The Wargamer

DiF Squadron Pack 1: Fighters

This 2005 C3i Magazine Squadron Pack adds new cards to GMT Games’ exciting World War II aerial card game Down in Flames (DiF). Please note that this is not a standalone game – it is necessary to own at least one of the previous games to make use of these new fighter cards. That means you will either need Vol.1 (Rise of the Luftwaffe) and Vol.2 (8th Air Force) to play or, alternatively, Vol.3 (Zero!). Vol. 4 (Corsairs and Hellcats) can be added to Vol. 3 but is not necessary to do so for DiF Squadron Pack 1. Of course, not all of the cards are suitable for both configurations of games, since the first two titles cover aerial warfare over Europe and the third and fourth broaden this to the Asia-Pacific Theatre.

There are 64 cards in this pack, with eight cards mounted on quality stock on eight individual sheets. The quality of the cards is equal to the quality found in the original games, which is, in my opinion, perfectly acceptable in terms of both sturdiness and artwork. Extensive play will cause the cards to fray at the edges inevitably but few card games are immune to this problem. Doubtless there are some people who would quibble with the depiction of the aircraft and the layout of the cards, but there are people out there who complain about everything. I find the cards well designed and easy to use. One caveat I have is that, being left-handed in a world full of tyrannical right-handed scissor manufacturers, I had to cut out the cards by hand rather than having them die-cut or ready cut. Consequently, it would be wrong of me to claim that mine are all now exactly equal size. Presumably, this decision was motivated by economic concerns.

Of the 64 cards, 33 different aircraft types are represented. They range from 1939-45 in scope and, in addition to the major combatants, it is good to see less often represented air forces such as the Greek, Romanian and Australian. The Greeks get PzL P.24Fs; the Romanians can deploy IAR 80As and the Australians fly around in CA-12 Boomerangs. There are two new Japanese planes, three new aircraft variations for the US Army Air Force, four new aircraft types for the French Air Force, four for the German Luftwaffe, five for the Italians, and six for Great Britain’s Royal Air Force. The Americans get P-40F and P-40N Warhawks, as well as P-51A Mustangs. The Japanese get J1N1-S Gekkos and Ki-45 KAIc Toryus, which are fiendish night fighters. Other unusual attributes for the planes include high ceiling, methanol boost and the full throttle boost. Some of the planes provide corrected game ratings from existing DiF games but the majority are new. I have to confess that I am really not an expert in hardware and I am prepared to accept that, if these guys tell me that the Mosquito VI has an offensive rating of 6 (high) and the Fulmar Mark II was carrier-based with a high ceiling, then this info is an accurate representation of the aircraft involved. However, wargamers – well, some wargamers at least – are notoriously argumentative about details and doubtless there will be some looking forward to happy hours of complaining and contesting the statistics.

Some planes can carry rockets, the rules for which are presented in the A4 sized full-color cover booklet. This booklet also contains a variety of extra rules for night fighting, heavy guns, and aircraft agility. The back of the booklet is printed with 12 additional counters (heavy guns, full throttle and air to ground rockets markers) which can also be cut out and mounted.

DiF enables players to recreate aerial dogfights between opposing elements (pilot and wingman combined) which may be played out in just a few minutes. The various games also provide campaigns in which players re-fight historical campaigns in a succession of different scenarios and which add such activities as bombing, carrier warfare, anti-aircraft fire and the like. Campaigns add a great deal of interest and a moderate level of complexity to the game, but they enable players to obtain a considerable level of insight into the strategic and operational considerations of WWII aerial warfare. Few other boardgames offer the opportunity to recreate aerial combat with this level of sophistication, and with a system that is generally quite elegant. The Hornet Leader game and its related titles provide a comparable solitaire experience for the modern gamer and the hex-based game Blazing Jets also offers a tabletop option for those who enjoy using miniatures. These are both available at RPGNow.com, along with an increasing range of boardgames repackaged in PDF format. B-17 Queen of the Skies is another solitaire game with a good reputation, which recreates the Allied bombing raids on Germany, as too does London’s Burning, another solitaire boardgame with a splendid reputation. However, I haven’t played either London’s Burning or B-17: Queen of the Skies.

There seems to be a tendency for aerial warfare games to be presented as solitaire games or, at least, to be playable as such. Although intended as a two-player game and, like most card games, it works better with two players, it is perfectly possible to play DiF as a solitaire game by adopting a few standing orders for the opposing side and drawing randomly in the event of choice of cards to play. The rapidity with which each dogfight is completed means that solitaire play does not become bogged down in too many details.

More details about DiF games and this squadron pack are available through GMT’s official website, which may be found at http://www.gmtgames.com. Future releases are planned, including Light Bombers and Formation Aircraft. These would provide even better value if they could include mini-campaigns in which some of the less well-known cards could be used in a wider context than an ad hoc dogfight, fun though that can be. I look forward to seeing more.

About the Author

The author skulks in Bangkok in the building from which a famous general election victory has just been plotted. When not playing games or teaching, he spends his time writing reviews and articles about a wide range of subjects, as well as attempting to maintain a family life with a wife and daughter becoming dangerously obsessed with Pop Star Academy. He wishes all readers a Happy and Prosperous Year of the Rooster.