Flight of the Giants in my hands at last!
Flight of the Giants game review.
I have just received my mail order Flight of the Giants expansion set today. I ordered it from www.worldatplaygames.com. These are very friendly and helpful people to deal with. The cost was US $26.35 and shipping was $4.95.
With the snap rip and crinkle of removing the cellophane I am greeted with the unique smell of new game! I notice the sticker on the front identifying this as an English version, an apt reminder of how international this project is. That is just awesome to think about.
My first impression, beyond a very becoming outer artwork, is that the same fouex canvas finish in a high quality box that I have come to expect from Nexus heightens my expectations. The box is the same size as the others and looks quite becoming on my bookshelf.
Now for the real meat of the matter.
Upon opening the lid, I am presented with the rulebook, six aircraft organization cards of the same size and type as DOW. There is a sheet of damage counters which includes a variation of casualty markers, two packs of movement cards and four sheets of bomber aircraft cards.
The rule book is well laid out with clear instructions and beautifully presented graphics. There are several scenarios to try. It should be remembered that this is an expansion set only. No basic rules are provided as this is not a stand alone game. With all the information provided, Nexus would not have had any room to fit it. This is obviously well researched and well thought out to continue in the theme of a fast fun game system. To steal a phrase, it is full of gaming goodness!
Regarding the damage counter sheet, it is obvious that this genre of the game is focused on aircraft resource management, the crew being the primary concern. With each aircraft having around 30 or more damage points, they have some staying power. The likelihood of special damage or crew loss issues becomes more prevalent. These rather than point loss are probably going to have decisive results. As such I notice some special crew damage counters. I will have to play the game before fully understanding their function.
In FOTG, the movement cards are special and range from “XA” to XD” and have 13 movement cards in each. The card packs included are two “XA”, one “XB”, one “XC” and two “XD” sets. I have noticed the actual movement distance on these cards is comparatively small. This is because the 'Footprint' of the bombers is a lot larger and evens out. More on that in a minute. Also included is a pack of “B” damage cards, a set of 44. Plus there is a set of 12 bombing card markers. Lastly, there are 6 target marker cards.
This brings me to the aircraft cards. I was surprised by these. They come on four sheets of heavy paper, with both sides printed with aircraft. Each side has a large and a small bomber. That is two large and two small per sheet. At four per sheet, there are a total of 16 individual and different aircraft represented. There are 7 aircraft types of various paint schemes as follows.
Felixstowe F2A, two
Handley Page 0/400, two
Coproni CA4, two
Zeppelin Staaken RVI, two
The above being the larger bombers.
Friedrichshafen G111, three
Caproni CA3, three
Gotha G V, two
The size of the large bomber cards are 82mm long and 110mm wide. (3 3/16"x 4 5/16")
The smaller bombers are 67mm long by 82mm wide. (2 10/16"x 3 6/16")
If I had any reservations about any aspect of the game it would be this. While I like the design and the efficiency of the aircraft cards, I believe them to be a little flimsy and subject to damage with play. Personally I may create a laminated set for my own use but I am probably one of few who have the resources to do so. Maybe laminating the actual cards would be an answer. Regardless, I am very pleased with the variety and attention to detail provided. I look forward to flying them.
Another nuance with this system is that for each aircraft, there is an organization card, tracking crew movement and availability. Is that machine gun manned or not? Is it jammed? That can be quite a job to track and this is a very nice tool.
I hope this information is helpful. One thing is for certain, the aircraft minis will be higher priced, so I for one am building the Coffers to purchase a set as soon as they are available.
I just posted a related thread regarding the minis for this game. http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1852
I hope it helps.
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Originally Posted by Naharaht
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