The Cheap-Ass Gaming Garbage Man Reviews: Aerial Aces: Victory Over Europe
My last two planes are billowing black smoke, each with only one hit point left. They are my final line, my final solution.
Suddenly, the dice rolls a four and my opponent destroys another plane, leaving my defenses further deteriorated.
I call in Reinforcements! with a card and roll the number needed to bring them in. Now my fleet is back up to 3 strong.
My opponent attacks again, but I play an Evasive Action! card, leaving their roll short.
I put down a Flack Cannon! card and smile. They are about to lose two planes in a single dice toss. I roll high and hit hard.
This is Aerial Aces: Victory Over Europe, a fast-paced card/dice game set during the aerial dog-fights and bombing runs of WWII.
To begin, you’ll need 12 coins, a single die, and the 18 card Aerial Aces deck.
Now I know that you’re thinking, “How can you be the Cheap-Ass Gaming Garbage Man if you’ve got 12 coins?” Well you can use a piece of paper to mark it down too, but the coins make for a nice visual representation of your aerial fleet, as you’ll soon understand.
Get them 12 coins split between the two players, (that’s 6 coins each, for you quantum physicists), and put the coins face-up in front of each player. Now you shuffle the deck, set it down as the draw pile, and deal out 2 cards to each player to start.
Now those coins you got in front of you represent your fleet of planes. Each coin has two hits, face up for one, face down for the last, and removed when destroyed. Now for the defensive values, I believe that the amount of coins/planes next to each other add up to the defensive value of 6, with each destroyed plane dependent on its placement for the defensive values of the planes left flying.
Separating the planes from their group seems to be the smartest choice. Always start aiming for a plane in the center to break the group up. This way you’ll only need to roll four’s or under to destroy the remaining airplanes.
Dice attacks deal no more than one damage to target plane, no matter what you roll over the defensive value of the defending player.
So if no one can roll higher than 6 on a D6, so how do you even get started when you need to roll at least a 7 to start? That’s where the cards come into play.
You have six different cards in Aerial Aces, each playing a different role in either attacking or defending. Examples: The Machine Guns! card adds +1 to your die roll. Be quick and play Evasive Action right before your opponent throws the die, knocking -1 out of whatever they toss. And Reinforcements! replenish destroyed planes, dependent on your luck with the die.
Turns start by the player drawing a fresh card, deciding which plane to attack, attack and play cards, play reinforcement cards if ya got some, and then ending your turn.
The player who no longer has any planes left is the loser, in both the game and in life.
I played a few games with my nine year-old and, even though it is recommended for ages 12 and up, we still had fun. However, the first two games were slow and almost boring. We didn’t quite get the whole “stacking Machine Guns! cards” strategy to punch through that first seven you’ve got to roll to hit the first plane.
Once we began hoarding cards, another problem arose; There doesn’t seem to be enough cards for this game! We would have to reshuffle the discard pile once a game on average. Not a big problem, but a part of a larger one.
After playing a few more rounds, one thing both my daughter and I both agreed on is that this feels like just a piece of a larger game. Maybe there needs to be more cards or different plane types with varying hit meters. Perhaps crossing a miniature game, such as Hero Clix, with a card battler? It just feels as though it’s missing something.
That’s not to say this game is bad. In fact, it is very well thought out and brings aerial dog-fighting into a lively and engaging card battle game. Its unique setup and setting makes it stand out in a crowded sea of “me-too” card games.
Rating: I give it a 3 out of 5. As I said, it is a unique take on card battlers and its setting would make it a great expansion for any existing WWII board game, such as Axis & Allies.
Otherwise, I recommend expanding the game, offering more cards with more attack/defense options, and perhaps adding a board or some other way to keep track of planes and hit marks without having to use coins or paper.
Envisioning this as card game with miniatures crossed together, I could see this up there with X-Wing or Hero Clix. Imagine buying individual bags or complete sets that have a different, accurately-detailed WWII plane miniatures with varying defensive values along with some cards to create or expand a customized deck. I realize that is a huge undertaking, but that’s where I could see this game achieving its potential and easily earning a 5 out of 5 from me and other reviewers.
If Aerial Aces: Victory Over Europe sounded interesting or fun to you, purchase this and other Llama Llama Games originals in vivid color and solid MADE IN AMERICA construction at: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/designers/llama-llama-games#
And don’t forget to subscribe to @LlamaLlamaGames for more info on Aerial Aces and other original games, both currently available and upcoming!
A big thank you to Llama Llama Games for giving me access to a review copy.
This was the Cheap-Ass Gaming Garbage Man. Until the next game, keep playing, players.