Jasta 18

It is Summer 1917. You command the ten remaining pilots that make up Jasta 18. They gather in the mess hall at Halluin aerodrome, awaiting your orders as the first light of dawn glows in the east. The weather looks promising for a full day of flying. Based on the build-up of forces that German reconnaissance flights uncovered, it is already clear that the British are planning a major offensive at Ypres. Your mission is to establish superiority in the skies so that they cannot succeed on the ground. These days, despite your best efforts, it seems the Allies are coming in ever-increasing numbers. Your focus is to engage the enemy's two-seaters and every patrol you fly is an opportunity to shoot down their photo reconnaissance aeroplanes and bombers before they complete their missions. To achieve that, you'll need to thin the ranks of their scouts. You've received orders for the day from higher command. For the dawn patrol, you're required to intercept any Allied aeroplanes come across the lines. You'll send up three pilots early to patrol up and down the lines at high altitude. This way, you'll catch their scouts as they venture across, diving out of the sun as it rises in the east. You task four pilots to stand-by, ready to take off when reports are received from the trench spotters stationed along the front. Your last three pilots will rest. For noon, you schedule another three pilots on stand-by to perform interceptions, while two more will fulfill the orders from headquarters to knock down some enemy kite balloons near Messines. Later in the afternoon, you schedule three pilots to escort some two-seaters across the lines to get a better look at the Allied build-up. The evening offers unlimited opportunity. Nothing is ordered by headquarters, so why not lead the entire Jasta fly across the lines to catch the enemy by surprise over their aerodromes as they take-off? The good news is that several replacement aeroplanes and pilots should be arriving by the end of the week, maybe with some new Albatros D.V scouts. In the meantime, caution is warranted; you have too few pilots and aeroplanes to fulfill the orders yo have. Exhaustion is setting in and the stress is wearing your pilots down. Jasta 18 is a solitaire and multiplayer air war game. It is the second installment in the Great War Series, after Black Flight, which covered the war experiences of RNAS No. 10 (Naval) Squadron. As with all wargames from Historic Wings, Jasta 18 is deeply researched. You learn about history as you play -- not the Hollywood version, but the real thing. The rules are carefully crafted to recreate the true circumstances that faced Jasta 18 that summer. Even though your pilots are experts, they can't guarantee success. You will fly historic missions across the trenches and over No Man’s Land while the Allies send up their Sopwiths and SPADs, along with two-seaters as they attempt to perform missions that prepare the battlefield for their upcoming offensive. Your orders will reflect the actual patrols of the time – LPs, Line Patrols that ran north and south over the trenches; escort missions where you protect bombers, reconnaissance aeroplanes, photo reconnaissance flights, and artillery direction missions; Kite Patrols, where you knock down their observation balloons; and interceptions, where your pilots sprint to their aeroplanes to take to the skies to engage Allied aeroplanes coming across the lines. Through encounter and patrol tables that vary week-by-week, each campaign will present a different experience, ensuring extraordinary replayability. Your pilots may be few in number, but many are experts, some are even aces. Each has unique characteristics defined by a mix of 45 Trait Cards and 45 Vice Cards that give them individual strengths and weaknesses. Your Jasta will be different in every campaign you fly, your challenges will be unique, and your struggles will be memorable. Each nationality in the Great War Series has its own unique Trait Cards and Vice Cards that reflect the times, the traditions, and the historic personalities of each nation. Will your pilots in Jasta 18 fare better or worse than in history? Will your leadership make a difference and help turn the tide against the Allied offensives? How many of your men will become great aces? How many will be shot down? It comes down to you, the decisions you make, and how you fly. "Gott mit uns! Gott strafe England!" —description from the designer