WingLeader is the World War II incarnation of the Ace of Aces system. Although the basic system used In the original World War I editions could have been dressed up into a superficial World War II game with only cosmetic changes, this was clearly not the approach taken in WingLeader.

WingLeader came in the same sized box as the Deluxe Handy Rotary edition.

The cover art is a dramatic painting of a North American P-51 Mustang climbing up to attack the belly of a smoking Focke-Wulf FW- 190 (Figure 19.) These are also the aircraft depicted in the gamebooks with photographs taken inside and outside the respective planes! (Figure 20.) However, the benefit of using photographs is completely offset by their appearance. The WingLeader photographs, best described as "dot matrix printer" quality, are highly inferior to the photographs in the Handy Rotary books.

The rules and play-aids in WingLeader retain the feeling of air combat from the earlier games while introducing a better feeling for the limitations of a maneuvering aircraft. It is no surprise that WingLeader is the favorite Ace of'Aces edition of both Alfred Leonardi, the designer, and Dennis Greci, listed in the credits as a playtester.

The rules are broken down into Introductory and Basic sections along with a few Optional Rules. There is also a "Beginner's Guide to Flying" for those new to the Ace of Aces system. The basic Ace of Aces design is still recognizable and the introductory game is instantly playable just like previous editions. Unfortunately, the rules are a bit abbreviated and might make this a difficult starter game for those new to Ace of Aces. Also, the critical hit rules present in the World War I games are regrettably absent. The innovation which really sets WingLeader apart from its predecessors in the series is the use of Aircraft Cards (Figure 2 1.) The charts on the cards define the capabilities of the twenty four different aircraft which may be flown in the game. An aircraft's possible maneuvers are limited by one of five different bank attitude displays on the chart. Although there are only thirteen maneuvers on. each page of the WingLeader gamebooks, the system allows for complex maneuvers using "maneuver formulas" on the Aircraft Cards.

In addition to the maneuver information, the Cards also state ammunition supply, maximum speed, ranged gunfire damage, and maximum climb/dive during various maneuvers. Although the abstract hand-ling of these details may not satisfy hyper-realism freaks, the Aircraft Cards definitely serve to give a distinct feel to the various aircraft.

I have recently acquired an errata sheet which corrects some errors and explains just what the Ammo number is used for.

More Ace of Aces Reference Guide

Introduction
1. Gameshop Edition
2. Initial Nova Edition
3. Early Handy Rotary Slipcase Edition
4. Later Handy Rotary Slipcase Edition
5. Powerhouse Slipcase Edition
6. Flying Machines Slipcase Edition
7. Balloon Buster Edition
8. Flying Machines Paper Cover Edition
9. Balloon Buster Paper Cover Edition
10. Handy Rotary Deluxe Edition, Matte Box
11. Handy Rotary Deluxe Edition, Glossy Box
12. WingLeader (WWII)
13. WingLeader with expansion set
14. Jet Eagles (Post WWII)
15. Jet Eagles, Desert Storm Limited Edition
16. Handy Rotary Richthofen edition
17. Handy Rotary Special Basic Edition
18-21. Overseas Editions
Other Titles and Unreleased Titles
Aircraft Listings
Ace Listings