A bit hard to see top down as the planes fly over France, eh, the lovely Ares game mats somewhere on a table in the North Perth Bowling and Recreation Club.
There's my plane. I hadn't noticed the cross on the tail (I'd only just - very carefully - extracted the model from its box minutes before the game). I'll have to detail that so everyone knows its the bad guy.
Lots of action, but little shooting as the planes are either just out of range or arc. One of the limitations in the Wings of War system is that it depends on where you end your move as to whether or not you get a shot. No fly-bys
Boom!
Well, that was it. Bad enough that the card sharp Simon had let me position myself right in front of his plane inflicting three hits, I went and picked the explosion (the other two chits being a 0 and a 1).
I stopped taking pictures, however the game must go on and here are some of Mark B's photos to continue the story.
The plane piloted by Mark B which is modelled on the one flown by Spurgeon Ellington (who I can't do justice to in this post, but who certainly warrants following up when I have time). Notice the broken antenna, these planes are perhaps not as robust as they need to be.
The Mustangs collide. Simon C's plane takes damage.
With all that space it is hard to imagine how the planes manage to collide, but ...
Whammy! One Mustang rear ends the other and both crash into the now flaming remaining Focke Wulf.
Only the red tailed Mustang flown by Mark B survives.
And I thought Sails of Glory was bad for collisions.
Hey, it lokks like a real picture!
ReplyDeleteRegards
Rafa
Great looking set up
ReplyDeleteIt's really irks me that the designers of the game left out the swaztika. Yes people automatically associate it with Adolf Hitler and the third reich but a symbol is nothing more than a symbol. In reality it is the user who is evil. Historical accuracy should not be watered down.
ReplyDeleteSorry it's not me - I just designed the game. The problem is that our EWuropean distributors would have problems seling a plane with a swastika in Germany and maybe other cvountries. At first, when Wings of War was a cards only game, we objected not only that it was historical, but also that it was just a tiny symbol on a very few cards in sealed packs within a sealed box, but it was not enough - it seems - to fit with local laws. So we had to give up.
ReplyDeleteA little paradox - when that happened, it was for upper view of planes so not even for German ones, but Finnish. So not even with a connection with German nazis...
ReplyDeleteIt's a great game. Fully understand about the crooked cross. Will be interesting if one day it extends to the rebel flag in the US.
ReplyDeleteI painted in the detail on the cross as I'm a historical accuracy over political correctness, but with no intention to offend anyone.
I would have supposed this would have met the criteria for the historical recreation exception to those laws. Interesting.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's classified as a game, bit like children's toys?
DeleteWell, our German distributor did not quote any exception to the law nor allowed any escape - no swastica, stop. He said that he would have had troubles in any case. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI had more than one relative in the Resistence. My uncle has been imprisoned by nazi occupiers in Rome and even tortured. No sympathy for them. Still, every time I see these reduced swastikas I feel that there is something missing. So you did well completing them. ;)
>It's a great game.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks a lot for the comment. Really.
I echo Paul, it is an excellent game. It is easy to see from my blog that I have had a lot of fun playing a lot of games of Wings of Glory. It looks great, works straight out the box, easy to set up, relatively simple to play (but endlessly extensible) and is easy to bring new players into the game.
DeleteIt is a classic.
Reading the legal text, there's less scope than I'd thought:
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strafgesetzbuch_section_86a
One the one hand, the game maybe tenuously "promotes art", but on the other hand I fully understand your distributor not wanting to dance with the real possibility of 3 years in prison.
Out of curiosity, do the German planes sell well in Germany?
More than a great game, an excellent game.
Thanks again for the comment! When I invented the game back in 2002, I was pretty sure that it would never sell a single copy in Germany. In 2004 the WWI version (cards only) was being releasaed and I found a specialized distributor who already had a WW2 collectible card games in catalogue - Mad Man's Magic. They took it for German language expecting more copies sold in Switzerland and Austria more than in Germany, but they succesfully distributed it in their homeland. Actually they have been the first foreign publisher of the game after the Italian edition appeared, in May 2004 - even earlier than the first English edition by FFG in June. Later, as soon as they appeared, MMM released the WW2 card version and both the miniature versions. They even made a short spot with the Red Baron himself:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-qhclwgbRY
Ok, sorry, with the actor Matthias Schweighöfer.
After many years, Mad Man's Magic stopped distributing the game and Heidelberger started doing it in German. They are still translating both Wings of Glory and Sails of Glory (the Napoleonic era naval version). German planes are sold there as well as the others. On www.wingsofwar.org 173 of the 4.147 members registered as from Germany (I guess that it is the third group for size after all USA/UK/Commonwealth countries and the 230 Italians). Some of them statred the Prague Summer Con to meet Polish gamers half way, a little but very friendly Wings of War/Glory convention held every year and always with some German players joining.
I am actually very glad of all that.
Good to hear. The only thing that is holding me back with Wings of Glory WW2 is the availability of planes. I enjoy the WW1 game the most. With Sails of Glory, we are putting the models to good use with other rule systems. I think with SoG the opportunity was missed to make detachable mast/sail sets.
DeleteThanks very much for taking the time to answer questions - it is very kind.
DeleteIf I might make a humble request, if you plan more planes please consider a Thunderbolt with the Aztec Eagles' markings.
Well after the last release - B-17 and Lancaster, including a Dambusters one with all you need for solo scenarios against dams - a new row of 4 planes have been entered production: P-47D (razorback), Bf.109 K-4, D4Y-1 and D4Y-3, Douglas Dauntless/Banshee. Then a Battle of Britain set will follow - with time. But supplies should not be lacking.
ReplyDeleteAlas markings for P-47s are 510th FS, 405th FG, 9th AF USAAF; 63rd FS, 56th Fg, 8th AF USAAF; No.135 Squadron RAF. No Aztech eagle this time - maybe with future reprints. Mohrle's "Touch of Texas" has a nice snake head, anyway.
That's excellent news! All I'll need to do is print some Mexican roundel decals.
ReplyDelete> I think with SoG the opportunity was missed to make detachable mast/sail sets.
ReplyDeleteOur first prototype had removable masts and even sails, to be able to unfurl them or keep them closed. After studying the engeneering of it all, Ares Games decided that it was not safe to implement that since models must be fiest of all game pieces, and so they have to be sturdy. The risk of breaks and of holes becoming too loose to keep stuff in place aftyer a short while was too high - even if the publisher's interest would have been to sell ships again, ;) they preferred to make them more durable.