Back in the 1980’s my friends and I enjoyed a game called Ace of Aces. Billed as a “diceless combat” game, Ace of Aces put you in the cockpit of a WWI airplane. Each player would get a 4 1/2 X 6 inch book with 223 pages. Each page showed the view from the cockpit of your plane. At the bottom of the page were a variety of maneuvers you could choose from.

Each player would pick a maneuver and this would send them to the correct page that illustrated the new positions of their planes. If you were clever you would find yourself on a page showing you giving the enemy a burst from your guns. Play would continue until one of you was shot down or “driven from the sky.”

The beauty of the game was its simplicity. All you needed were the two small books and you could play anywhere. The rules were simple enough for young kids to play and adults to enjoy. There are additional rules that allow for greater detail, but they detract from the game rather than enhance it. The game originally came in four varieties: Handy Rotary, Powerhouse, Balloon Buster, and Flying Machines. The best versions of the game are the earlier ones which came with the two books in a handy and comact cardboard slipcover. Later editions were more expensive boxed sets.

The manufacturer, Nova game Designs, also produced a set of books called Jet Eagles, which features jet airplanes and missiles, and a WWII version called Wing Leader. They also used the picture book idea to produce a series of melee combat books called Lost Horizons. I recently got nostalgic for the old games and went looking for them. I found out they are still available in the $10-15 range on eBay or from game stores. A 20th Anniversary edition may soon be released by Greysea LLC.