Flying the Unfriendly Skies

First off, allow me to apologize for the sporadic updates lately here at The Rural Gamer. I started working at a local bookstore, and after three years of not work it's taken some time to adjust to the schedule and managing that along with family life, and winding down livestock season here on our little farm. But, I'm striving to keep this place updated and relevant. With that being said...

There seems to be a glut of games coming out between now and the end of the year that I've been really excited about. That, of course, has it's good points and it's bad points. On the good side of things, it's more games! Yea! On the bad side of things, I need to have the money to spend on said games...and there's this little holiday called Christmas that's barreling down on us like a freight train. It can be a dilemma.

However, topping that list is the latest version of Wings of War, now called Wings of Glory. Wings of War, a game of aerial combat set in either WWI or WWII, was originally produced by Italian game company Nexus, and brought to the US market by Fantasy Flight Games. A year or so back the rights reverted back to Nexus, and they formed a new company NG International and distributed their games worldwide themselves. However, that was to be short lived as NG International and Nexus folded earlier this year.

Out of the ashes was born Ares Games. Ares, as I've previously blogged about, bought the rights to produce the War of the Ring boardgame, and then in September they announced they'd be bringing Wings of War back to the market under the new title, Wings of Glory. It was promised the new game would be fully compatible with previously released products.

The Starter Box for Wings of Glory was originally targeted for a November release, which slipped into December and currently the Ares website is listing it as coming out in January. While I can't wait to get the game in my hot little gamer hands, this is not a problem. It puts it past Christmas, which is a good thing financially. Also, I would rather wait for a game produced correctly, than something rushed to market prematurely.

The Starter Box is set in the WWII period, and features 4 planes. On the Allied side we have the Curtis P-40 Warhawk and the Yakovlev Yak-1, and for the Axis powers there are the Reggiane Re.2001 Falco II and the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien. Additional plane models will follow.

(Ares is also currently at work on the World War I version of the game, as well as a naval battle game called Sails of Glory due out in 2012. The initial focus of the game is said to be in the Napoleonic Wars era.)

Of course, one of the biggest obstacles to getting into any new game is finding other people with whom to play. Thankfully, that's where the good folks at the Wings of Glory Aerodrome come in. The Aerodrome is an absolutely fantastic site devoted to Wings of War/Wings of Glory. Through this site you can find other players all around the world. Fortunately for me there seems to be a veritable hotbed of Ohio-based players. So, if you are at all interested in this game, you need to do yourself a favor and check out the Aerodrome. You'll be glad you did.

Look for the Wings of Glory WWII Starter Set in stores in January 2012. You can download the new rulebook on Ares' website here.