotary and Powerhouse) to have multiple players in a big dogfight. However, it's complex to keep track of everything.

There was also a modern jet fighter version called [GAMEID=1991Jet Eagles]. It was awful (worse than the WWII version).

Now I have to dig my Ace of Aces books out...

Thread: Ace of Aces – It’s All In The Book!

da pyrate — 2008-02-24T23:44:04+00:00

Ace of Aces – Handy Rotary Series

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Two-player Tactical Aerial Combat in World War One
Designed by Alfred Leonardi
Published by Nova Game Designs (1980)

Ace of Aces (Handy Rotary Series) was the first in a long line of Ace of Aces games. I believe that this is the very best of the series. I have owned most of the games at one time or another and have sold them all, except for this one.

The game plays quickly and can be over in, on some occasions, less than 5 minutes. On the other hand, if players are cautious the game can take a lot longer.

Overview of Play

In Ace of Aces each player has their own book. The German book has 223 game-pages and each one has a unique illustration which looks from the cockpit of a 1917 Fokker triplane. Each page shows the range between you and your opponent, the facing of the enemy plane and the direction your plane is flying, relative to the enemy plane. The Allied book has the same 223 game-pages – each page has the same information as the matching page from the German book but the illustration will be the reverse (e.g. I page 73 of the German book shows the German plane shooting the Allied plane at medium range as the Allied plane flies away from the German plane – page 73 of the Allied book shows the German plane flying in behind the Allied plane and shooting at it).

You start the game on the same page as each other. At the bottom of each page there are a range of manoeuvres available to each player – each player selects on of these manoeuvres and each player announces the number which is printed underneath the manoeuvre they have chosen – this is the page number the OTHER player will go to in their own book. When you get to this page you look at the manoeuvre you chose, check the page number underneath YOUR chosen manoeuvre and then turn to that page. Both players should have the same finishing page – if they haven’t one of them has made a mistake regarding the process.

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On the page that you have arrived at you see if one or both planes are shooting at the other and make a note of damage (2 points for a close range shot, 1 point for a mid-range shot and ½ a point for a long range shot). Once a plane has received 6 points of damage it will fall from the sky, probably killing the pilot. If neither plane has been destroyed the above process is repeated until one plane is destroyed or the two planes can no longer see each other as a result of having flown away from each other.

Components

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Slip-case – this measures 15.5 cm x 23.4 cm x 2 cm. It is a solid and attractively illustrated case to protect the two books and keep them together.

8 page Advanced Rules Folder – mainly charts to play the advanced game.

2 Ace of Aces Books – each book fits comfortably into a players hands. It contains 223 page of game-illustrations (the illustrations are line drawings and are very clear and functional). As well as these 223 pages, the German book contains historical information about German aces and their planes as well as the rules to the Basic game. The Allied book contains the Advanced game rules, as well as historical information about Allied Aces and their planes.

Players have a menu of 25 different manoeuvres that they can select from while flying their planes. If you manage to get behind your opponent you receive a Tailing Advantage – this means they have to tell you whether they are flying straight, to the left or to the right (the rationale is that you can see their tail flap and get some idea of which way they are going to move).

The Basic Game

There are several appealing aspects to the Basic game. The system has an elegant simplicity that allows you to get the feeling of flying a plane and being locked in a lift-threatening situation (as much as you can simulate that sort of experience with a game) AND can be quickly and easily explained to people with no experience of war-games. The game is easily transportable and takes, literally, less than 30 seconds to set-up.

The Advanced Game

I have never played the Advanced game (but I do play the Basic game with some of the Advanced rules). The Advanced rules include special rules for altitude and this involves writing down information. To me, the beauty of the Basic game is that you don’t have to worry about writing any down. The basic problem with the concept of logging your move is that it slows down the game – you have to put the book down to write in your log and then pick the book up afterwards – you need extra equipment in terms of pens/pencils and you need a solid writing surface. Forget it! It’s not worth the hassle – you get no real benefit for a whole pile of inconvenience. There are rules for a campaign game, although I have my own simple campaign rules.

