I thought I was just getting the updated charts for A Wing and a Prayer.
Instead, they sent the charts AND the updated rule book. What service!
Hopefully I’ll get to it this weekend.
Service!
The game has had it’s rulebook and charts updated, so I downloaded them after I had played my campaign.
There was also an option to request a hardcopy of the updated, reformatted charts, which I did yesterday.
Today I got an email telling me that the charts are on their way.
Great service from Lock n Load Publishing.
First Play: A Wing and A Prayer
Finally got around to trying out this game.
I played the short campaign, covering the early bombing missions from August to December 1942. 5 missions total.
Heavy damage was inflicted on the following targets:
- St. Omer (aircraft factory)
- Lille (industrial center)
- Antwerp (industrial center)
The following targets were completely destroyed:
- Cherbourg (aircraft factory)
- Rotterdam (marshalling yard)
Of the 12 B-17F bombers under my command, the following 10 ended the campaign with better than ‘green’ crews:
‘crack’ crew:
- Slavo Sally
- Jersey Bounce
- Queenie
- Hell’s Angels (lead bomber throughout campaign)
- Big Red
- Demo Darling
- Green Hornet
‘veteran’ crew
- Chow Hound
- Pueblo Vengence
- Peoria Bell
12 Campaign victory points, resulting in:
Major Victory: War shortened by 3 months. You earn the Silver Star and an eventual promotion to Brigadier General.
This is possibly my second favorite of the four B-17 bomber games that I own, right below B-17 Queen of the Skies, and ahead of B-17 Flying Fortress Leader and Target for Today.
Unboxing
Box!Incoming!
8th Air Force
My interest in the B-17 Flying Fortress was reawakened when I recently started playing B-17: Queen of the Skies, though I’ve just made a quick check of games that I’ve ordered, and I have THREE other B-17/8th Air Force games coming in sometime in the near future.
- B-17 Flying Fortress Leader by DVG has been released, and should be in my possession in the coming weeks. It was pre-ordered a couple of months ago.
- Target For Today by Legion Wargames has been produced, and should be shipping fairly soon (June). Heck, I think I pre-ordered this one over a year or two ago.
- A Wing and A Prayer by Lock ‘n Load Publishing should be published/produced soon. It was pre-ordered a few weeks ago.
Even though Memphis Belle is the movie that really made this bomber popular, I remember reading about the 8th Air Force long before that, even before I played my first game of B-17: QotS.
And then there was one of Harrison Ford’s lesser known films, Hanover Street.
Harrison Ford stars as an American WWII pilot stationed in England who falls in love with a married British nurse (Lesley-Anne Down). When his plane is shot down behind enemy lines, he discovers that the secret agent he must protect is her husband.
I think I saw this on on cable, once, in 1979-80(?), and then it was on again recently at a Chinese restaurant near work, of all places. Ford’s character flew a B-25 Mitchell instead of a B-17 Flying Fortress. The newer games appear to have the B-26 Marauder available, which is historically more accurate from what I’ve read.
Anyways, I’m looking forward to these games, as each has a different take on game play. Queen of the Skies put you in command of a single bomber, while a couple of the new ones have you commanding the entire squadron on the bombing run.
And I recently bought a new book on the subject:
