I have been playing air combat games since 1970, with Von Richtofen's War. There are many good systems out there for miniature and board games, but this one has realy made a great impression on me.
T.A.C. is a deceptively simple game. fifteen minutes after printing and assembling the components, you can hurl yourself into the cockpit. The fun is learning to use the unique abilities of your plane to survive and win. My first encounter saw a flight of Bf109E's vs. an equal number of Hurricane Mk1's. The German planes used their superior climb("energy" in the game) to pull some good manuevers on the British pilots, then took advantage of the firepower of their 20mm cannons to destroy all four enemy planes. One German fell to the Hurri's machine guns.
The next contest saw the Hurri's replaced by two elements of Mk2 Spitfires, and the tables were turned. The Spits could turn inside of the 109's, and generally out-manuever them. Staying close gave the machine guns of the British planes a chance to wreak havoc on the Germans. Both games were played on less than half a card table, with plenty of room for the rule book, although it was not needed for the second game.
The scenarios included in this set offer various defenses against bombers, including aircraft AND flak. There are opportunities for the Germans to run level AND dive bombers against different targets. I expect to enjoy many hours of flying, both solo and against friends, just from this starter set. It is an excellent value, and I hope to see MANY more expansions in the line.
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