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The Modified Game

When I play I incorporate some of the Advanced Rules into the game. Some manoeuvres are “Fancy Manoeuvres” and, in general, they cannot be executed twice in a row AND must be preceded by a Straight manoeuvre. Manoeuvres are rated for speed – Slow Cruising and Fast. We play that you cannot do two Slow manoeuvres in a row as this would cause the plane to stall.

Regarding a simple campaign we simply play a series of games where each player will receive two points for shooting down an aircraft and one point for forcing it to flee (that means you lose sight of each other and one player decides to return to his airfield for repairs rather than continue the combat). We play with the Ace rules – if you score 5 kills you become an Ace which means you don’t have to fly Straight before you execute a Fancy manoeuvre. If you pilot is killed he is replaced with a Raw pilot – a Raw pilot secretly selects only ‘1’ Fancy manoeuvre that his is allowed to execute. As soon as a Raw pilot flies a mission and survives, he is then allowed to execute any of the Fancy manoeuvres. By fighting a simple campaign it makes the concept of flying to safety a very viable option – if you are not fighting a campaign you just keep flying around, blasting away at each other, regardless of the damage to our own plane and the threat to your own safety. In a simple campaign it can become an exciting challenge to have one badly damaged plane evading and trying to fly to safety while the other planes chases after it, trying not to lose contact.

The Rest of the Series

Powerhouse – the planes are not as manoeuvrable as in Rotary. The Rotary series is for planes with a rotary engine and the centrifugal force of the engine allowed the planes to execute a ‘rotary turn’. The Powerhouse series has this manoeuvre missing. Interestingly, you can take a book of the Powerhouse Series and fly it against a book in the Rotary series and this can be quite fun.

Rotary Deluxe – this is very similar to the non-deluxe version. However, it comes in a box rather than a slipcase which makes it more awkward to carry around. The books have photographs rather than drawings for the 223 game-pages and I felt that this very not as useful from a clarity point-of-view as the drawings in the non-deluxe version. There are extra rules to allow more specific variation from plane to plane but I felt that this gave added complexity and made the game slower without really improving game play in any serious way.

Flying Machines – this game uses “pusher” type aircraft and the guns swivel which gives them a forward firing arc. I felt that the planes were less manoeuvrable and the game had added complexity that didn’t add to the game.

Balloon Busters – in this game one player tries to shoot down balloons while the other player tries to shoot him from the sky with gunfire from the ground. I found this rather a boring game.

Wing Leader – this is set in World War II and the increased speed of the fighter planes seems to detract from the intense manoeuvring that takes place in the setting of 1917.

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IMHO, this is an excellent and original game which features simultaneous movement and is perfect for a lunchtime or when you a looking for just the right game for less than 30 minutes.

"Dead Men Tell No Tales!"

Thread: campaign of the 29th Squadron, heavy combat and losses

ekrommen — 2008-01-27T00:05:09+00:00

I pulled out my Ace of Aces books today and found several game logs of a campaign I played 20 years or more ago. I commanded the British "29th squadron".

The squadron roster was: James McUdden - famous ace, "MacBeth", Tim Smith, Sir Roger Thomas (rookie). As you can see its hard to come up with names. Squadron equipment was 3 Sopwith Camels, 3 Sopwith triplanes, and 2 Hanriot HD-1

--1st mission--
The 1st mission had Tim Smith in a Sopwith Camel. The log went half a page, the intial conatct came at 1000 feet followed by alot of manuevers trying to gain altitiude while turning 1000, 1100, 1200 feet back and forth...until an entry of 625 feet, then 450, 250, 50, 0.

Look like the motor was hit 4 out of 5 points, with the note "MOTOR DEAD". The tail took 2 hits out of 6. Three gun bursts brought the ammo down from 20 to 6, still something, but there is the dreaded note "GUN JAM".

Theres a further reminder: "lose 200'/turn, no fast, fancy", certainly that the reuslt of motor dead.

The final note is "LOST BEHIND ENEMY LINES". In the game there is a "map", a number line really to keep track of where the engagement is releative to your airfield, the trenches, and no mans land. This fight started at "8 east", well behind German trenches even, and Tim landed at 10E, almost at the enemy arifield. Tim Smith wasnt killed, perhaps, but wont be seen again.

