Game #800 -- A Milestone, of sorts...

Carrier Air Group by Dan Verssen Games becomes the 800th title in my game collection.

Carrier Air Group is an expansion for Hornet Leader II and adds new aircraft, including F-14 Tomcats and A-6 Intruders, new weapons (Phoenix missiles) and two new campaigns to the base game.

Carrier Air Group is the latest game in the popular "Leader" series of games that started with Hornet Leader and Thunderbolt/Apache Leader (both published by GMT Games and currently out of print). In 2005 Dan Verssen refreshed the line with Hornet Leader II, a new streamlined version of the original game. HLII was followed by Corsair Leader (bringing the "Leader" series to the Pacific in WWII) and the HLII expansion, Carrier Air Group.

The "Leader" system is a solo system in which the player simulates the operational and planning aspects of an air strike. The player, in the guise of a wing or squadron commander is given a mission and then must decided what mix of aircraft, pilots and weapons will have the best chance of success. The strike itself is carried out in a programmed series of steps complete with random events that may effect the mission outcome. As with many good solo wargames, the player soon becomes invested in the pilots in the squadron as each pilot begins to take on a personality of his own. Some pilots are lucky and get all the breaks. Some pilots can't hit the broadside of a barn with a radar guided missle and other pilots seem to attract enemy bandits and SAMs. As a campaign progresses and losses begin to mount, the tension builds as it becomes harder and harder to outfit each strike with effective aircraft and pilots.

With the latest games in the "Leader" series, starting with Hornet Leader II, Dan Verssen is also exploring new methods of game publication and distribution. The games are published by Dan Verssen Games and are available in VASSAL and PDF versions. No printed, boxed, retail version of these games currently exist. The PDF version can be printed (and counters mounted) by talented "do-it-yourselfers" to create a physical version of the game complete with cards and counters. The VASSAL version of the game allows one to play the game on a computer virtually anywhere without the need for paper maps, cards, counters or dice. For a solo game, this is an ideal situation.

The lack of a box and retail package is bound to hurt sales, but on the other hand, the price of the game is far lower than a retail version could hope to be. For folks familiar with the game system the price is hard to beat. For anyone interested in a solo game covering modern day air operations, the price is low enough to take a chance on.