Customer Reviews

Fight in the Skies: World War I Aerial Combat Game [BOX SET]

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When Mike Carr self-published "Fight in the Skies" (FitS) in 1968, he probably never dreamed he would still be running an annual event at Gencon over forty years later, and be president of the "FitS" Society, a group of World War One aviation and gaming enthusiasts. Well, here it is 2010, the game is long out of print despite eight editions, because of the demise of TSR, yet the fanbase is still there.

The copy I received is a 5th edition, TSR copy, with a beautiful picture of a Pfalz dIII in action against an R.E.8 and a Camel. The 36 page rule book is well organized, with Basic and Advanced Rules(8 pages), Optional rules(16 pages)Historical commentaries and aircraft descriptions(10 pages)and four pages of scenarios, using from three to eight players, and a Point System for judging tournament play.

There are numerous charts:Four pages covering set-up and game play, three pages generating random enemy aircraft, five sheets of maneuver cards, and ten pages of aircraft data cards (covering 56 different types). Two sheets of cardboard counters provide pieces for 123 airplanes, balloons, and anti-aircraft weapons. Also included is a 24"x24" sheet of "Texoprint" paper, marked in a one inch grid, to use as a game board, which the rules state "can be marked in various colors using Flair-type pens" . I have not tried that yet.

On to the play of the game! Players (the more the better) choose sides, pick a month of the First World War, and select aircraft, either openly, or by random dice roll. Altitude and any special missions are determined, and the game begins. Each player rolls two dice for initiative each turn, moving in order from "high roll" to "low". Each plane is rated for speed flying straight, or turning, moving one square per 10mph of speed. diving can add a huge speed bonus. Various special maneuvers allow you to get into shooting position on planes that moved before your turn. When everyone is through moving, all planes with targets in their field of fire roll dice to shoot. Range, angle of attack, number of guns, and altitude difference all determine how many hits are placed on a target, then the location of the hits, and severity of them is rolled. Lucky shots can hit a pilot or gunner, while sometimes a plane is "sawed to pieces" and the crew limps home.Getting on the tail of an enemy aircraft is particularly deadly, and calls for daring maneuvers. A two or three player game takes about an hour, after basic concepts are mastered. More planes take more time.

If you have any interest in the air combat of World War One, and gaming this fascinating period, you owe it to yourself to buy a copy of "FitS', or its later edition "Dawn Patrol" For more information, visit the Society at dawnpatrol.org