LFW -LUFTWAFFE

1. TITLE: Luftwaffe
2. PUBLISHER: The Avalon Hill Game Company (TAHGC); evolving form of hte early SPI prestige games called Twelve O'Clock High.
3. SCOPE: The Game of Aerial Combat over Germany 1943-1945,
4. TAHGC CATALOG VERBAGE: LUFTWAFFE is a game that recreates the drama of the war in the skies over Nazi Germany. As the American player, you must eliminate key industrial complexes and destroy Germany's resources. You will have to plan the missions, direct the attacks, and elude the Luftwaffe as much as possible. Time is against you. As the German player, you must prevent the American bombers from reaching their targets, while keeping your own plane losses to a minimum. The more targets the American bombers can destroy, the less planes you will receive, and you may not get the far superior jets at all.
5. GAME BOX VERBAGE: As the American commander your mission is to eliminate key industrial complexes. You select the targets, direct the bombers, plan strategy designed to keep the Luftwaffe off balance. As the German commander, the entire arsenal of Third Reich wonder weapons is at your disposal against the finest in American aircraft. Can your military skill save Germany and change the course of history?
6. YEAR PUBLISHED (EDITIONS): 1971 (revised 1972). Only one published edition.
7. CREDITS
   • Game Design: Louis Zocchi
   • AH Redesign:
   • Game Development:
   • Artwork:
   • Box Art:
   • Typesetting:
   • Printing: Monarch Services
   • Playtesting:
8. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
9. WGA COMPLEXITY SCALE (1-10): 3
10. TYPICAL PLAYING TIME (HOURS): 2 hours and up.10+ hours for the advanced and campaign games.
11. MAP SCALE: Approximately 50 miles per hex.
12. UNIT SCALE: Air Groups
13. TIME SCALE PER TURN: Three months
14. NUMBER OF GAME TURNS: 20 turns. Advanced and Campaign games use a series of 20 turn turns.
15. PARTIAL ARTICLE LISTING: Click here
16. GAME INVENTORY: 180 unit counters; 22" x 24" mounted mapboard; multiple playing aids and charts, 1 die; rulebook, historical analysis booklet, target selection pads.
17. WBC & AVALONCON HISTORY: Continuous event since Avaloncon 1991.
18. PBEM TOOLS:
• A Java application VASSAL module is nearly complete. A WGA 2nd edition rulebook is nearly complete using errata, variants and information from various published articles.
19. PBEM OPPORTUNITES: Contact Wargame Academy if interested. A Boardgamer Player Association PBEM tournament can be organized by WGA pending suitable interest as a VASSAL LFW module is nearlyh complete and ready for playtesting..
20. WARGAME ACADEMY COMMENTS: As one of the early military history boardgames by Avalon Hill (1971), it is familiar to many and often the first TAHGC title owned. This playable game abstracts a three month bombing campaign with losses representing loss of effectiveness. The abstracted nature of combat, damage, and time detracted from long time appeal. The burden is on the American player to design a bomber entry from three fronts within rule constraints to achieve the goal of sites bombed. In tournament and advanced game play, this strategy must change from quarter to quarter. The 20 turn basic game is favored to the Germans and is best played with two sequential games playing each side with the player successfully bombing the greater number of targets. The Advanced and Campaign games are of greater challenge. Although the computer version of SSI (Gary Grisby) Apple IIe computer game USAAF may be the best WWII air war simulation; for its simplicity, LUFTWAFFE is an underplayed classic.
21. WARGAME ACADEMY GAME TOOLS: Two game copies, partial softcopy rulebook, partial complete game editable multilayer map, Order of Battles, Counter library and charts in Claris Draw.