--2nd mission--
Famous ace James McUdden was in a Sopwith Camel. A full page of log entries starting at 750 feet, 2-east...over no-man's land. he found the enemy at his rear port, and put down the throttle. This battle quickly went to the 100-200 altitiude, and toward the end bumped up to 400-500 before returning to 200 feet. The planes moved west, at one point even flying over the British airfield. McUdden made 7 gun bursts bringing his 20 ammo points down to 1..nothing. He took a few hits to the wings and engine, but apparently nothing serious. At the end is the note "CEARED SKIES OF ENEMY". That give the squadron a 1/2 point of credit, something for the war effort finally.

--3rd mission--
Ed Wills, a rookie, was Tim Smith's replacement...up he went in a Sopwith Triplane. While near allied trenches at 3000 feet, an enemy appread at 2 o'clock, flying the opposite direction. Maintaining altitude above 2500', it loks like Ed tried to work west overall while making port turns follwed by snap turns the opposite direction...he got off 6 bursts to bring his ammo down to 2, but took massive damage in the wings 4 point out of 10, followed by "WING WARPED WHEN HIT, CAME INTO FAST CONACT W/GROUND"...close to his airfield. RIP

--4th mission--
The shortest, 5 log entries, all at 500 feet. Sir Roger found an enemey behind him at 7 o'clock, took some damage to his wings, but the log ends with "CRASHED INTO HERMAN GOERING, RIP"

4 missions end with a total of 1/2 credit, apparently taking a famous ace out of the war in this mannerdidnt get points unfortunately. 1 MIA, 2 KIA, the price of war.

Thread: Re: Rule book scans?

luisgc — 2007-11-01T17:26:48+00:00

Years ago, I've bought the brazilian version of this game ("Duelo de Águias" by Grow), but the books brought only the basic rules and the promise that the intermediate and advanced rules (with charts and die) would be soon sold separately.

Well, it never happened. Do you know where I can get the intermediate and advanced rules and accessories?

Thanks.

Thread: Re: The game is still in print

cabalzero — 2007-07-27T17:33:04+00:00

A of A is one of my fave games. I spent many months pursuing a copy of the Powerhouse edition on eBay. One of the users I often found myself bidding against was "FlyingBuffaloInc". I actually had a chance to speak to the Flying Buff guy at GameStorm 2006. I mentioned having to contend with him for Powerhouse. He said he had been unable to locate the designer to get permission to reprint. So eBay or the Geek is your only shot at the moment.

Thread: Re: The game is still in print

Solamar — 2007-07-27T16:05:34+00:00

I'm interested, but I doubt I could match the value you have on them.

Thread: Re: The game is still in print

Skadar — 2007-07-27T13:47:24+00:00

I've got a copy that I know I will never play.

Ace of Aces - Handy Rotary Deluxe Edition

For sale or trade.

Thread: Re: The game is still in print

Geosphere — 2007-07-27T13:19:42+00:00

Then what does this mean:

We unfortunately are all out of all of the Ace of Aces sets. We hope to be able to reprint all of them eventually. Watch this space!

Thread: The game is still in print

jaalto — 2007-07-27T11:39:26+00:00

For those interested in the game, I happened to see
that this game is still in print and
available through Flying Buffalo Inc:

http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/ace.htm

Thread: Re: Rule book scans?

HazMatt — 2007-06-12T22:25:44+00:00

~~Me too. I'd love to get a copy of the rules.~~

The rules are in the beginning of each booklet. Doh!

Thread: Re: Movement weirdness?

Thedalek — 2007-04-24T17:58:18+00:00

That would make slightly more sense. Thanks for the clearing up.

Thread: Re: Movement weirdness?

Malacandra — 2007-04-23T18:51:30+00:00

It's a stall, which means pulling the plan up to such an angle that the wing can't fly anymore. Imagine two planes headed toward each other. They both do this maneuver at the same time: their closing speed slips to zero basically and they drop their noses (when the stall happens), thereby still facing each other.

I believe there is a rule even in the basic rules, that prohibits you from doing more than one stall in a row. Airplanes can't hover, after all!

