Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I figure this fits here in the historical forum.

I'm a big fan of Star Wars X Wing miniatures and I kind of want to get my friend into it or a similar game. He's also a big fan of Military History, World War II and Axis and Allies.

So I want to know peoples' opinions on Axis and Allies: Air Force, Angels 20 or Bandits High. it's my understanding that the latter is the same game just different planes, scenarios and more in the later part of the war/Pacific Theatre. I would be fine getting both starter sets if they're a pretty good value. I'd also like to know how people feel about different planes and if there are must buys for each side or we could just get whatever we like.

Cheers everybody

 bocatt wrote:
I figure this fits here in the historical forum.

I'm a big fan of Star Wars X Wing miniatures and I kind of want to get my friend into it or a similar game. He's also a big fan of Military History, World War II and Axis and Allies.

So I want to know peoples' opinions on Axis and Allies: Air Force, Angels 20 or Bandits High. it's my understanding that the latter is the same game just different planes, scenarios and more in the later part of the war/Pacific Theatre. I would be fine getting both starter sets if they're a pretty good value. I'd also like to know how people feel about different planes and if there are must buys for each side or we could just get whatever we like.

Cheers everybody

Look into Wings of Glory, either the WW1 or WW2 game. It plays somewhat similar to X-wing.

In fact, Wings of Glory (f.k.a., Wings of War) is the predecessor of X-Wing in the Flight Path family of game design.

I have both the WWI and WWII versions of Wings of Glory (formerly known as Wings of War) as well as both boxes (Bandits High and Angels 20) of Axis & Allies Air Force miniatures.

If you want something with mechanics similar to X-Wing, then Wings of Glory is the one for you. Fantasy Flight had originally contacted the designers of Wings of Glory (then known as Wings of War) about licensing that system as the basis of X-Wing, before deciding to release their own similar - but different - system.

The difference is that, in X-Wing, you have the maneuver dial that you plan your next maneuver with, then you place a plastic template and move your ship. The plastic templates are shared between all ships, with each ship's unique capabilities represented on their dial.

In Wings of Glory, you plan either 2 (if playing WWII) or 3 (if playing WWI) maneuver cards from each plane's unique maneuver deck at the beginning of each turn in the "planning phase." These cards have a flight path represented on them and are used in mostly similar way to the templates in X-Wing, with the difference being that you plan 2 or 3 moves ahead rather than just one.

The other major difference is in how hits and damage are determined. Both systems use a range ruler and firing arc to determine valid targets, but X-Wing uses the dice system to determine hits and damage, whereas in Wings of Glory, if the plane is within range & arc, then you draw one or more damage cards from the relevant damage deck (in the WWI version) or from the relevant pile / bag of damage chits (in the WWII version). The cards / chits have a variable value from 0 (indicating a miss) to 4, 5 or more damage points. Some cards & chits also have special damage, such as smoke, fire, jammed rudder, pilot injury, etc. that serve to further influence the plane's maneuvering capability.

So, Wings of Glory is different but quite similar to X-Wing. It's very easy to pick up - even easier than X-Wing IMHO - but no less tactical or engrossing. It's a fun system.

Axis & Allies Air Force miniatures plays extremely different. It uses a hex mat and hex bases to control movement, firing arcs, and firing range. The hex bases have a ball joint at the top of them, allowing the planes to be positioned level, climbing or diving, which influences how they move and what they can shoot at. Turn structure is "I Go, You Go" instead of "We All Go" as in X-Wing / Wings of Glory, with a dice roll at the beginning of each turn to see who has the initiative. Dice are rolled to determine hits, with a bunch of different modifiers to apply depending on pilot skill, range, altitude differences (if any), and so forth. It's a fun game and the 1:100 scale aircraft look nice and are durable, but we find ourselves being drawn to Wings of Glory more often than not.

HTH!