Blood Red Skies by Warlord Games is what I would consider among the best flight games I have played or read the rules for. I would even go so far as to say it is the best (from my somewhat limited experiences with flight games).
Blood Red Skies (BRS) manages to represent the various complicated elements of aerial combat in an abstract but effective way. The game is fun and quick to play while providing a good level of tactical thinking.
The abstracted elements of the game represent aerial combat in a way that is easy to understand while not being too complicated. The game abstracts altitude into the advantage system, representing three levels of altitude while also using that to partially determine activation order.
Movement is simple and there is enough manoeuvres to choose from to represent the common moves you usually want to make while also giving you the freedom to react to your opponent as well as just general freedom of movement. The other flight game I have played a lot of is Aeronautica Imperialis (AI) by Games Workshop. AI has a preset list of manoeuvres an aircraft can make, while this creates its own interesting gameplay it can often limit a player greatly in what they can do and often lead to disastrous situations unintentionally, although this can also be seen as part of the fun of the game.
BRS allows freedom of movement that is simple but also just complex enough to allow a player to do what they need. It is mainly a game of manoeuvrability, usually the player who can position the best has the best chance of winning. The best position to be in is a tailing position however doing this well is difficult to master.
This game also portrays an element I think many games lack which is a good morale system. Most systems either exclude morale and focus on just destroying enemy units, or morale is a minor element such as how in 10th edition Warhammer 40k it only stops a unit capturing objectives and, using stratagems which in my experience is not often that big of an issue.
In BRS you win by scaring away your enemy rather than destroying them. Shooting planes down definitely makes that job easier but it is not a necessary element. All you have to do is hit your enemy enough to cause them to flee.
Games like AI and from what I have read Star Wars X-Wing often have complicated or cluttered stat cards/sheets, BRS has a minimal number of stats, three main ones and then (usually) a small selection of special rules and traits for each aircraft. The cards are clear and easy to read with minimal things to remember / consult.
On the topic of stat cards / sheets each aircraft has a one or more traits. These traits get put into a deck of cards (the number of each type spread as evenly as possible up to the number of aircraft with the trait) each player then draws three cards a round which can then be used to apply that specific trait to a specific model. This is also where ace cards are used.
However, as with any game there are downsides. First the game isn’t really designed or optimised for multiple squadrons of different aircraft, so unless it’s a narrative mission most of the bombers and such won’t see much play, especially as their rules make them very easy to shoot down even if they are more resilient. Even having two squadrons of different fighters doesn’t really work due to the points limit and how morale works.
Also, I feel for people who want a smaller force of more elite pilot (maybe a squadron of aces or near aces) this isn’t a good choice as the number of aircraft taken decides how much negative morale the squadron can take. A squadron with 5 or 6 aircraft will always do better than less more skilled aircraft or even 6+ very low skilled aircraft. So unfortunately, unless you’re playing narratively there are some practical limitations for the game, unless you just want to play something unusual or fun.
Overall though I think Blood Red Skies is an excellent game that warrants more attention and support from both players and Warlord Games. The last model release the game got was in 2017 or 2018 from what I have seen. I just wanted to bring some more attention to what I think is the best aerial combat game that is currently available.
Do you play Blood Red Skies? If not why?
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Blood Red skies Battle of Midway – https://amzn.to/4pvPQqc
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