Thread: Movement weirdness?

Thedalek — 2007-04-23T17:54:30+00:00

I'm not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere, but after looking at a few different sets of Ace of Aces, I've noticed something which seems a little odd:

Is it correct that a slow straight is so slow within the game-time scale that it effectively means "you don't move?" It's just that, if two planes are facing each other, and both choose the slow straight maneuver, you stay on the same page. I'd be interested in hearing a more experienced view on the matter.

Thread: Re: User Review

Beery — 2007-01-24T14:43:53+00:00

You could always have the Allies flying rotary aircraft against a German flying a powerhouse aircraft. All of the game books are interchangeable and useable with each other - as long as you have a copy of both the rotary and the powerhouse games you're never forced to stick with the same system for both aircraft.

Your other criticism is valid though - it was hard to fly with more than two players. This was why I eventually transferred the game to a boardgame format. All the manoeuvres were based on a hex-grid system, so if you have a hex grid and counters (any hex-based WW1 air combat game can provide these - I used my old Richthofen's War game) you can figure out how the manoeuvres work on the hex grid and play Ace of Aces as a boardgame with multiple aircraft. In my view Ace of Aces, when played as a boardgame, is by far the best WW1 air combat boardgame, as it's simple and effective. I always found other WW1 air combat boardgames to be either too complicated or poorly designed.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help?

Merkles Boner — 2006-12-12T17:45:00+00:00

OK--I had (wrongly) assumed rules were same in both books-obviously not. The German book has the basic rules---MUCH EASIER!!

Sorry if I wasted anyone's time---though the comments do clarify things regarding common rules and assumptions. Should at least be a useful thread.

Thanks again everyone.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help?

Guantanamo — 2006-12-12T15:22:58+00:00

Oh and we also did use the intermediadte rules about no two stalling maneuvers in a row (the ones with the line at the bottom) and that you needed to do a cruising or fast straight/straight before doing a fancy maneuver (the ones with dots bellow).

I've tried to teach people this game a few times this year. But just seems like as a two player people get dragged into other games. Wish I could afford a few sets of these the get a bunch of people playing at the same time.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help?

Guantanamo — 2006-12-12T15:14:03+00:00

rri1 wrote:
Merkles Boner wrote:
Thanks---alot!

Now it seems simpler. Should post that on the rules section of the game (maybe I'll make a link to this thread, even.

As far as starting pages--do I follow the rules as far as rolling dice to figure out starting page--or does it matter?

Check out the other book. Some editions had Basic rules in one book and advanced rules in the other.

Most players do not use anything but basic rules (even at the WBC): No altitude tracking, no tracking ammo, combat is simply 2 for close range, 1 for medium, 1/2 for long (Except for the Allied plane in Flying Machines (Green) books.)

Rules basically are:
- Both player start on page 170.
- If one player is tailing the other (Page number will have a "T" under it.), the tailed player must give the direction (left, right or straight) of his next move.
- Both players select a maneuver.
- Both players state the number underneath the maneuver. (Don't call out the number, until the other player has confirmed he is ready. It may give information to your opponent.) No need to write the number down.
- Go to the page number your opponent called and look at the maneuver you selected. The number under the maneuver is the final page BOTH player should be sent to. (Exception: If your opponent calls 223 (The LOST page) wait until your opponent completes this step to find find out your new position.
- On final page for the turn, check for hits (2, 1, 1/2) and tailing for next turn. If a plane has taken 6 pts or more of damage, it is shot down--the other player wins 1 point.. If you end up on the LOST page (223), you can players can either run away or to search for other to continue the fight. If either runs away (COWARD!), the other wins a 1/2 point for driving his opponent from the skies.

We did at one point keep track of kills and Aces would get damage of 3, 2, 1 and would have to give directions when tailed to non-aces. And then you did need a die to roll for survival when shot down. But even that, that fell along the wayside.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help?

rri1 — 2006-12-12T14:22:40+00:00

Merkles Boner wrote:
Thanks---alot!

Now it seems simpler. Should post that on the rules section of the game (maybe I'll make a link to this thread, even.

As far as starting pages--do I follow the rules as far as rolling dice to figure out starting page--or does it matter?

