Offensive Patrol

WWI Air Rules Supplement

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford


O.P.by Brian Reddington-Wilde is a supplement for the author's popular WW I air combat rules, Hostile Aircraft. The 94 page spiral-bound book contains complete rules for balloons, including preparing and mounting the models, all within the H.A. rules framework. There are also simple but functional rules for anti-aircraft fire with which to defend your balloons. As such fire will hit whatever targets are within its burst radius, an interesting three-sided game might be played with one side manning the observation balloons and anti-aircraft guns, another side manning the defending aircrah, and the final side manning the attacking aircraft.

There are also optional rules governing variable length fire bursts, jammed guns, reaction fire, complex maneuvers (in case you want to do a barrel roll in your Gotha), clouds, and rules for crew survival after aircraft destruction. The various rules tables are repeated on two (identical) player cards.

The heart of O.P. is the scenario section. This includes general scenario notes and suggestions, as well as a three page section on running H.A. scenarios and tournaments at conventions. There are 101 historical scenarios! Each one lists the aircrah types and numbers, starting positions, altitudes and headings, crew qualities, and victory conditions for all the forces involved. They range in date from taking place in 1915 through all of the war years, to a single dogfight during the Russo-Polish War in 1920, and range in size from single-plane duels to squadron-sized dogfights.

All scenarios include historical notes of varying lengths, too. Designer's notes conclude the body of O.P. and provide a wealth of insight into the rules' development and especially the scenarios' design. A bibliography of books used for the supplement is included. More interestingly, the scenario notes provide a bibliography citation for EVERY scenario presented, allowing players to really get a feel for what went on during the actual combats, as well as to allow them to draw their own conclusions when a scenario's historical record is sketchy.

O.P. sells for $20 at your FLGS, or if unavailable there, directly from the publishers, Goblintooth Enterprises, at 46 Highland Street, Reading, MA 01867. I recommend Offensive Patrol wholeheartedly to any WW I air gamers regardless of whether you play Hostile Action (though this supplement is even more useful if you do!).

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