Wild Blue Yonder

In 1992, GMT released Rise of the Luftwaffe, the first Down in Flames WWII air combat card game. That game covered the early part of the War in Europe, from 1939 to early 1942. It was followed a few years later by the 8th Air Force expansion module, which added aircraft and campaigns for the latter part of the war. 

Since then there have been two more games, two packs of additional aircraft, and a large number of C3i modules for the series. However, the original two games have been long out of print. GMT considered a number of options to address that, from straight reprints to a base game/ campaign module arrangement. Finally, though, the company has decided to publish  an entire new game covering the war in the ETO from 1940-1944. 

Wild Blue Yonder is  a true deluxe Down in Flames product. It contains over a dozen full campaigns, over 200 aircraft cards, plus all of the necessary targets, resource sheets etc. needed for play. All of this is packaged in a large box similar to the ones for the Combat Commander games. 

Many of the campaigns will be on the same subjects as those in Rise of the Luftwaffe, 8th Air Force and various C3i modules. However, they are not simple reprints of those campaigns. 

In addition, Wild Blue Yonder contains three different types of campaigns, Land Campaigns, Progressive Campaigns, and Operations (The Schweinfurt Raids, for example). The first type is the familiar “standard” DiF campaign that players of the system are used to. Progressive Campaigns, though, give both players a fixed “order of battle” along with reinforcements and replacements that they have to use throughout the campaign. This reflects the more attritional nature of these air campaigns. 

Finally, the game includes at least one solitaire campaign for players who don’t have an opponent available. 

Wild Blue Yonder promises to be the best Down in Flames game yet. So strap on your parachute and get ready to take to the skies!

COMPONENTS

• 220 Action Cards
• 300 Aircraft Cards
• 264 5/8" counters
• Four Double-sided Target cards
• Seven Double-sided Campaign cards
• Four Double-sided Campaign Log Sheets
• One Land Campaign Log Sheet
• One Campaign Display
• One Double-sided 11"x17" Resource/Player Aid Card
• One Dogfight Rulebook
• One Campaign Rulebook