Check out the other book. Some editions had Basic rules in one book and advanced rules in the other.

Most players do not use anything but basic rules (even at the WBC): No altitude tracking, no tracking ammo, combat is simply 2 for close range, 1 for medium, 1/2 for long (Except for the Allied plane in Flying Machines (Green) books.)

Rules basically are:
- Both player start on page 170.
- If one player is tailing the other (Page number will have a "T" under it.), the tailed player must give the direction (left, right or straight) of his next move.
- Both players select a maneuver.
- Both players state the number underneath the maneuver. (Don't call out the number, until the other player has confirmed he is ready. It may give information to your opponent.) No need to write the number down.
- Go to the page number your opponent called and look at the maneuver you selected. The number under the maneuver is the final page BOTH player should be sent to. (Exception: If your opponent calls 223 (The LOST page) wait until your opponent completes this step to find find out your new position.
- On final page for the turn, check for hits (2, 1, 1/2) and tailing for next turn. If a plane has taken 6 pts or more of damage, it is shot down--the other player wins 1 point.. If you end up on the LOST page (223), you can players can either run away or to search for other to continue the fight. If either runs away (COWARD!), the other wins a 1/2 point for driving his opponent from the skies.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help?

elnora — 2006-12-12T12:00:19+00:00

I don't know what version of the game you have, but the basic rules are spelled out in the front pages of each book of the two versions I have. In those you start on page 170. I would check again, since none of the above should be too much of a surprise.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help?

Merkles Boner — 2006-12-12T11:39:52+00:00

Thanks---alot!

Now it seems simpler. Should post that on the rules section of the game (maybe I'll make a link to this thread, even.

As far as starting pages--do I follow the rules as far as rolling dice to figure out starting page--or does it matter?

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help?

Guantanamo — 2006-12-12T05:26:09+00:00

Yeah. I've been playing it for over 20 years and have never played anything but the basic game.

Thread: Re: Ace of Aces games---Help with Complexity

Jvsquare — 2006-12-12T04:42:14+00:00

You don't need to follow the complex rules, all you need to do is the following:

1) Find what move you want to do on the current page
2) Give the number that goes with it to your opponent
3) Turn to the page number your opponent gave you
4) Find your move, find the number that goes with it, and that's the new page number (yours and your opponent's should match)
5) Repeat until bored or dead (or someone escapes by getting to the last page)

If you see a gun firing at you, you took a hit. 2 points if close, 1 if medium, 1/2 if far away. You start with 5 hit points, lose those, you're dead and your opponent wins.

The advanced rules are if you're truly interested in simulating an air battle to the nitty gritty. But most people use the rules above.

That's pretty much it. For more detail on Ace of Aces, check out my podcast about it at http://essentialmath.com/vintagegamer/?p=34.

Jim

Thread: Ace of Aces games---Help?

Merkles Boner — 2006-12-12T04:26:27+00:00

I just got one of the Ace of Aces games in the mail. But only the books--no other material.

I'm confused, though. Some Geek Lists and other comments seem to indicate that people can play walking around and talking. Yet the instructions (if I understand them) require writing down a massive amount of information every turn and rolling dice for hit points.

Even the house rules posted don't make sense vis-a-vis the original rules

The rules seem confusing to me...and I haven't had this problem with most games before. Maybe its just the end of the semester...b

I'd appreciate any suggestions, house rules, clarifications about the entire Ace of Aces family of games, any FAQ lists, etc....

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gsilva — 2006-10-28T15:18:39+00:00

Game with included advanced rule book/ charts. Always played with the variable start pages.

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gsilva — 2006-10-28T14:45:25+00:00

Inside page of rule book, with multiple starting pages for variety.

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-10-27T23:09:55+00:00

Check six, Red Baron!

