Wings for the Baron Deluxe GMT Edition

 

The Great War has been going on for nearly two years, and the Western Front has become a series of fruitless attacks and counterattacks. Germany must control the air to break the stalemate and win the war. The army turns to the aeroplane manufacturers to build the best planes to drive the Allies from the sky. Wings for the Baron gives you control of one of six companies, competing for lucrative contracts and the prestige of producing the best designs. Can you steer your business to produce the best fighters, bombers, and/or reconnaissance planes? Can you manage rising inflation, outwit your opponents through subterfuge and espionage, and lead your company to success?

Wings for the Baron is a 1 to 6 player game of economic and technological development in the German aeroplane industry during World War 1. The Standard Game focuses on German fighter development, and the Extended Game adds development of bombers and recon planes. Experienced players can play the Standard Game in about 45 minutes and the Extended Game in about an hour, making Wings for the Baron perfect for repeat play. The Deluxe GMT Edition adds to the gameplay of this beloved game by adding components and rules for a new sixth company (Siemens-Schuckert), as well as all-new art by artist Tim Allen and deluxe components.

The Standard Game of Wings for the Baron revolves around each company’s fighter efficiency as compared with the other German companies. The company with the most efficient fighters attempts to claim contracts first, while companies with less efficient fighters act later in the turn. If all the contracts are awarded and some companies have not rolled yet, they have to wait until the next turn (Hint…they need to improve the efficiency of their fighter so they roll earlier in the phase!). Companies earn money by using their factories to fulfill contracts. Each fulfilled contract earns a million papiermarks.

Wings’ Extended Game adds two aeroplane types (recon and bombers), multiplying players’ choices. Recon and bombers enable the company to earn even more papiermarks (assuming they have factories that were not building fighters). Recon and bomber contracts, unlike fighter contracts, are unlimited—you can build all three types to earn papiermarks!


Each turn, a company has five actions they can perform: Build additional factories, conduct Espionage to learn the technologies from another company, increase your plane’s efficiency with new Design technology, conduct Research to find new technologies, or take your papiermarks to a neutral country and convert to gold by performing a Bank action. But there’s a catch: you can only perform a limited number of actions each turn! You will have to carefully combine these actions with your chosen Events, which can impact rival companies or benefit your own. Events range from obtaining a Talented Engineer for your company (which helps your Design rolls) to improving one of your designs by using technology obtained from captured Allied aeroplanes.

As the war rages on, the specter of Inflation lingers every turn. Inflation is unpredictable, and may be moderate or severe. Savvy owners will know when to use their actions to convert their papiermarks to Gold and when to risk Inflation. Inflation never causes you to lose your carefully stashed Gold! Additionally, the effects of the war are felt through the resolution of a War Status card which impacts Allied and German Morale, available contracts, and Allied plane technologies.


The game ends when one or both sides’ morale markers reach zero or when Inflation reaches Hyper-Inflation. Each company then determines their total wealth (papiermarks, Gold, plus such markers they got during play). The company with the most money is the winner!

Wings for the Baron also includes solitaire and 2-player variants designed by Ken Keller which lets you (and a friend) pit yourself against two (or three or four!) other Non-Player Companies (NPCs) in the Extended Game. This solitaire variant is a tremendous challenge and uses simple procedures to run the NPCs. No flowcharts or complicated procedures necessary!

Components:

• One Rulebook
• One Playbook
• 126 Cards
• Six Double-sided Player Boards
• One Mounted Double-sided Game Track
• Three Countersheets
• Eight Dice
• Six Wooden Cubes
• One Solo Player Aid

Game Designer: Dave Townsend
Deluxe Edition Development: Steven Bradford
Artwork: Tim Allen
Solitaire Designer: Ken Keller