‘Ace of Aces’ Reenacts WWI Dogfighting With Just Two Books
Ace of Aces could be one of the most unique games you’ve seen in a long time. Using only two game books to simulate an entire aerial combat!
Games come in all shapes and sizes: Board games, card games, video games, mind games. But I’ve always had a soft spot for game books. They are a really novel way of playing a game and are usually very portable, which is a nice bonus.
But game books are almost always choose-your-own-adventure style, single-player experiences. I’ve never seen a multiplayer gamebook series. …Until now! *cue dramatic music*
On March 26, 1917, was the First Battle of Gaza in World War I, or as it was known at the time “The Really Big Fight With Almost Everyone: Part 1”. It was a war that shaped the entire planet in more ways than we will probably ever fully conceive. But gives us a good chance to look at this super unique game! It even has its own patent!
First released in 1980, Ace of Aces is the first of the Handy Rotary Series. It was a series of game books that were designed to be played in a 2 player game. The principle of each game was that each page would represent a specific game state of both players.
The choices of action of both players would determine to which page each player would flip, to designate the next game state. This would continue until one player was in a position to shoot down the other and win the game.
How to Play Ace of Aces
Both players begin on page 170. Why? Just because. From there, each player chooses their maneuver from those listed. The objective is to get into a position whereupon you’ll be able to fire on your opponent, winning the game. The basic rules ignore things like altitude, ammo count, wind speed, and others.
Once each player has chosen their maneuver, they tell their opponent the number listed below that maneuver, and that player turns to that page in their book. Once both players have done that, the game continues on the new pages. If a player can get behind the other, they are ‘tailing’ them and are given the advantage. The opposing player must first announce which direction they are turning (left, straight, right), before maneuvers are announced.
As with many classic war games, the amount of rules customization is massive. In the most basic rules, shooting at your opponent simply deals damage and once you deal enough damage, you win!
But more advanced rules have combat charts and damage allocation and more tables than you could shake a stick at!
Other Handy Rotary Series Books
I really can’t get over how interesting of a game concept this is. There are tons of other books in the Ace of Aces series. Plus, there were other games in the Handy Rotary Series, such as Bounty Hunter: Shootout At The Saloon.
And even Star Wars: Starfighter Battle Book.
There was a successful Kickstarter back in 2014 to get these books reprinted with the go-ahead from the original publisher. This is a very cool series and seems like there is still a pretty active community for it and the games using the same system.
Talk about a great road trip game!
