"New Player Questions" Topic

Hello. I'm a long time gamer who is considering getting into World War 2 naval gaming as a side project to my normal interests. I want to keep the cost down since it's something that I'll likely play infrequently and to this end I've settled on using Topside minis. My primary question is what rules set would you guys recommend that are playable without bogging down in endless charts? I prefer games that lean more towards being streamlined even if it means losing a little bit of detail. I'd like a rules set that can handle aircraft and surface ships. Submarines are not a must have for me. As far as the scope of the rules are concerned I'd like them to be able to handle anything from small engagements up to medium sized engagements. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Naval Thunder. Available on Wargame Vault. Easy to pick up.
General Quarters 3 is also popular. Not as easy as NT, but not to difficult.

Are the Naval Thunder rules compatible with Apple products for downloading?

General Quarters 1 & GQ 2 seem to answer most if not all of your requirements. GQ 1 is for WW2. GQ2 is for WW1 with some additional features for WW2, is not required but fun to have.

Naval Thunder comes as a pdf.
link

For those who have played both NT and GQ, which would you say does a better job handling engagements involving carriers? I haven't played either but I'm aware that NT "abstracts" aerial combat whatever that means. Ideally I'd like to have carriers on the table alongside the rest of the fleet.