Remember to Adjust Your Antennae

I honored the fallen enemy by placing a stone on his beautiful grave.
--Manfred von Richthofen

One of the 80s games that has aged really well is Blue Max, and Warbirds in Miniature is a World War II version of Blue Max. A simulation of WWI dogfighting, Blue Max simulates, turn-by-turn with simultaneous action selection, the airplane combat of the War to End All Wars. Wings of War, with its card-driven maneuvers, has become the best known air combat game, and it seems to be heavily based on Blue Max. Of course WoW does away with hexes in favor of cards, but the maneuvers (and their various restrictions) are remarkably similar to what’s available in Blue Max. If you want to get a feel for the original game check out www.youplay.it, an excellent work time-killer (watch out for pokerguy). If you’re looking for another way to use your Wings of War miniatures you might take a look at http://www.eaglesmax.com/. You could probably use a Commands & Colors board for your map.

Warbirds in Miniature has a few differences, naturally. The planes are more powerful; therefore, their movement and climb rates are different. The weapons are more powerful, and the planes can take a lot more punishment. But at its heart, and the designer proudly proclaims this, Warbirds in Miniature is a Blue Max/Canvas Eagles variant.

Whatever version of the “system” you use, this is one of the few boardgames that my game-group has totally played into the ground.