Wings of War
Encyclopedia
Wings of War, by Andrea Angiolino
and Pier Giorgio Paglia, is a modular boardgame collection published by Nexus Editrice
and dedicated to air combat.
A new edition is announced by Ares Games as Wings of Glory.
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 had an official English edition by Fantasy Flight Games
. Other official editions have appeared in German, Greek, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Czech, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish and Japanese, besides translations into other languages.
In 2011 Wings of War was dropped by Fantasy Flight Games. Shortly thereafter Nexus announced that it was closing down. The licence to produce Wings of War (rebadged as Wings of Glory) then passed to a new Italian company, Ares Games.
A ruler is used to see if a plane has enemy planes (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 rather than one.
The different planes available determine the firepower, maneuver cards available, and number of damage points able to be sustained before being eliminated and are based on that planes historic performance.
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 World War I series. It includes drachens, AA guns, machine guns, air-to-air Le Prieur rocket
s, 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 fourth set that was released in 2010, Wings of War - Flight of the Giants adds heavy bombers into the game. However, it is not a stand-alone game and serves as an extension to any previous WoW game.
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 World War I collection, so it can not be mixed with other sets. "Squadron" booster packs for the World War II series are Wings of War- Eagles of the Reich and Wings of War- Flying Legend.
Andrea Angiolino
Andrea Angiolino is a game designer: among his last boardgames Dragon Ball - Alla ricerca delle sette sfere , Ulysses , Wings of War , Isla Dorada , and the card game Obscura Tempora Andrea Angiolino (born April 27, 1966 in Rome, Italy) is a game designer: among his last boardgames Dragon Ball -...
and Pier Giorgio Paglia, is a modular boardgame collection published by Nexus Editrice
Nexus Editrice
Founded in 1993, Nexus Editrice was an Italian game publisher.Nexus produced board games, role-playing games, card games, miniature games, published magazines devoted to games, and licensed to the italian market games from many major international games publishers, such as Fantasy Flight Games,...
and dedicated to air combat.
A new edition is announced by Ares Games as Wings of Glory.
The games mix card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
, board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
, and miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
mechanics to simulate air combat in the 20th century. The first collection is dedicated to the First World War
World 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...
, while a second collection is about the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. 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 had an official English edition by Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games is a Roseville, Minnesota-based game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. Fantasy Flight Publishing was founded in 1995 by its CEO, Christian T. Petersen. Since the release of its first game product in 1997, the company has been doing...
. Other official editions have appeared in German, Greek, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Czech, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish and Japanese, besides translations into other languages.
In 2011 Wings of War was dropped by Fantasy Flight Games. Shortly thereafter Nexus announced that it was closing down. The licence to produce Wings of War (rebadged as Wings of Glory) then passed to a new Italian company, Ares Games.
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 the plane plans his turn choosing three of the maneuver cards in sequence and putting them face down on the gaming mat. All players then reveal their first maneuver card at the same time, put it in front of the plane card and move the latter so that the little arrowhead on the rear of the plane card matches the one in front of the maneuver card. In this way, planes can then "fly" on the table or the floor.A ruler is used to see if a plane has enemy planes (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 rather than one.
The different planes available determine the firepower, maneuver cards available, and number of damage points able to be sustained before being eliminated and are based on that planes historic performance.
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 World War I: the planes are Fokker Dr.IFokker Dr.I
The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918...
and Albatros D.Va for Central Empires and SPAD XIII
SPAD S.XIII
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Bruce, J.M. The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps . London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30084-X.* Sharpe, Michael. Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. London: Friedman/Fairfax Books, 2000. ISBN 1-58663-300-7....
, Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
and Sopwith Triplane
Sopwith Triplane
The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. Pilots nicknamed it the Tripehound or simply the Tripe. The Triplane became operational with the Royal Naval Air Service in early 1917 and was...
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 World War I series. It includes drachens, AA guns, machine guns, air-to-air Le Prieur rocket
Le Prieur rocket
Le Prieur rockets were a type of incendiary air-to-air rockets used in World War I against observation balloons and airships. They were invented by the French Lieutenant Yves Le Prieur and were first used in the Battle of Verdun on 1916...
s, 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 fourth set that was released in 2010, Wings of War - Flight of the Giants adds heavy bombers into the game. However, it is not a stand-alone game and serves as an extension to any previous WoW game.
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
Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann was the first German World War I flying ace. He was a great pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchronized gun...
's Fokker Eindecker
Fokker Eindecker
The Fokker Eindecker was a German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. Developed in April 1915, the Eindecker was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft and the first aircraft to be fitted with synchronizer gear, enabling the pilot...
.
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 World War I collection, so it can not be mixed with other sets. "Squadron" booster packs for the World War II series are Wings of War- Eagles of the Reich and Wings of War- Flying Legend.