Post by Fadril Adren on Mar 28, 2015 23:36:08 GMT -5
I just finished playing my first (of many) game of Wings of Glory WWII from Ares Games. And it was pretty fun!
Wings of Glory is a game system that allows players to recreate aerial combat during World War I and II (So far I've only played WWII), using cards and miniatures to represent the airplanes and their maneuvers.
In Wings of Glory players will control one or more airplanes, taking to the skies to engage their opponents in aerial duels, or trying to accomplish a specific mission, such as recon, escort, or bombing.
The game plays kind of similar to X-Wing, but with cards, no dice and no initiative. There's also no points for list creation... or rather... no lists! So, then how does it compare?? And better yet.. HUH? How does it work??
Ok, here's the rundown. The game is designed for at least 2 players each having at minimal 1 plane each. However, the game runs a bit more smoothly and combat-esque with having at least 4 planes per game.. so whichever combination you'd prefer (2 players with 2 planes, 4 players with 4 planes etc etc.). Each plane comes with it's own stat card, base, peg stands, model, and pack of movement cards. The game is played in a 36"x36" or larger playing area. (the larger the area the better it is to play, in my opinion, with having several planes). I purchased one of their new aerial mats which are excellent quality and beautifully picturesque.. although it's a 27" x 39" which kind of baffles me a bit.. but it's completely modular in that it can be combined with any (or all!) of the other mats in whichever arrangement you'd prefer so I'll be picking up at least on3 more map.
Each plane has all of it's required information available on both the base and it's pilot/stat card. The base has the usual 90 degree Line of Sight arc that most model games use. Each plane has it's own specific flight maneuver card deck and hit points as well as long range and short range damage bars. Typically, the starter set planes have hit points of 18 or 19 each and had a different set of manuever cards (they are categorized by letter.. P, O, Q, and R). For advanced play, you can add specialized pilot abilities, add bombs, check gas levels (really!! This is pretty detailed!), altitude levels, and more. We played a Standard Game.
The game works out all at same initiative! Crazy, huh? Well..... it makes sense really. This game is truly about positioning and less on trickery and "super ship and pilot abilities" although there are SOME unique pilot abilities that you can choose from ranging from rookie to Super Ace. Each player places their planes down on the table along their edge (or depending on if running a scenario.. which will detail the "where"). Then, you have the opening move maneuver card picked out and placed down in the #1 section of the Console along with the speed (Fast or Slow.. more on movement later) token. The opening move does not allow for any "special" maneuvers called Steep and the Immelman Turn (like a "K" turn in X-Wing or a basic 180). Next both players then decide on the Advanced Planning (the NEXT move) along with the desired speed and place them in the #2 spot on that planes respective console.
The reason for a #1 and #2 spots are because the game does not allow you to make the same move twice in a row (unless that maneuver deck has another card available just like it.. or very similar). You also cannot make two Steep maneuvers in a row (unless you have that pilot skill in Advanced Rules).
Here's what one of mine looked like after a couple turns:
Ok.. so ONTO THE GAME PHASES!
Wings of Glory WWII is comprised of 3 phases per turn (like X-Wing!) AND Each player does these simultaneaously in each phase! : PHASE #1 is PLANNING where you look through your maneuver decks for each plane and pick one out along with your desired speed and place it face down in the #2 Console Card Spot. PHASE #2 is MOVEMENT where each player reveals their movement cards and speed (white for slow and blue for fast) and then proceeds to move their planes accordingly. PHASE #3 is FIRING where each plane that has both range (either short or long as indicated by the range ruler provided) and line of sight can shoot at one plane per turn and gives damage according to the distance away and plane type as indicated on the card (and base).
Seems simple, right? It is!! Yet.. it's not as quick to get it "right" as it sounds.
Here's my game start just after first moves with Sierra. I controled the Allies with 1 North American P-51D Mustang and a SuperMarine Spitfire MK.IX. Sierra played Axis using 1 Focke-Wulf FW.190 D-9 and a Nakajima KI-84 Hayate.
DETAILS.. It's in the DETAILS!
PHASE #1 is PLANNING
Players secretly choose one unused card from the maneuver deck of each airplane and either a fast (blue) or slow (white) speed token as appropriate for the move you want to make. These are placed facedown in the second space of the corresponding airplane console (speed token on top of card). The manueve(s) indicated by the arrow(s) on the card and speed token will be performed on NEXT TURN. There are between 16 to 18 different movement cards depending on the plane. This takes a while to get the hang of since there are so many choices.. but once you get a couple rounds in you get a decent grasp on at least the direction you want it to go. Speed plays a big factor here in that, while you may want to turn right, the fast speed (blue arrows on card) has a long and far turn while the slow (white arrow on card) would have a short and sharper bank allowing more of a 45 degree instead of a faster 22.
