Anybody remember Ace of Aces game?

**I Flew With Braddoc** · 02-21-2013 08:08

I've been trying to remember the name of this game for ages and someone reminded me last week. It's the 2-player game in which each player has a book. I'm hazy now as to exactly how it worked but it was great fun to play for a while. Each page shows the view out of your cockpit with, hopefully, a view of the enemy as well (preferably from behind). I remember sitting at quite boring 15mm 7 years war game in the early eighties, playing this whilst waiting for something to happen on the table.

Happy memories - any other old-timers remember this one?

Doug

**7eat51** · 02-21-2013 08:58

Each player decides on a maneuver, looks at the bottom of the page and tells the corresponding page to each other, turn to the respective pages, look at the bottom of the page finding the new page corresponding to your maneuver, go to that page an there's the result. Once you play a couple of turns, it goes pretty quickly.

My wife and I enjoy playing these. We have the Handy Rotary Series and the Powerhouse Series. We also play a one-on-one fantasy combat series entitled Lost Worlds which uses a very similar mechanic.

For Ace of Aces:
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7...-rotary-series

For Lost Worlds:
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1421/lost-worlds

And a funny Lost Worlds video review:
http://boardgamegeek.com/video/21093...s/video-review

**jbmacek** · 02-21-2013 10:01

Yep, there is at least one thread somewhere on here about it. Good times, good times. We used to play in high school in the "stage crew room". My friend Steve Berbes ran up quite a score.

**itchy** · 02-21-2013 10:27

yes one of the lads at our wargames club always carried it in his bag incase of emergencies ,great fun and memories.

**Mickowenuk** · 02-21-2013 10:44

You know I had totally forgotten, I have the rotary series knocking around somewhere. As you say great memories with great friends.

**Jager** · 02-21-2013 10:56

There was a poll about it: Here

Great little game.
karl

**phililphall** · 02-21-2013 13:21

I have all four of the WWI books and an odd one set in the Wild West. To me the hardest one was the Balloon Buster set. I never could quite figure out where the enemy a/c was going to be. It seems to me that there were rules added that let you play a campaign but I'm not sure. Unfortunately the books are in storage or I'd take a look. It was Ace of Aces that inspired me to do Blue Max.

**BobP** · 02-21-2013 14:36

Never heard of that game. I see it came out in 1980. I was stationed on Okinawa from 80-85. Had a crew that played a few games. Air Force (Avalon Hill), System 7 (GDW/Napoleonic) and two RPG's Runequest and Bushido. I have to find my copy of Air Force and Richtofens War as it may add some good information for use with Wings.

**csadn** · 02-21-2013 15:29

FASA had a similar system, using a series of discs with cutouts. It did not work very well.

**Hunter** · 02-21-2013 18:00

Never heard of it, sounds like it was fun for quick duel!

**somaliavet** · 02-21-2013 18:17

I remember some sets of books written along the same lines that were hack and slash fantasy.

**Zoe Brain** · 02-21-2013 18:30

I have 2 copies of the Handy Rotary books, and one of Flying Machines.

**Big Blake** · 02-21-2013 18:40

I think they will be playing this at Texicon this coming May. I know the are holding a Lost Worlds tournament and I remember reading something about Aces of Aces. The convention is in Fort Worth Texas.

**Naharaht** · 02-21-2013 20:41

'Ace of Aces' was published by Flying Buffalo. They are still in business and are planning a reprint. Here is a weblink http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/ace.htm

**Lloydthegamer** · 02-21-2013 20:49

I had several of the sets and enjoyed playing them. As usual, I wound up getting shot down quite a bit.

**armstrongjohn1** · 02-22-2013 02:30

I remember it, we used to play it in the back of the car on the way from Scotland down to Northern Militaire in Oldham. Does anyone remember that show?

Mark.

**I Flew With Braddoc** · 02-22-2013 04:56

Originally Posted by armstrongjohn1

I remember it, we used to play it in the back of the car on the way from Scotland down to Northern Militaire in Oldham. Does anyone remember that show?

Mark.

I remember it very well from the seventies. I don't think Oldham was the original venue - intially it was on the south or west outskits of Manchester as I recall. It wasn't far off the M62 coming from Liverpool...

Doug

**jbmacek** · 02-22-2013 05:19

Originally Posted by somaliavet

I remember some sets of books written along the same lines that were hack and slash fantasy.

Lost Worlds. And this is where I ask the question, "have you seen the Japanese version of Lost Worlds?"

**Angiolillo** · 02-23-2013 00:08

Originally Posted by phililphall

It was Ace of Aces that inspired me to do Blue Max.

It is a great game, pure genius. As said before, it inspired Wings of War too - it was the urge to make a game as simple as Ace of Aces but easier to play with many people, different models of plane, different missions that pushed us to design WoW.
And of course many games sessions of Blue Max (that I played far more than AoA), besides Dwan Patrol and other aerial games (and Gunslinger among the non-aerial ones), have been very inspurational and influential too.

**Bluedevil** · 02-23-2013 06:09

I know that game...They also made a Star Wars version where you had a book for the X-wing and a book for the Tie-fighter...

Must have that one lying around somewhere

**flyingryno** · 02-26-2013 18:28

I quit playing when i found out my friend had memorizrd the book,you give him your manuver page he would give you the perfect solution, or page to shot you! Every time you moved he could grainteed hof shoting you, other than that it was an awsqme game. Iactually Had the Old west gane it was not as good.

**RJB** · 02-27-2013 15:19

Yes I have it. Recently dug it out of the loft.
Originally started playing it with a group of friends back in the early 80's.
We often played it in the pub after we had finished wargaming.
We used to sit with a pint

, flicking through the books, shouting numbers at each other and either laughing or swearing as the result came up.

We used to get some funny looks for some reason

Richard

**Volant Gun** · 03-02-2013 18:57

I had the game many years ago. I regret selling it.

**seagull** · 03-03-2013 08:09

Originally Posted by George Bourne

I remember it very well from the seventies. I don't think Oldham was the original venue - intially it was on the south or west outskits of Manchester as I recall. It wasn't far off the M62 coming from Liverpool...

Doug

I think originally it was somewhere near Salford Tech. I remember them having a large ECW canon outside one year and letting it fire.

**bsmith13** · 03-03-2013 10:20

Originally Posted by flyingryno

I quit playing when i found out my friend had memorizrd the book,you give him your manuver page he would give you the perfect solution, or page to shot you! Every time you moved he could grainteed hof shoting you, other than that it was an awsqme game. Iactually Had the Old west gane it was not as good.

When that started happening, we just wrote down the maneuver page number, then showed it to each other. Gave us several more months of enjoyment.