Masters of the Air tells the story of the Eighth Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group, also known as the Bloody Hundredth, which used its fleet of B-17 heavy bombers to cut a swathe of destruction from the English Channel to Berlin during World War II. The nine-part Apple TV Plus miniseries, which airs its final episode Friday, is basically everything that baby Charlie — his nose pressed against the pages of obscure history books all throughout middle school — could’ve ever hoped for. But, now that it’s over, I think I’ve found a way to extend the experience just a little further thanks to B-17 Flying Fortress Leader, an excellent solitaire board game from Dan Verssen Games.
Scoff if you like, but solitaire board games are hot right now with a vocal minority making solo modes a highly desired bullet point on nearly every new crowdfunding campaign, regardless of platform. Dan Verssen Games has been in the solo business for years now, with games like Phantom Leader – Deluxe, which recreates some of the most interesting air-to-air and air-to-ground engagements of the Vietnam War. And what’s so interesting about each of its titles is how the company uses the same set of simple, easy-to-manufacture components — namely playing cards and small, square cardboard chits — to create incredibly different experiences.
A game of B-17 Flying Fortress Leader begins with its massive, 33-inch-wide game board that’s built to resemble the layout of the pre-flight briefings shown in Masters of the Air. That’s where you’ll place cards that represent the target for the day, any secondary targets that might be an option for your crews, and the current disposition of enemy airbases that you’ll need to be mindful of along the way. From there, it’s a pretty straightforward process to launch your bombers, take on enemy fighters, punch through the flak wall, and put your payload on the target — all with nothing more than a few cups filled with random counters and a single 10-sided die. The action is swift and decisive, making it feel equal parts roguelike and alternate history. It’s an excellent companion, in fact, to the eponymous history book by Donald L. Miller that the Steven Spielberg-produced series was based on.
You can run a mission of B-17 Flying Fortress Leader in about 30 minutes flat, but it’s the setup that really rewards your time at the table. Players must choose from one of 11 different campaigns, each with different objectives, limitations, and sets of targets. Then you build your bomber formation out of the game’s many historical bomber groups, personified by cards depicting the Bloody Hundredth, the Memphis Belle, and others. More skilled versions of those crews cost more points, but they can reward you with improved effectiveness and special rules that can only be used once per mission. Pick a target, load the planes with an assortment of different munitions (including incendiaries and bunker-busting “Disney” bombs), and you’re off to the races.
Players also get to plan out the route their bombers take to the target, meaning that with enough range in your tanks, you can even try to outsmart Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe by taking oddball routes, launching diversionary raids, or simply scouting ahead with a recon plane. The game is expansive enough to even include the same kind of long-range “shuttle” missions shown early on in the miniseries, including sorties to Northern Africa and beyond. The planning aspect provides a powerful sandbox aspect to the game, and gives players a taste of the difficult decisions that the series’ narrator, Harry Crosby, must have had to consider in his time as group navigator.
Dan Verssen Games offers a number of different solitaire experiences for fans of different theaters, including Corsair Leader that should appeal to anyone who enjoyed 2022’s Devotion starring Glen Powell. You can find them all on the Dan Verssen Games website, online at places like Amazon, or your friendly local game store.
B-17 Flight Leader was reviewed using retail product provided by Dan Verssen Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.