There is also the Immelmann turn which is a 3-turn.... turn! It's basically a 180 but you have to 1. have enough room for it and 2. PLAN AHEAD! It requires a long straight away move FIRST and at fast speed. NEXT turn is the actual Immelmann where you perform the 180. THEN you must follow up on the turn after that with ANOTHER STRAIGHT AWAY but at a slow speed!! And that is the only way to do it (again.. there can be slight altertations under special pilot skills in advanced and optional play).
PHASE #2 is MOVEMENT
When all players have planned their moves for the NEXT TURN, they simultaneously reveal their manuever card and speed from each #1 spot on their Consoles. Each player places his maneuver card in front of his airplane base so the start of the arrow (remember.. white if slow speed and blue if fast speed!) matches the center front line on the planes base. Next they take that base and place it on top of the movement card, so the arrowhead at the rear of the plane base matches the arrowhead on the card which is the end point for that move. The manuever card used for movement can NOT be used in the next planning phase of the next turn. As a reminder, it is left faceup on the first space of the console, and the card that was previously placed on that #1 space is put back in the maneuver deck.
You can also have bases overlapping! Other than not being able to shoot each other, there seems to be no real issue with it in this game. The bases are generally not used as much as other model war games other than for line of sight and shooting.
One thing of note: If your end of movement places any planes CENTER PEG (NOT THE BASE!!) outside the play area, that plane is considered "shot down" by the enemy and removed from play.
Here's an example: First picture is the start of movement. I chose a left "s" maneuver at a fast speed (blue arrow!) and line up the planes center accordingly to the card.
And then you move the planes base and line up the arrow on the back of the base to the corresponding color arrow (fast or slow) on the card. Then remove the card to the remaining movement cards and do the same with your next plane (if any) until each player has finished all movement. Which would end up similar to this
when all movement is done, then the movement cards and speed tokens from the #2 slot are moved to the #1 slot. Then onto the last phase:
PHASE #3 is FIRING
After all airplanes have moved, players check to see if each airplane can shoot by taking the range ruler and placing one end of it against the CENTER PEG UNDER THE PLANE (Nope... NOT THE BASE!) and extend it toward the target plane.
If an edge of the ruler can reach any point of the BASE of an enemy plane, while staying within it's firing arc, the attacking place can fire at the target. Here's where it gets a bit... wonky in my opinion. I'm a dice lover by gamers heart.. but there is NO DICE IN THIS GAME. So, I figured it would be decided like Malifaux where damage is random by cards? NOPE. It's decided upon the randomness of the token draw from the tables shared container.
Let's say that my plane was shooting close range at Sierra's plane. It does "BBB" damage which means that she draws 3 random "B" tokens and looks (privately) at the underside for results. If it's a number, she keeps total count until that damage # is equal to or greater than the hit points on the plane. If it's a lightning bolt with a directional arrow, that plane cannot perform the next 2 planning phases using any maneuver in that direction (called rudder malfunction). If its a lightning bolt with an engine symbol.. it is reduced by the amount of points shown AND can only do slow speed maneuvers for the rest of game! There is another for a pilot, Zero(nothing) damage.. so there's your miss!, smoke or fire damage.
Now remember that FIRING is also done simultaneously.. so while players may decide to figure one plane out at a time, all damage happens at the same time so it's possible to have two planes shooting at each other and blow each other up!
There are some other rules where if you get the SMOKE damage, then you have 6 counters. You can't be tailgated (special rule where an enemy player can get a chance to see that planes next maneuver before making his/her choice IF in range) but if you get hit again with another smoke damage.. it turns into FIRE damage and you're losing hit points each round depending on what maneuver you do.
Here's our games final pic where I got a close range hit on Sierra's last plane:
And there you have it! Thats a run down of how to play Wings of Glory WWII. Now.. there are LOTS OF ADVANCED OPTIONS and SCENARIOS which really are sweet! I'm talking about altitude difference which means shooting and manuevering is a whole new beast! Also using fuel counters where each movement phase your fuel decreases by one for slow maneuvers and 2 for fast and if it reaches zero and you're still airborn.. your crashing! Landing strips where you can get to refuel, repair, re equip, and more. Anti Aircraft guns and Soldier units which are placed upon the battlefields with cards provided by the starter set. Pilot abilities, special weapons, bombs, two-seat airplanes with front AND rear firing arcs, twin engines, rockets, dive bombings, and more! All of which require the agreeance of each player prior to game start.
Got questions? Ask away! Overall, this was a fun game and both Sierra and I had a blast learning it. It was quick to learn the basics and much like X-Wing.. movement is easy but hard to master. We both had a plane each we "lost control" and left the game tables edge! hehe.