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-10-27T18:47:02+00:00

Back Cover of Box

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-10-27T18:45:03+00:00

The Red Baron's ride

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-10-27T18:45:00+00:00

Page 170--the starting place for every dogfight

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-10-27T18:42:53+00:00

Lost! (When both players turn to this page, you restart the dogfight on pg. 170)

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-10-27T18:39:28+00:00

Playing chicken

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Lord_Prussian — 2006-10-27T18:26:33+00:00

Allied Aces

Thread: Rule book scans?

kdiddy13 — 2006-09-11T22:56:53+00:00

Hi,
I'm looking at a copy of this without rules and was wondering if anyone had the rules scanned in or knew of someplace that did? I've done some surface googling and came up empty.

Thanks,
Kurt

Thread: 2006 WBC Game 10

raolsson — 2006-08-07T16:34:09+00:00

Although I am claiming August 2 for this game a the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA, I believe it took place at 3:00 in the morning. This may account for why I went a little longer than the previous round.

I chose the Allies again (although that book had showed me no love in the previous three games) and VuduJoie stuck with the Germans as we moved in to what would be my last game of Ace of Aces for the week. At least my first hit was not a two-point hit, as I was dinged for half a point instead. VuDuJoie quickly followed this up with another point before we exchanged two points a piece to bring our score to 2.5 points to 4.

I was hit for another point before we exchanged for two again, leading to the same result in the first of our games where he went limping back to the aerodome for 2 points and I went down with a negative half remaining.

While VuduJoie and I had been dueling it out execution style in Ace of Aces, Malloc and Bobby Tweaks had been reading rules and preparing for the next day of gaming. We agreed to set the alarm for 7:30 to get some time for breakfast and to prepare for El Grande at 9:00 a.m. the next day.

Thread: 2006 WBC Game 9

raolsson — 2006-08-07T16:27:50+00:00

There could be some debate as to whether it was still the second day of August at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA when I squared off against VuduJoie for our second round of Ace of Aces. After all, my first two-hour game had been at 9:00 p.m. and I had been playing 8 games since that time. Nevertheless, for the sake of keeping my notes straight, I will say this game took place in the wee hours of August 2, 2006.

VuduJoie was working the Ace of Aces mojo on this game, as he dinged me for two points in the first play. We both must have made the decision to come right at each other, only I did not have the benefit of taking the shots at him. So you can imagine my surprise as I swung off to try to catch my opponent in a second pass two have two more points come off my score. I believe he just rotated in the air to shoot my and had a great guess as to the direction I was coming from.

I think it was only my choosing a high-speed exit vector that prevented the game from closing on the third move, where I was dinged for only a point instead of the two I had come to expect. My high speed vector was not enough to prevent a second one-point hit that took me out of the skies in very short order.

I should mention that I travel in a great group of gamers, not just because they are great guys, but because they are great gamers. I would not realize how this would help me until the next morning, but I still had one more game to go. I could not plunge from the sky in four short turns without seeking some revenge!

Thread: 2006 WBC Game 8

raolsson — 2006-08-07T16:21:33+00:00

For my third game of Ace of Aces at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA, I faced off against VuduJoie, the man who had supplied the books for the last two games we had played. I should have suspected that he had a handle on the game, but we flew into combat. I stuck with the Allies and he went with the Germans.

The game began pretty evenly as he nailed me for a point and I shot back for two... only my shooting back was accompanied by his shooting me up for another two points. A few spins later, I found myself down two more points, only this one was not reciprocal. He hit me at a distance for half a point, so when we came back together to exchange two quick points, I went down and he was able to limp back to the aerodome with two points remaining.

Some things come with experience, I suppose, but I could not get a handle around where I should be in relation to my opponent in this game. I suspect that I looked at the moves rather than at the speed, as I tended to go either slow or average for most of my moves. I learned in early games that page 223 generally resulted in a lost result, so I would avoid moves that took me in that direction.

VuduJoie was up for another round and as this was my first night of gaming for the event, I was riled up and ready to go into my ninth game of the day.

Thread: 2006 WBC Game 7

raolsson — 2006-08-07T16:06:27+00:00

Following a tie in my first game of Ace of Aces at the World Boardgaming Championship in Lancaster, PA, I was ready to square off against Bobby Tweaks a second time. We picked up the books, he went with the Germans again, and I went with the Allies.

