"wings of war for education?" Topic

I work at a small aviation museum that features a SPAD VII, as well as some general WWI info. Part of my job is to come up with new and interesting programs. I am also a gamer, of course. So my thought was to have a program where I show guests (mostly kids) around the SPAD, talk about the parts of an airplane and such, then play a game where they can learn some basics about dog fighting, maneuvering and all that stuff while having fun.

I have never played wings of war, but it looks relatively simple, and seems like a good game for non-gamers. Do you guys (WOW players, that is) think this game would work for these purposes? If you were a museum guest, would that be something you would like? Would it give the desired effect of perking peoples interest in WWI, planes, and perhaps gaming?

Plus, I would love to find a way to get paid for gaming.

For anyone who cares, this would be at the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond, VA. Its small, but has some cool stuff, including an SR71 blackbird (but I can't think of any games that would need a mach 3 jet that flies at over 80,000 feet)

I think it would be neat. The game is pretty simple and you can leave out the altitude rules and still have a fun game. "Who wants to pretend they are WWI fighter pilots?"

I would buy some of the planes and not use the plane cards.

Yes, I think it is perfect, since it is fun, and relatively easy to learn.

The cards will work, but the aircraft miniatures would make the game more visually appealing.

Visited Virginia Aviation Museum a year or so back. Thoroughly recommend a visit if you are in the area. Rather liked the Standard E-1 as well as the SPAD.

Great! I will give it a try. Does it work well with several players? The impression that I get is that the planes come with their own cards, so you can add players beyond the recommended number. I would definitely use the models. Maybe I would make a cool board too, if I get into it. Thanks for the input.

Oh yeah, how long does a game usually take?

Wings of War is OK for what you are up to.

I would definitely leave out the altitude rules -- not going to teach them anything useful with these anyway.

mjc

Last month the NWHMGS held a game day (as we have for several years) at the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle. We hosted a Wings of War game and got a great response from the club members and general public who stopped by to play or watch. The game was played right under the left engine of their SR 171. We omited the altitude rules and just had fun. Yes, miniatures were used to help bring out the best in "looks" for the game.

Not a great photo picture – but the WoW game played at the Museum of Flight is captioned. I regret not participating in the game. It looked great & I saw a lot of interest in the game from the museum visitors (& staff). Dean

Played some pick-up games at Nashcon, there were five of us and only the fellow with the game and planes knew the rules. We all learned the game quick with a minimum of fuss and flew a couple of missions in an hour. One of the players was a young boy about 10 years of age. He had a great time and left only when his father came by and said it was time to go.
I think the game would work very well for the purpose you intend. I also agree that using the model aircraft will help with the visual image and appeal.

I agree it will be a good game. The models come with the proper deck for movement so you don't have to hunt them up in the game box and are sure to have just as many decks as you need. Depending on the number of participants you could run a game in a half hour to an hour or more. I would recommend that you use a small enough board that combat starts by the second turn.

Works great with several players.
Yes the models come with their own cards.
You still have to by the box game to get the damage decks.
Burning Drachens has the B damage deck so if you plan on using any two-seaters you need that box. Famous Aces only has the A deck mostly used by the scout/fighter planes.

Dont know if you know of this site could be usefull, the wargames intended as an aid in history lessons are aimed at grades 6-8….
Includes WW1 games…..

juniorgeneral.org/index.html

Cheers

I think it would work well. Could have a running game. Someone shows up, give them a plane and let them start flying.

The game is easily taught, easily understood, and as "ajbartman" suggests, you can have people and their aircraft come and go all day long "Over The Front!"

Just for yuks, you could have each new person coming into the game draw a random mission card, such as "Patrol the Front" or "Photo Reconnaissance Mission to X and back" or "Bomb Railyard at Location Y." This would then dictate what aircraft the new player is given to use, and the objectives are plainly marked on the playing mat, with the new player starting from a reasonable distance away from their objective.

This could keep a constant shuttle of aircraft of every type over The Western Front, and give a real taster of what combat missions were like during the Great War short of actually putting the museum goers in that SPAD and making them take off.

Hope this helps!

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net