- Robert
Wings of Glory is a game system that allows players to recreate aerial combat during World War I and II (So far I've only played WWII), using cards and miniatures to represent the airplanes and their maneuvers.
In Wings of Glory players will control one or more airplanes, taking to the skies to engage their opponents in aerial duels, or trying to accomplish a specific mission, such as recon, escort, or bombing.
The game plays kind of similar to X-Wing, but with cards, no dice and no initiative. There's also no points for list creation... or rather... no lists! So, then how does it compare?? And better yet.. HUH? How does it work??
Ok, here's the rundown. The game is designed for at least 2 players each having at minimal 1 plane each. However, the game runs a bit more smoothly and combat-esque with having at least 4 planes per game.. so whichever combination you'd prefer (2 players with 2 planes, 4 players with 4 planes etc etc.). Each plane comes with it's own stat card, base, peg stands, model, and pack of movement cards. The game is played in a 36"x36" or larger playing area. (the larger the area the better it is to play, in my opinion, with having several planes). I purchased one of their new aerial mats which are excellent quality and beautifully picturesque.. although it's a 27" x 39" which kind of baffles me a bit.. but it's completely modular in that it can be combined with any (or all!) of the other mats in whichever arrangement you'd prefer so I'll be picking up at least on3 more map.
Each plane has all of it's required information available on both the base and it's pilot/stat card. The base has the usual 90 degree Line of Sight arc that most model games use. Each plane has it's own specific flight maneuver card deck and hit points as well as long range and short range damage bars. Typically, the starter set planes have hit points of 18 or 19 each and had a different set of manuever cards (they are categorized by letter.. P, O, Q, and R). For advanced play, you can add specialized pilot abilities, add bombs, check gas levels (really!! This is pretty detailed!), altitude levels, and more. We played a Standard Game.
The game works out all at same initiative! Crazy, huh? Well..... it makes sense really. This game is truly about positioning and less on trickery and "super ship and pilot abilities" although there are SOME unique pilot abilities that you can choose from ranging from rookie to Super Ace. Each player places their planes down on the table along their edge (or depending on if running a scenario.. which will detail the "where"). Then, you have the opening move maneuver card picked out and placed down in the #1 section of the Console along with the speed (Fast or Slow.. more on movement later) token. The opening move does not allow for any "special" maneuvers called Steep and the Immelman Turn (like a "K" turn in X-Wing or a basic 180). Next both players then decide on the Advanced Planning (the NEXT move) along with the desired speed and place them in the #2 spot on that planes respective console.
The reason for a #1 and #2 spots are because the game does not allow you to make the same move twice in a row (unless that maneuver deck has another card available just like it.. or very similar). You also cannot make two Steep maneuvers in a row (unless you have that pilot skill in Advanced Rules).
Here's what one of mine looked like after a couple turns:
Ok.. so ONTO THE GAME PHASES!
Wings of Glory WWII is comprised of 3 phases per turn (like X-Wing!) AND Each player does these simultaneaously in each phase! : PHASE #1 is PLANNING where you look through your maneuver decks for each plane and pick one out along with your desired speed and place it face down in the #2 Console Card Spot. PHASE #2 is MOVEMENT where each player reveals their movement cards and speed (white for slow and blue for fast) and then proceeds to move their planes accordingly. PHASE #3 is FIRING where each plane that has both range (either short or long as indicated by the range ruler provided) and line of sight can shoot at one plane per turn and gives damage according to the distance away and plane type as indicated on the card (and base).
Seems simple, right? It is!! Yet.. it's not as quick to get it "right" as it sounds.
Here's my game start just after first moves with Sierra. I controled the Allies with 1 North American P-51D Mustang and a SuperMarine Spitfire MK.IX. Sierra played Axis using 1 Focke-Wulf FW.190 D-9 and a Nakajima KI-84 Hayate.
DETAILS.. It's in the DETAILS!
PHASE #1 is PLANNING
Players secretly choose one unused card from the maneuver deck of each airplane and either a fast (blue) or slow (white) speed token as appropriate for the move you want to make. These are placed facedown in the second space of the corresponding airplane console (speed token on top of card). The manueve(s) indicated by the arrow(s) on the card and speed token will be performed on NEXT TURN. There are between 16 to 18 different movement cards depending on the plane. This takes a while to get the hang of since there are so many choices.. but once you get a couple rounds in you get a decent grasp on at least the direction you want it to go. Speed plays a big factor here in that, while you may want to turn right, the fast speed (blue arrows on card) has a long and far turn while the slow (white arrow on card) would have a short and sharper bank allowing more of a 45 degree instead of a faster 22.
