Tie Interceptor, using the Ace of Aces format even the shooting pages are the same. In 1989, West End Games released a set of books with the title Starfighter Battle Book: X-wing vs. Joe Dever used this style for his Combat Heroes fantasy setting books. Alfred Leonardi designed the Lost Worlds combat book game system which is sometimes mistakenly described as using the Ace of Aces system. Dragonriders of Pern used the Ace of Aces format in a contest to stop Threadfall. Bounty Hunter used much the same format for an old west gunfight (only one set was released, Shootout at the Saloon). The game was popular and simple to learn, and it could be played anywhere as no table is required.Īce of Aces was the first of its type creating a new genre of gaming. These games added factors such as altitude difference, ammunition supply, wind speed, 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). Gameplay could further be customized by using an included sheet of rules which provided for "intermediate" and "advanced" games.
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. The result is not unlike using the aircraft pictured in the book's pages as a fixed, non-moving spatial reference point. The maneuvers map onto a hex board, meaning that players were able to use figures on such a board to represent their current positions relative to each other.Īdditionally, a single player can in essence "fly solo" by picking up any single book and executing maneuvers. Different sets are completely compatible with each other and can be used together, as long as opposing books are selected. The maneuvers in both books are the same, with each set representing a range of aircraft with similar handling characteristics. The process is repeated until one player has maneuvered his opponent into the sights of his guns and can shoot him down. After both players have done this, they are on the same (new) page, looking at new views of each other. 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. Both players then announce the corresponding numbers.
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Along the bottom of the page is a series of maneuvers that can be performed, with page numbers listed under them (while the page numbers are different with each page, the maneuvers are constant).Įach player selects a maneuver.
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. 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 I fighter. Each set includes a pair of small books, one for each player (generally marked 'German' and 'Allied').