Bobby Tweaks went on to score a quick 1/2 point against me in the early rounds. Most of my strategy always seemed to be to try to get out of the sites of the opposing plane or at least turn around and bring the guns on him blazing. Unfortunately, this did not seem to work as well as my newbie flying mind would like it to. Generally when I turned around, Bobby Tweaks would stall and take a shot at me as I passed. And when I did manage to successfully turn and fire, we would hit each other for two points.

At the 2005 WBC, I had the honor of going completely defeated for the entire time I was there. This seemed to be the path for 2006 as well. Although I was able to turn my guns on my opponent twice, I was not able to do much better than that. Bobby Tweaks, on the other hand, had a much easier time turning my plane into Swiss cheese. He rattled me for point after point until it was over.

By this time VuduJoie and Malloc had finished their game of baseball, so we went back to the room. But here, VuduJoie decided that he was looking for some Ace of Aces action as well.

Thread: 2006 WBC Game 6

raolsson — 2006-08-07T15:59:00+00:00

While attending the World Boardgaming Championsjip in Lancaster, PA, VuduJoie and Malloc were kind enough to sign me up for the Ace of Aces tournament. Most participants had a pin announcing they were part of the tourney on their badge, so you would challenge them to a quick game of Ace of Aces, and presumably whoever won the most games would win the tournament. Always happy to participate, I squared off against Bobby Tweaks for my first game of Ace of Aces ever.

For those readers who are unfamiliar with the game play (as I was), you start the game on page 170 of a picture book. Your opponent also has a book. You look at about ten moves that you can make and then call out the number underneath it. Your opponent does the same, then you both turn to the page listed under the move you made on the page you turned to to discover the results of your action. The concept is simpler to do than it is to write about, but as the beverages of the evening started to pile up and the hour grew later, it was getting increasingly harder to determine what page to turn to.

Bobby Tweaks was by far the better flyer than I was. He was flying the German book while I had the Allies. As the dogfight continued, we scored point after point until I had him down to two points and he had me down to one. There were a number of opportunities to flee, but each of us did not want to give the other the satisfaction of a victory. We turned around and came at each other scoring two points of damage a piece. I suppose it is fair to say that Bobby Tweaks won it, but as both planes went down, it was scored as a tie.

Once we had the concept of the game down, we were ready to set the books up again and go for another round!

Thread: Acest of Aces

Red Wine Pie — 2005-11-16T09:09:52+00:00

The best of the first person view games, without a doubt. Being set in the air there was no need to worry about scenery or other details that make the Lost Worlds pictures barren. I used to play this while staying over at a friend's house at the age of 13 or so. It's an ideal game for lazy bed gaming, requiring no board, and just the ability to hear the other player.

The post-mortems after combat, with hands rolling over hands in demonstration of barrell rolls, imellmen turns and loops, must have been similar to testing - you can imagine Leonardo working out what to draw as the 'planes passed each other. Or maybe it was more like Wallace and Grommit claymation: "then we move one finger a centimetre, take a picture, move the finger another centimetre, take a picture, move the eyebrow". Whatever method, the basic game design is great, and works well. Only when the 'planes get lost does it go off course, but you can easily start again.

Even these early books contained extra rules for elevation and other complexity. Did anyone genuinely become an Ace of Aces, shooting down 25 'planes without getting shot down themselves? But campaigns weren't ever really the key. The game is just a great focus, a real feeling of being in the 'plane that is usually just an abstract piece on a board. If all Ace of Aces does is to make you think about seeing an old idea in a whole new light, then it has acheived something very worthwhile.

Thread: Re:User Review

castiglione — 2004-10-20T19:01:47+00:00

This was probably one of the first (if not THE first) wargame that I ever purchased.

The basic game is good enough that even though I learned the intermediate and advanced rules (which added rules for altitude, relative speed of the aircraft, ammunition, fuel, etc.), I never found anyone willing to learn anything above the intermediate rules.

The good point about the game was that it was highly portable.

The bad point was that at anything above a 1 vs. 1 dogfight, the system quickly became bogged down and the appeal of the game (it's quick play) got thrown out the window.

