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Ares Games to Release ‘WW2 Wings of Glory Battle of Britain Starter Set’

WW2 Wings of Glory Battle of Britain (Ares Games)Ares Games is set for a new entry level release in their immensely popular WW2 Wings of Glory line. The WW2 Wings of Glory Battle of Britain Starter Set will include a rules booklet, scenario booklet, maneuver decks, tokens and counters, aircraft and skill cards, aircraft boards, and four pre-assembled and fully painted miniatures. The aircraft are 1/200 scale and consist of two Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I and two Messerschmitt Bf-109E. The new boxed set includes everything you need to get started with WW2 Wings of Glory and carries an MSRP of $69.00.

In addition to the starter set, Ares is also releasing four new squadron packs which you can learn more about below.

From Ares:

Ares Games announces the release of the WW2 Wings of Glory Battle of Britain Starter Set, new starting point for the WW2 Wings of Glory game. The Battle of Britain Starter Set is an all-in-one boxed set with everything needed to play, including four airplanes fully assembled and painted, a comprehensive rulebook (presenting from Basic to Advanced rules, plus Optional rules), a scenarios booklet, and a rich assortment of counters, rulers, and airplane console boards. At the same time as the new Starter Set, separate WW2 Wings of Glory Squadron Packs are releasing, allowing players to field a larger force of airplanes from the Battle of Britain in the game.

The major military campaign in history to be fought entirely in the air, the Battle of Britain took place from July 1940 to June 1941. The battle was a pivotal event of World War II: the German plan aimed to win air superiority over Southern Britain and the English Channel by destroying the British air force and aircraft industry, targeting Britain’s air bases, military posts and, ultimately, its civilian population. Hitler saw victory in the battle as a prelude to the invasion of Britain (codenamed Operation Sealion), after the surrender of France, which had fallen by the swift and deadly blows of the Blitzkrieg. The success of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the battle forced German to postpone and ultimately cancel Operation Sealion.

The Battle of Britain Starter Set brings four iconic fighters: two Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I and two Messerschmitt Bf-109E, beautifully sculpted in 1/200 scale and painted in every detail, along with the cards, rulers, markers, tokens and other materials to fly them. The rulebook is organized in three different levels, starting with the Basic Rules that provide a very simple starting point to learn the core concepts of the game and begin to play quickly, and stepping WW2 Wings of Glory Spitfire (Ares Games)up to Standard and Advanced rules. It also presents Optional Rules, which make the game more detailed, including popular options such as tailing and aiming, and rules to use Special Airplanes available in the WW2 Wings of Glory range – two-seaters and multi-engine bombers, sold separately in Airplane Packs and Special Packs. A chapter of Scenario Rules presents all the rules for bombing, rules suitable for use in specific scenarios, such as Full Load, Drop Tanks, Photo Recon, and rules for Solitaire Scenarios, which allow players to put on “auto-pilot” one or more airplanes to be taken down.

The Battle of Britain set presents also a 12-page Scenarios Booklet with seven ready-to-play historical scenarios set during the Battle of Britain, which can be played using the currently released miniatures for Wings of Glory. Basic Scenarios require only the airplanes included in the set, while Advanced Scenarios allow you to play with additional miniatures released in the WW2 Wings of Glory range. Each scenario presents the historical background and outcome, and all the information required to play. The booklet also gives instructions for inventing new scenarios and presents the full range of existing airplanes compatible with the Battle of Britain time frame.

The four Squadron Packs released together with the Battle of Britain Starter Set feature Spitfire Mk.Is from the 610 Squadron “County of Chester”, Messerschimitt Bf-109Es from the Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen”, Hawker Hurricane Mk.Is from the 303 Polish Squadron “Kos´ciuszko”, and Junkers Ju.87 B–2s (best known as “Stukas”) from Sturzkampfgeschwader 77. The main new feature of these packs, compared to the previous Airplane Packs and Special Packs, is a sheet of alternative decals with individual codes and insignia: buying several copies of the same pack, players can then field a whole squadron. Similarly to the most recent Wings of Glory Airplane Packs, skill cards and special rule cards for the airplanes are also included.

The WW2 Wings of Glory Starter Set has a suggested retail price of $69.00, and the Squadron Packs, $14.90.

Jeff McAleer

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