Ace of Aces
Encyclopedia
Ace of Aces is a two-player combat picture book game designed by Alfred Leonardi and first published in 1980 by Nova Game Designs. In 1981, Ace of Aces won the Charles Roberts/Origins
Gamers Choice of 1980 and was inducted into the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame in 1994.
In 1999, Pyramid
magazine named Ace of Aces as one of the Millennium's Best Games. According to that magazine the game is
"nothing more than a hex-based single-unit wargame, [but] what made Ace of Aces great was the presentation. By completely hiding the actual mechanics of the game in the flipbooks, it didn't feel like a wargame."
fighter
. Each player turns to the same page number in his book; the illustration on that page shows the view from the cockpit of his airplane, looking at the opponent. Along the bottom of the page is series of maneuver
s that can be performed, with page numbers listed under them (while the page numbers are different with each page, the maneuvers are constant).
Each player selects a maneuver. Both players then announce the corresponding numbers. Each player turns to the page number announced by the opponent, looks up his own maneuver there, and turns to the page number listed under it. After both players have done this, they are on the same (new) page, looking at new views of each other. The process is repeated until one player has maneuvered his opponent into the sights of his guns and can shoot him down.
The maneuvers in both books are the same, with each set representing a range of aircraft with similar handling characteristics. Different sets are completely compatible with each other and can be used together, as long as opposing books are selected.
Additionally, a single player can in essence "fly solo" by picking up any single book and executing maneuvers. The result is not unlike using the aircraft pictured in the book's pages as a fixed, non-moving spatial reference point. This provides an easy way for newcomers to the game to get a feel for what each maneuver does, and hence a reasonably quick way to get up to a competitive level of play against opponents.
Gameplay could further be customised by using an included sheet of rules which provided for "intermediate" and "advanced" games. These games added factors such as altitude difference, ammunition supply, windspeed and jammed guns to the basic game (which assumed the guns always worked and had an endless supply of ammunition, and that the players would fly at the same altitude throughout in still air).
Despite what some perceived as a lack of "realism", the basic game was extremely popular and simple to learn, and it could be played anywhere there was room for two people to sit or stand.
also used this style of books in a fantasy setting for his Combat Heroes books.
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
Gamers Choice of 1980 and was inducted into the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame in 1994.
In 1999, Pyramid
Pyramid (magazine)
Pyramid is a gaming magazine, publishing articles primarily on role-playing games, but including board games, card games, and other sorts of games. It began life in 1993 as a print publication of Steve Jackson Games for its first 30 issues, though it has been published on the Internet since March...
magazine named Ace of Aces as one of the Millennium's Best Games. According to that magazine the game is
"nothing more than a hex-based single-unit wargame, [but] what made Ace of Aces great was the presentation. By completely hiding the actual mechanics of the game in the flipbooks, it didn't feel like a wargame."
Gameplay
Each set includes a pair of small books, one for each player (generally marked 'German' and 'Allied'). These are like gamebooks in that instead of reading through them, a person is 'at' one particular page, and the book represents a World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
. Each player turns to the same page number in his book; the illustration on that page shows the view from the cockpit of his airplane, looking at the opponent. Along the bottom of the page is series of maneuver
Maneuver
Maneuver, manoeuvre may be a synonym for strategy or tactic. It is the manipulation of a situation in order to gain some advantage.- Military or naval movement :* Military exercise...
s that can be performed, with page numbers listed under them (while the page numbers are different with each page, the maneuvers are constant).
Each player selects a maneuver. Both players then announce the corresponding numbers. Each player turns to the page number announced by the opponent, looks up his own maneuver there, and turns to the page number listed under it. After both players have done this, they are on the same (new) page, looking at new views of each other. The process is repeated until one player has maneuvered his opponent into the sights of his guns and can shoot him down.
The maneuvers in both books are the same, with each set representing a range of aircraft with similar handling characteristics. Different sets are completely compatible with each other and can be used together, as long as opposing books are selected.
Additionally, a single player can in essence "fly solo" by picking up any single book and executing maneuvers. The result is not unlike using the aircraft pictured in the book's pages as a fixed, non-moving spatial reference point. This provides an easy way for newcomers to the game to get a feel for what each maneuver does, and hence a reasonably quick way to get up to a competitive level of play against opponents.
Gameplay could further be customised by using an included sheet of rules which provided for "intermediate" and "advanced" games. These games added factors such as altitude difference, ammunition supply, windspeed and jammed guns to the basic game (which assumed the guns always worked and had an endless supply of ammunition, and that the players would fly at the same altitude throughout in still air).
Despite what some perceived as a lack of "realism", the basic game was extremely popular and simple to learn, and it could be played anywhere there was room for two people to sit or stand.
Expansions
- Handy Rotary Series (1980)
- Powerhouse Series (1981)
- Flying Machines (1983)
- Balloon Buster (1985)
- Handy Rotary Deluxe Edition (1986)
- Wingleader (1988)
- Jet Eagles (1990)
Other games
Ace of Aces was the first game of this type, but others were done later. Bounty Hunter used much the same format for an old west gunfight (only one set was released, Shootout at the Saloon). Dragonriders of Pern used the Ace of Aces format in a contest to stop Threadfall. Alfred Leonardi also designed the Lost Worlds combat book game system which is sometimes mistakenly described as using the Ace of Aces system. Joe DeverJoe Dever
Joe Dever is an award-winning British fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America in 1982....
also used this style of books in a fantasy setting for his Combat Heroes books.
External links
- Flying BuffaloFlying BuffaloFlying Buffalo Incorporated is a Scottsdale, Arizona game company that publishes role playing games, card games, gaming materials, and runs Play-by-mail games....
's home page for the game - Ace of Aces Collector's Guide by Joseph J. Scoleri III
- Gamebooks.org description of the game and list of available game books
- BoardGameGeek list of the games in the series