Ares Games Keeps 'Em Flying

Back in July we had some relatives come out from California to visit us here in Central Ohio. While they were here one thing they really wanted to do was visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton. I've been wanting to go there for the past decade that I've lived here in Ohio, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The place was immense and so interesting. Well, this blog isn't about family trips...it's about gaming, right? Well, upon coming out of the museum I found myself really wanting to get into Nexus Games' Wings of War. Wings of War started out as a card based game (and was published in the US by Fantasy Flight Games), but over time morphed into a miniatures game as well. There's two versions of the game. One is set in World War I, while the other is set in the skies during WWII.

It was almost immediately following that visit to the museum that Nexus Games announced they were shutting down operations. Now, I know that there's a bunch of existing Wings of War product out there in stores...but, hearing the company was shutting down really put a damper on my enthusiasm. And, really, like I need yet another game to play? I don't have time for the games I already play, right?

Shortly thereafter a new player emerged in the European gaming scene: Ares Games. Ares announced that they'd be picking up the rights to another popular Nexus game: War of the Ring (based, of course, upon the classic works of J.R.R. Tolkien). Was this a glimmer of hope for Wings of War? Would Ares Games also pick up the pieces to this game as well?

Well, just yesterday, Ares Games issued a press release announcing they reached an agreement to produce Wings of War under a new name: Wings of Glory.

Ares Games reaches an agreement with Andrea Angiolino e Pier Giorgio Paglia to publish the game "Wings of Glory"

The best selling game of WWI and WWII aerial combat comes back with a new name

Camaiore, Italy – September 1, 2011 - Ares Games, a Tuscany-based games publisher recently established, announces an agreement with Andrea Angiolino and Pier Giorgio Paglia, the authors of the best selling game that recreates aerial combat during the WWI and WWII, formerly published with the name "Wings of War".
Ares Games will publish the game under a new brand, "Wings of Glory". Wings of Glory will be published with a new rulebook, while maintaining compatibility with the previous Wings of War products already in the market.
"We are happy to be partnering with Andrea and Pier Giorgio to bring this wonderful game system to market." said Christoph Cianci, CEO of Ares Games, "Thousands of fans worldwide will be pleased to know that their planes and maneuver cards from Wings of War will be compatible with the new Wings of Glory."

Initially, Ares Games will focus on developing new miniatures for the game, but also plans to release new starter sets.

"This game has a very strong and loyal fan base around the world, which gave and will surely continue to give a great help to the success of our game with their support and creativity. They have high expectations of it, in spite of several attempts to imitate it with other settings and chrome," stated Andrea Angiolino, co-creator of the game. "We chose to partner with Ares Games because we believe they understand our game, and that they will take care of the wishes of its fans, as well as be respectful of its creators."

The first Wings of Glory products to be released will be four airplanes for the WWII game series: the American P40, the Russian Yak-1, the Japanese Ki-61 and the Italian Re-2001 Falco. Ares Games will publish a Starter Set with these four models, containing the introductory rules and all other elements needed to start play. The complete schedule of the next releases will be announced soon.
With this announcement, Ares Games now publishes two important games from Italian creators that have achieved international recognition. In July, Ares Games aquired the rights from Sophisticated Games to publish the award-winning board game "War of the Ring", based on the J.R.R.Tolkien's trilogy, "The Lord of the RingsTM", and created by Roberto Di Meglio, Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi. A new edition of the game, in English, will be available this Fall, with other language editions forecasted for Spring 2012.

So, there you have it. Wings of War lives on in a new incarnation. Mad props to Ares of saving these games from a far too early demise. Wings of Glory is back on my gaming radar. I'll be keeping my eye out for the new starter set, and maybe even check out the folks at the Wings of War Aerodrome to get some games in!