Fight In The Skies
Encyclopedia
Fight In The Skies, also known as Dawn Patrol, is a board wargame
written by Mike Carr
which models World War I
style air combat. Carr began working on the game after watching the movie The Blue Max
.
It is the only game to be on the event schedule every year of the Gen Con
convention since Gen Con I.
The game attracted a devoted following and it became an early Gen Con
tradition to play the game on Saturday morning.
. Guidon Games
published the fourth edition in 1972 and TSR, Inc.
published subsequent editions, starting with the 5th edition in 1975. When TSR produced the 7th edition in 1982, they renamed the game Dawn Patrol. This edition had a print run of 20,000 copies, the largest in the history of the game.
If a player comes up behind an enemy plane, he may elect to tail the enemy. The tailed player tries to break the pursuit: each turn he secretly selects one of 16 possible maneuvers. He may for example climb, dive, turn, bank, loop, stall, barrel roll, go into a tail spin, or perform a falling leaf. The tailing player, meanwhile, is allowed to select some of the possible maneuvers for himself, the exact number depending upon his distance to the enemy. The tailed player then performs his maneuver, and if the tailing player has the maneuver in his selected list, he can duplicate the maneuver and stay on the enemy's tail.
The game was frequently commended for its realism. In addition to detailed combat mechanics, Carr provides performance statistics for the 28 Allied and 30 German/Austrian aircraft in use during 1917 and 1918. The game includes historical notes and an extensive bibliography.
Board wargame
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer, or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The hobby around this type of game got its start in 1954 with the publication of Tactics, and saw its greatest popularity in the...
written by Mike Carr
Mike Carr (board game designer)
Mike Carr is a writer and game designer known for writing Fight in the Skies . He also co-authored Don't Give Up The Ship! with Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax. Carr began wargaming with the International Federation of Wargamers as a teenager. At the invitation of Gygax, he joined TSR, Inc...
which models World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
style air combat. Carr began working on the game after watching the movie The Blue Max
The Blue Max
The Blue Max is an 1966 British war film about a German fighter pilot on the Western Front during World War I. It was directed by John Guillermin, stars George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress, and features Karl Michael Vogler and Jeremy Kemp. The screenplay was written by David Pursall,...
.
It is the only game to be on the event schedule every year of the Gen Con
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
convention since Gen Con I.
The game attracted a devoted following and it became an early Gen Con
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
tradition to play the game on Saturday morning.
Edition History
Carr produced the first three editions of the game himself and distributed them among fellow members of the International Federation of WargamersInternational Federation of Wargamers
The International Federation of Wargaming was founded by Gary Gygax, Bill Speer, and Scott Duncan in 1966. Originally named the United States Continental Army Command, the organization served as an umbrella for local wargaming clubs such as the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association and the...
. Guidon Games
Guidon Games
Guidon Games produced board games and rulebooks for wargaming with miniatures, and in doing so influenced Tactical Studies Rules , the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. The Guidon Games publishing imprint was the property of Lowry's Hobbies , a mail-order business owned by Don and Julie Lowry...
published the fourth edition in 1972 and TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
published subsequent editions, starting with the 5th edition in 1975. When TSR produced the 7th edition in 1982, they renamed the game Dawn Patrol. This edition had a print run of 20,000 copies, the largest in the history of the game.
Playing the Game
Players use a grid and cardboard counters to represent the locations of their planes. Since air combat is three dimensional, each player uses a log to keep track of the altitude of his plane. At the end of each turn, a player may fire on any enemy planes within his sights. A six-sided die is rolled to determine if a hit is made, and if necessary a second die is rolled to determine the amount of damage.If a player comes up behind an enemy plane, he may elect to tail the enemy. The tailed player tries to break the pursuit: each turn he secretly selects one of 16 possible maneuvers. He may for example climb, dive, turn, bank, loop, stall, barrel roll, go into a tail spin, or perform a falling leaf. The tailing player, meanwhile, is allowed to select some of the possible maneuvers for himself, the exact number depending upon his distance to the enemy. The tailed player then performs his maneuver, and if the tailing player has the maneuver in his selected list, he can duplicate the maneuver and stay on the enemy's tail.
The game was frequently commended for its realism. In addition to detailed combat mechanics, Carr provides performance statistics for the 28 Allied and 30 German/Austrian aircraft in use during 1917 and 1918. The game includes historical notes and an extensive bibliography.