FLAMING GAMERS

THE RISE OF THE LUFTWAFFE by DAN VERSSEN

from GMT

132 Color Cards; 48 counters; 5 Campaign Displays; Rules Book. Boxed. GMT, POB 1308, Hanford CA 93232. $25

Reviewed by DAVID FOX

One of the truly interesting things about the 3W Game Machine is that, much like the chimps in the basement with all those typewriters, they sometimes come up with a brilliant idea. Their Modern Naval Battles of several years was not only a great game … and a major seller … but it also showed how popular the "idea" of card-oriented games really was, a popularity reinforced by both of GMT's modern airwar games, Hornet Leader and Thunderbolt/Apache Leader. These were games that showed that airwar games, when designed with flair and panache - and given a leg up by the graphic work of Rodger MacGowan - did not have to die a slow Shelf Death, gathering dust mites with the likes of Air War, et al.

Hoping to repeat the success of their Leader games, GMT has gone hunting in the dreaded cross-over market, trying to attract new gamers with a fast-playing, visually oriented series of airwar card games, the "Down in Flames" Series, of which Rise of the Luftwaffe is the first offering. The series intends to be nothing less than a multi-volume survey of WWII aerial combat. Rise tackles the years from 1939-1942, with the Battle of Britain as its main focus. And, once again, designer Dan Verssen (who did the Leader series, which bears only a passing resemblance to the one at hand) has managed to capture a whole lotta high altitude fun.

Although the boxcover is a bit faded in terms of impact, the heart of the game - the 130+ cards - are, if not overly colorful, just dandy. They have nice detail and a nifty, cockpit-like look. The few counters included are equally impressive, while the rules book is just chock-a-block with examples and pictures. Which is good, because the rules, themselves, are not overly clear on first reading. However, be not dismayed, as Rise is one of the few games around that provides a lucid, helpful, and complete Example of Play, an inclusion which in some games (cf. History of the World, Flashpoint: Golan) has turned out to be more of a liability than anything else. Rise's example pulls all of the rules together, demonstrates how they should work, and throws in some aerial tactics, to boot. Even with this, though, I do not envisage Rise as a game to play with novices, unless you have an experienced fighter pilot type around to show him the ropes. It's not that Rise is difficult to play - after all, GMT CEO, Gene Billingsley beat me, so how difficult could it be - it's that its nuances do not reveal themselves immediately.

Therefore, it is best to be patient with your first, perhaps tentative, run-thrus. Choose up sides, and you're ready to go at it. Fighters are played in pairs - Leader and Wingman - with one pair per player being the best combination, as keeping track of all that hardware starts to get pretty hairy. You have full control over your Leader, while your Wingman follows you around, sort of like a junior partner assigned a CYA position in the firm.

Leaders (planes) are rated for Performance, Horsepower and Burst Capacity. At start, each Leader receives a number of maneuver/combat cards equal to the plane's Performance; playing the cards simulates a pilot burning power to keep moving. In each succeeding turn, Leaders draw new cards equal to their Horsepower rating, but limited by Performance Level. The Burst Capacity gives the number of shots a pilot is allowed per turn, depending on the relative location of the opponent. Wingmen are rated only for the number of Defensive and Offensive Maneuver cards they can draw.

This is a "dogfight" game, and the dogfights work much like that old card game, "War": cards are played to cancel out other cards. Planes are always in on of three states relative to each other: Neutral, Advantaged and Tailed. You've got maneuver cards, such as Scissors and Half-Loop that can change that, but players tend to cancel any momentary advantage by an opponent by playing another card. A card really has most effect when your opponent has nothing to play against it. You try to do things like Tailing your enemy with an In My Sights card, both of which really up your Burst capability, especially if your opponent doesn't have any Barrel Rolls or Tight Turns.

When you do get some hits, the planes are rated for their ability to absorb damage… you just about need a photon torpedo to shoot down a BF-110 … with the cards being flipped when damage levels reach half. Add to this an Ace Pilot card, and the dreaded In My Sights/Fuel Tank hit - kablooey, you're air pollution! - and you have a game that plays fast and furious, with no dogfight lasting more than a half an hour.

Into this melange of swirling dogfights, flashy maneuvers, and quick bursts of power and shot you can throw a fairly wide variety of early WWII aircraft, from the depressingly dismal Polish P-11c - playing the Polish Air Force is an experience akin to running the Austrians at Austerlitz … on a bad day - up to the more usable BF 109E's, Spitfires and Hurricanes. Future series entires will, most likely, give us P-47's, Thunderbolts and even ME-262's.

There is also a "Campaign" game, but I don't think that's what people are going to buy this for. Most consumers, methinks, are gonna be looking for some quick dogfights, the kind they're used to seeing on the silver screen. And Rise gives you plenty of that, regardless of whether it's true or not. With Rise of the Luftwaffe, you're in an easy-to-play, Dogfight Heaven. Granted, it may be Hollywood's version of that elevated place, but, as it has worked for generations of ASLers, it sure works for me.

CAPSULE COMMENTS:

Graphic Presentation: Strong, if not spectacular; The Big Mac does not disappoint.

Playability: A ton of fun, once you get the hang of it.

Replayability: Lots of planes plus the uncertainty of the cards make this a plus.

Wristage: None

Creativity: Good use of a lot of hoary cardgame precepts.

Historicity: On a Hollywood-ish, basic level, acceptable. Not too much "detail".

Comparisons: Quicker and cleaner, although not as definitive as, Speed of Heat, Air War, et al. My favorite is still Ace of Aces.

Overall: A good, sit-down, bang-it-out card game.