There is also the Immelmann turn which is a 3-turn.... turn! It's basically a 180 but you have to 1. have enough room for it and 2. PLAN AHEAD! It requires a long straight away move FIRST and at fast speed. NEXT turn is the actual Immelmann where you perform the 180. THEN you must follow up on the turn after that with ANOTHER STRAIGHT AWAY but at a slow speed!! And that is the only way to do it (again.. there can be slight altertations under special pilot skills in advanced and optional play).
PHASE #2 is MOVEMENT
When all players have planned their moves for the NEXT TURN, they simultaneously reveal their manuever card and speed from each #1 spot on their Consoles. Each player places his maneuver card in front of his airplane base so the start of the arrow (remember.. white if slow speed and blue if fast speed!) matches the center front line on the planes base. Next they take that base and place it on top of the movement card, so the arrowhead at the rear of the plane base matches the arrowhead on the card which is the end point for that move. The manuever card used for movement can NOT be used in the next planning phase of the next turn. As a reminder, it is left faceup on the first space of the console, and the card that was previously placed on that #1 space is put back in the maneuver deck.
You can also have bases overlapping! Other than not being able to shoot each other, there seems to be no real issue with it in this game. The bases are generally not used as much as other model war games other than for line of sight and shooting.
One thing of note: If your end of movement places any planes CENTER PEG (NOT THE BASE!!) outside the play area, that plane is considered "shot down" by the enemy and removed from play.
Here's an example: First picture is the start of movement. I chose a left "s" maneuver at a fast speed (blue arrow!) and line up the planes center accordingly to the card.
And then you move the planes base and line up the arrow on the back of the base to the corresponding color arrow (fast or slow) on the card. Then remove the card to the remaining movement cards and do the same with your next plane (if any) until each player has finished all movement. Which would end up similar to this
when all movement is done, then the movement cards and speed tokens from the #2 slot are moved to the #1 slot. Then onto the last phase:
PHASE #3 is FIRING
After all airplanes have moved, players check to see if each airplane can shoot by taking the range ruler and placing one end of it against the CENTER PEG UNDER THE PLANE (Nope... NOT THE BASE!) and extend it toward the target plane.
If an edge of the ruler can reach any point of the BASE of an enemy plane, while staying within it's firing arc, the attacking place can fire at the target. Here's where it gets a bit... wonky in my opinion. I'm a dice lover by gamers heart.. but there is NO DICE IN THIS GAME. So, I figured it would be decided like Malifaux where damage is random by cards? NOPE. It's decided upon the randomness of the token draw from the tables shared container.
Let's say that my plane was shooting close range at Sierra's plane. It does "BBB" damage which means that she draws 3 random "B" tokens and looks (privately) at the underside for results. If it's a number, she keeps total count until that damage # is equal to or greater than the hit points on the plane. If it's a lightning bolt with a directional arrow, that plane cannot perform the next 2 planning phases using any maneuver in that direction (called rudder malfunction). If its a lightning bolt with an engine symbol.. it is reduced by the amount of points shown AND can only do slow speed maneuvers for the rest of game! There is another for a pilot, Zero(nothing) damage.. so there's your miss!, smoke or fire damage.
Now remember that FIRING is also done simultaneously.. so while players may decide to figure one plane out at a time, all damage happens at the same time so it's possible to have two planes shooting at each other and blow each other up!
There are some other rules where if you get the SMOKE damage, then you have 6 counters. You can't be tailgated (special rule where an enemy player can get a chance to see that planes next maneuver before making his/her choice IF in range) but if you get hit again with another smoke damage.. it turns into FIRE damage and you're losing hit points each round depending on what maneuver you do.
Here's our games final pic where I got a close range hit on Sierra's last plane:
And there you have it! Thats a run down of how to play Wings of Glory WWII. Now.. there are LOTS OF ADVANCED OPTIONS and SCENARIOS which really are sweet! I'm talking about altitude difference which means shooting and manuevering is a whole new beast! Also using fuel counters where each movement phase your fuel decreases by one for slow maneuvers and 2 for fast and if it reaches zero and you're still airborn.. your crashing! Landing strips where you can get to refuel, repair, re equip, and more. Anti Aircraft guns and Soldier units which are placed upon the battlefields with cards provided by the starter set. Pilot abilities, special weapons, bombs, two-seat airplanes with front AND rear firing arcs, twin engines, rockets, dive bombings, and more! All of which require the agreeance of each player prior to game start.
Got questions? Ask away! Overall, this was a fun game and both Sierra and I had a blast learning it. It was quick to learn the basics and much like X-Wing.. movement is easy but hard to master. We both had a plane each we "lost control" and left the game tables edge! hehe.
- Robert