Black Flight: A Solitaire Air War Game (Historic Wings Air War Games) Paperback – July 20, 2025

Black Flight is a is a book-based solitaire board game about the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) No. 10 (Naval) Squadron. Set in 1917, you are the squadron commander. Your pilots will fly from Droglandt aerodrome in Flanders, across the trenches and No Man’s Land to engage German scout planes and observation types, escort Allied bombers, accompany two-seaters on photo recon missions, perform deep reconnaissance, and conduct artillery direction. The pilots of the Imperial German Air Service await, including many great aces – Baron Manfred von Richthofen, Karl Allmenröder, Werner Voss, and others. There will be losses.Black Flight combines a history book with a deeply researched, historically accurate game that depicts an era of swirling, deadly dogfights at the height of the Great War. Combat is intense, personal, and challenging. There are no technical charts or complex game mechanics to reproduce aerodynamics or the physics of air combat. Abstracted gameplay brings accuracy with intense action, creating a compelling experience that accurately portrays the life-and-death situation in the air at that time.It is the first book of the new Great War Series. It features a mid-sized table-top footprint and easy-to-learn rules – even if extensive, you will quickly grasp all key aspects of the game and will be playing almost from the very start. Gameplay involves dice, cards, and tables. When combined with the other books in the Great War Series, it provides a robust foundation for competitive air combat and megagame play as groups of twelve or more players can engage one another in teams, both cooperatively and competitively. Pitched dogfights erupt in the skies as each player’s pilots engage in desperate battles high above the trenches. In megagame play, each player manages their own squadron, plans their patrols, plots their course over the Ypres Salient, and engages the enemy.Black Flight is a narrative-style air wargame with extensive decision-making – nothing is “on rails”. Your choices dramatically affect the outcomes. The game enables you to write a narrative record of your experiences in a Squadron Record Book (SRB) as your men enjoy triumphs, victories, and losses. In group play, your colleagues and opponents sign off on your victories in a logbook that you take with you as you engage in tournament play. Over time, you will build up the skills of your squadron’s pilots.Ultimately, your logbook and diary will read like the commander’s personal record from his time on the Western Front. You create your story as you play.Everything you need to play is in this book. You can print and mount the game counters and maps using the artwork provided. Alternatively, you may buy a set of high-quality, ready-made game assets from Blue Panther – or even a full boxed game! – www.bluepantherllc.com/collections/historicwings Read more