This weekend, my regular gaming group wasn’t able to meet and it was rainy most of the time, so I dug into one of my solitaire only games, B-17 Flying Fortress Leader. I’ve only played one other of DVG’s Leader series games (although I have several of them) – Thunderbolt Apache Leader. I played the first recommended campaign of B-17 (The Air War Starts) to learn the basics of the game.
To me, B-17 is one or two steps above the complexity level of Thunderbolt Apache Leader. It wasn’t difficult to learn , but I had to go back to the rule book several times (and in some cases the BGG forums), to look up questions that I had for certain situations. There is an updated set of rules on the DVG website, which really helped with some rules. Luckily, once I had the answer to a question, when that situation came up again, I had it down with no problems.
I did use some additional aids for certain parts of the game, mainly to simplify the flow of the game and to do away with the log recording system in the game.. For example, I used markers for the targets, dice for the damage and experience, and poker chips for the SO points. I found the counter system was a little clunky and I hate to write down things when I’m playing a game. Having to stop and write stuff down was one of the things I didn’t like with Thunderbolt Apache Leader, but using the dice and poker chips allowed me to play B-17 without once writing anything down and the game played much, much smoother.
Overall, B-17 was a great experience and I really liked the strategic elements of the game. Once I get a few more plays under my belt, I’ll write a review. Also, I have another game of B-17 set up on one of my tables and I hope to video this one and post it. It’s a longer campaign than my first one, so I’m not sure when I’ll have everything ready for posting.