Some attacks cause additional damage that makes the enemy’s life even more difficult, such as jamming the rudder, which temporarily prevents left or right turns. Engine damage means a pilot must stall once per round; an additional engine hit means your flying days are over. And there’s always the chance your fabric fighter could turn into a burning pyre.

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This system provides a simple, yet intense method of resolving movement and combat that makes the game easy to learn and fast to play. It is used in all games in the series.

The Watch Your Back game set introduces a new “B” damage deck and some new fighters, such as the Nieuport 11, HD 1 and DIII. Several two-seat observer/bombers are also included, such as the Ufag C1 or Allied DH 4, which add bombing and aerial photography missions to the game. The two-seaters are slower and less maneuverable but have a wider range of fire, making them dangerous no matter which angle you attack from.

During one game, two German pilots found that out the hard way when my friend Corky took his DH 4 right into the middle of a dogfight. It provided him with a target-rich environment, and he dished out a lot of damage to the enemy during several rounds. However, he soaked up a lot of bullets too, and his rear-seat observer was soon killed. That left him vulnerable so I tried to “watch his back,” but he was too badly damaged and eventually crashed. I extracted revenge, shooting down both his tormentors.

The Burning Drachens set adds the most to the game, including an expanded rulebook, observation balloons (big, stationary targets with lots of hit points), trenches to strafe, light and heavy antiaircraft machine guns, AA artillery, incendiary bullets and primitive air-to-air rockets. It also offers solitaire scenarios and nasty new damage decks.

Using the AA guns requires careful planning. At the start of any of the three maneuver rounds in a turn, before maneuvers are revealed, the gunner can place a shell marker anywhere within range, announcing the altitude at which it will explode. At the end of two more rounds, the shell marker "explodes" and any plane cards that overlap it take damage from the C deck, an unpleasant prospect.

In one game, I used two heavy AA artillery emplacements to help even the odds in a 2-to-1 dogfight, my Sopwith Snipe facing off against two German pilots. My two opponents flew straight in, as I expected they would. Both guns scored hits, inflicting 10 points of damage to one opponent, who only had 15 hit points. However, the guns require three rounds to reload, and the Germans were able to silence them in a strafing attack before they could fire again. I evened the odds by knocking out my flak-damaged opponent in a head-on attack, then engaged the other German in a furious, twisting dogfight until we shot each other down in flames after pulling simultaneous Immelmann maneuvers and coming at each other head-on.

The next experiment included some light and heavy AA machine guns guarding a German balloon. This time, I was defending the balloon from two Allied intruders and had to protect it for 12 rounds while its crew was lowered to the ground. The balloon had 28 hit points, but the Allies used incendiary bullets for maximum damage. I was fairly ineffective in breaking up their attacks, but the AA machine guns riddled the Allied planes, sending one down. However, it had sprayed the balloon with incendiary bullets, starting several fires. As the second fighter made his final run, explosions ripped through the balloon, sending it crashing down in flames.

To further enhance a great game system, four booster packs are available, each containing 18 – 26 planes. Some introduce post–1918 aircraft.

Plastic miniature planes, prepainted to match the images on the cards, really enhance the games’ visual appeal. Each miniature retails for $13 – $16 and comes with its maneuver deck; a clear-plastic base stand that replaces the Airplane card; and four interconnecting, clear-plastic rods to mount the miniature on the stand. The rods can be taken apart to show altitude level. No balloon miniatures have been produced yet (dang it).

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