DOWN IN FLAMES: LOCKED-ON
IN THE HANGAR
Dan Verssen Games (DVG) has long been a true friend to the solitaire wargamer. The “Leader” series, which stretches back to Dan Verssen’s days at GMT Games in 1991 has been a staple of solid, fun games that are fully solitaire, covering everything from World War II fighters (Corsair & Zero Leader) to armored warfare (Tiger and Sherman Leader) to modern jets (Hornet Leader) and ground attack (Thunderbolt-Apache Leader) and the series continues to grow with Stuka Leader having enjoyed a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year. And all that is without mentioning the Warfighter Series, the “Commander” series or the more recently added (and outstanding) “Valiant Defense” series. All of ’em – yep, solitaire games.
And while it may seem like everything in the DVG portfolio is solitaire, that is not the case. Among the many other offerings at DVG is the “Down in Flames” series, which like the Leader series, dates back originally to Dan’s GMT days. The first Down in Flames games were World War II era games and the series focuses on the guns-only, piston-engined dogfighting of that global conflict. This is a series of card-driven games and the back-and-forth between the players is fun and the action quick.
In 2018, DVG released “Down in Flames: Locked-On” and that game took the DiF series to the Jet Age. Covering conflicts from the Korean War to the Gulf War, the game includes aircraft models from the early days such as the first American and Soviet built jets to the staples of the end of the Cold War era such as the F-14 Tomcat (of the original “Top Gun” fame), the F-15 Eagle (an aircraft I maintained in my Air Force days and for which I therefore have a great affection, and their Soviet/Russian counterparts such as the MiG-29 and Su-27.
Yet, because it was a two-player game, I never gave it much of a chance. And when it was released to Kickstarter, not all that many others did either. And that, my friends, was a crying shame because this game is, in a word, awesome. Plus, DVG came up with a creative and easy to use method to play it solitaire, making it an instant classic in my book.
PAYLOAD
What’s in the box you might ask? Well, you get a lot, as you might expect in a game covering four-plus decades of aerial combat.
Specifically, what you’ll find inside the box :
- The rules, naturally. Short, because the game isn’t overly complicated. The only potential gripe for some is that some aspects of the game aren’t described as thoroughly as you might like, but in my opinion, the rules are well-done and concise.
- A booklet covering the solitaire system. Like the main rules, this is succinct and gets the job done.
- 98 Action cards which drive the game and include various tactics as well as determining whether you can fire missiles or guns.
- 126 aircraft cards – 2 for each of the 63 jets in the game. Some jets are duplicated – there are multiple versions of my F-15 for example (USAF and Israeli for example) but each has two cards in the set.
- A set of 6 campaign cards, each covering a historical conflict such as the aforementioned Korean War and including others like the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1982 Falklands War and more.
What’s not included, and something you’ll need for the solitaire mode, is a single 10-sided die. But if you’re a wargamer, you’ve got plenty of dice around.