A hypothetical 1986 in the Fulda Gap is one of wargaming’s most-worn roads, so a new Cold-War-gone-hot box has to bring something to the table. Air & Armor: V Corps from Compass Games is a big one, and this first look opens it up to see what you’re getting ahead of Tanktoberfest.
What’s in the box
Designed by Frederick Schwarz and developed by Bruce Maxwell, Air & Armor: V Corps puts the Soviet 28th Army and 1st Guards Tank Army against the US V Corps across West Germany and the Fulda Gap in a hypothetical 1986 clash. I walk through the whole package: the rulebooks, the playbook and its scenarios, the player aids, the counter sheets, and the three large maps that give the game its sprawl. It’s clearly built to be a centerpiece — the component count alone tells you this isn’t a one-sitting game — and the presentation looks up to Compass Games’ standard. As always with a first look, the box can only show you so much; the real questions are how the air and armor interplay actually drives decisions and how the scenarios scale from a learning game to the full campaign, and those are what the gameplay will have to answer. If operational Cold War is your period, this one earns a spot on the watch list.
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