Western Front Ace: The Great War in the Air 1916-1918

Western Front Ace: The Great War in the Air, 1916-1918 is a solitaire, tactical level game which places you in command of a scout (fighter) aircraft during World War I. Each turn consists of one sortie, during which a combat will usually occur. The player may choose one of seven different nationalities to fly for, and can be based from one of many bases in along the trench lines or in Italy. Western Front Ace is based on the popular, action-packed Nightfighter Ace game system by Gregory M. Smith and is the third game in the series, with a strong narrative around the pilot as you look to increase your prestige, earn skills, and rise in rank through promotion and receive awards.

The system is packed with rich technical detail but without the complexity to capture the key historical facets of the air battles over Europe in the Great War.  In terms of scouts (fighters) alone, there are 42 aircraft models available to pilot. The families of aircraft include:

• SPAD (3 aircraft)
• Nieuport (8 aircraft)
• Fokker (4 aircraft)
• Sopwith (6 aircraft)
• Albatros (4 aircraft)
• Pfalz (3 aircraft)
• S.E.5, Airco, Bristol, various other British (9 aircraft)
• Halberstadt (1 aircraft)
• Hanriot, Aviatik, others (4 aircraft)

Components:

• Two Countersheets of 9/16″ unit-counters  (336 counters)
• Twenty-one Aircraft Display Mats 8.5″ x 11″ (double-sided, 42 total)
• Seven Player Aid Cards 8.5″ x 11″
• One Two-seater Target Mat 8.5″ x 11″
• Four Pilot Awards Display Mats 8.5″ x 11″ (double-sided, 8 total)
• One Air Operations Display Map 11” x 17” (double-sided, 2 maps total)
• Twenty-four Ace Pilot Cards
• Sixty Combat Cards
• Rules Booklet
• One Logsheet 8.5” x 11”
• Two 6-sided, one 10-sided, and one 20-sided die
• Box and Lid