One has to wonder about the rationale for grouping the aircraft the way they did, i.e. Handy Rotary, Powerhouse and Flying Machines. What aircraft the players flew didn't really become significant until one flew the intermediate and advanced games but in the handy rotary game, they painted themselves into a corner because of the fact that the Central Powers, through most of the war, used in-line engine craft...thus, the Handy Rotary series only had four available aircraft for the German player, all of which were only in service for a short period of time (the Fokker Dr. I, although it has become highly symbolic of the air war, was only used in small numbers and was withdrawn from service due to concerns about the robustness of its airframe) and which left certain Allied aircraft, i.e. Nieuport 11, 17, Sopwith Pup and Triplane with no real contemporaries to fight with. The Deluxe Edition of the game attempted to address this issue by adding the one of the early Fokker biplanes (Fokker D.III, I believe) into the game - however, this merely served to add another relatively obscure and not often used aircraft to the Central Powers livery.

Thread: User Review

cabalzero — 2004-09-23T17:59:45+00:00

Ace of Aces is certainly one of the most unique game systems ever developed. Though perhaps not the first game to use cross-indexed matrices in twin books as a system for player interaction, it is likely one of the most popular.
Developed by Nova Games for Flying Buffalo Inc., Ace of Aces consists of two slipcase covered books, one for the Allied player and one for the German. The pages display three dimensional drawings from the perspective of the respective pilot. Players then cross-index their relative maneuvers for the turn and then turn to a new page (and thereby a new perspective) as a result of those maneuvers. Only if the guns are shown blazing is firing actually occuring. The objective is to be the first to inflict six points of damage on your opponent--players are "shot down" after sustaining six points of damage.
What is interesting about this edition of Ace of Aces is that the British player is flying the Airco D5, a plane with a rear-mounted prop that allows the British player to traverse his guns in a fire-arc of approximately 90 degrees forward. The German is flying a front-propped monoplane, and his guns are more typically, fixed forward. This makes the game considerably more challenging for the German player, who must seek to engage the opponent from the flank or rear to avoid the wide-swinging guns of the Airco. To offset this seemingly large advantage, the British guns are half the strength of the German, but since this game is mostly about maneuver, the relative gun strength is fairly inconsequential.
Ace of Aces is one of my absolute favorite beer & pretzels games, and I rate this one a 9.5 for its' added degree of difficulty for the German player.

Thread: Re:Chart booklet?

dpfaigin — 2004-05-14T00:02:21+00:00

You'll find one in the set of uploaded files; it is FAX of the booklet converted to PDF (Efax is a wonderful scanner )

Thread: Re:Chart booklet?

dpfaigin — 2004-05-11T19:15:15+00:00

p0pcult (#35857),

Drop me a note via email on the geek with your address, and I'll see what I can do. It will also remind me to get a scan up here.

Daniel

Thread: Chart booklet?

p0pcult — 2004-05-11T17:18:59+00:00

I just got a copy of AoA: Handy Rotary off eBay, but it didn't come with the booklet detailing the charts and tables and errata. I have the slipcase and both Allied and German gamebooks. Can anyone help me out with a scan or photocopy of the booklet in question?

Thread: User Review

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-08T00:02:04+00:00

Before computer games, this was the best there was. Two-player interactive dogfights, with no electricity! The game system is easy to understand, but with basic, intermediate, and advanced rules, it can be expanded from a simple child's game to an extremely realistic paper simulation. I only wish they were still in print!

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I admit that this game hasn't held up over the years, but I did play this game when it was new. This was at a time when the only flight simulators for computers were "Sublogic's Flight Simulator" and anything resembling head to head dogfighting on a PC was still years off.

Ace of Aces was quite a fun game at the time when nothing else like it was available, in board OR pc format.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I played this game when it first came out. It was great for travelling and camping trips. A PC version of this game, perhaps with animation would be great.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I just got a copy of Ace of Aces - Jet Eagles. I used to play the WW1 version of this game with my brother back in the '80s. Who says it doesn't hold up over time? I'm still playing it now, only this time with my wife. It's still as much fun as it's always been.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

My brothers and I all played it a lot, '80-83. We loved it! It recently came up in a conversation. My parent still
have the two books somewheres. All we ever had were the WWI series. We never go around to buying any of
the other ones. A computer version would be fun.