''Fight In The Skies'', also known as ''Dawn Patrol'', is a
board wargame first self-published by creator
Mike Carr in 1966, then published by
Guidon Games
Guidon Games produced board games and rulebooks for wargaming with miniatures, and in doing so influenced Tactical Studies Rules (later TSR, Inc.), the publisher of '' Dungeons & Dragons''. The ''Guidon Games'' publishing imprint was the prope ...
in 1972 and
TSR in 1975. The game simulates
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
style air combat, and is the only game to appear on the event schedule of every
Gen Con
Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playin ...
convention since Gen Con I.
Description
''Fight in the Skies'' is a game for 2–12 players in which each player controls a World War I aircraft. 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 their plane. At the end of each turn, a player may fire on any enemy planes within their 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, they may elect to tail the enemy. The tailed player tries to break the pursuit: each turn they secretly select one of 16 possible maneuvers. They 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 themself, the exact number depending upon their distance from the enemy. The tailed player then performs their maneuver, and if the tailing player has the maneuver in their selected list, they can duplicate the maneuver and stay on the enemy's tail.
In addition to detailed combat mechanics, performance statistics for the 28 Allied and 30 German/Austrian aircraft in use during 1917 and 1918 are provided. The game includes historical notes and an extensive bibliography.
Publication history
Mike Carr began designing ''Fight in the Skies'' after watching the movie ''
The Blue Max
''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 British war film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and filmed in CinemaScope. The plot i ...
''. Carr self-published the game in 1966, distributing copies among fellow members of the
International Federation of Wargamers. It was the first tactical air combat game, and the first air combat game to deal with World War I.
The game was played at the first Gen Con game convention in
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial la ...
in 1968, and continued to be played at Gen Con in following years.
Carr also self-published a second and third edition.
In 1972,
Guidon Games
Guidon Games produced board games and rulebooks for wargaming with miniatures, and in doing so influenced Tactical Studies Rules (later TSR, Inc.), the publisher of '' Dungeons & Dragons''. The ''Guidon Games'' publishing imprint was the prope ...
published the fourth edition. TSR formed a board games division in 1975, and the 5th edition of ''Fight in the Skies'' was their first product.
TSR published all subsequent editions of the game.
When TSR produced the 7th edition in 1982, they renamed the game ''Dawn Patrol'' and included a four-page folder that explained how the game could be converted to a role-playing game.
In addition, the formerly monochromatic counters were printed in full color, and the map, formerly a featureless square grid, was upgraded to show full color terrain features.
This edition had a print run of 20,000 copies, the largest in the history of the game.
As noted in ''40 Years of Gen Con'', "Only one game has been played every year at Gen Con since 1968 — the ''Dawn Patrol'' board game, originally entitled ''Fight in the Skies'' by Mike Carr."
Reception
In Issue 5 ''
The Wargamer'', Jim Hind commented, "The system for recording damage is much more detailed than in rival games such as ''
Richthofen's War'' and ''
Flying Circus
Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...
''." Hind concluded, "If you don't like dice-throwing, you will steer clear of this one. Myself, I'm prepared to put up with it for the sake of the enormous amount of historical color which the game contains."
In ''The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training'', Martin Campion noted that the square grid "distorts movement slightly" and warned that the game does not come with scenarios, meaning, "The situations have to be constructed by the players."
In a retrospective review in Issue 9 of ''Simulacrum'', Joe Scoleri called the game "ground breaking," noting it was the first tactical aerial combat game, and the first to be set in World War I. He also pointed out that the rules for the entertaining game were only seven pages long.
''
Games'' chose ''Dawn Patrol'' for inclusion in its "Top 100 Games of 1982", calling the latest edition "handsome", and saying, "Maneuvering to fire at your opponent's weakest point may remind you of three-dimensional chess, but the Basic Game is not hard to learn. Optional rules add such considerations as weather, ground attacks, and rescuing downed pilots."
''Dawn Patrol'' was chosen for inclusion in the 2007 book ''
Hobby Games: The 100 Best''. Game designer
Skip Williams commented on the choice, saying, "Board games featuring World War I air combat have been popular among game designers, if not game fans, for decades. Entries in the field include ''
Blue Max'' from
Game Designers' Workshop
Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers.
History
Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. The founding m ...
, ''
Richthofen's War'' from
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company ...
, ''
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
'' from
Yaquinto, and, most recently, ''
Wings of War'' from
Fantasy Flight
Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game company based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, card, and dice games. As of 2014, it is a subsidiary of Asmodée Éditions.
History
Fantasy Flight Publish ...
. The granddaddy of them all, however, is ''Dawn Patrol''."
References
External links
DawnPatrol.info Home of the ''Fight in the Skies'' Society*{{Bgg, 6638, ''Fight in the Skies'', 4014, ''Dawn Patrol''
Board games introduced in 1966
Guidon Games games
Tactical wargames
TSR, Inc. games
World War I board wargames