Aces & Armor: Spitfire – Taking WWII Battles to the Skies of Britain and the Deserts of North Africa
by
PKB Games
Philipp K. Berger, designer of Aces & Armor and founder of PKB Games:
When I developed the original Aces & Armor, my goal was to create the kind of World War II strategy game I always wanted to play myself: a game with detailed miniatures, exciting tactical battles, and plenty of strategic depth, but without requiring players to spend hours studying complicated rules.
The original game was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2024, and the feedback from players has been fantastic. So naturally, I started thinking about where to take the system next.
The result is Aces & Armor: Spitfire – Battle of Britain & North Africa, which is currently live on Kickstarter! The response has been fantastic, with the campaign reaching its funding goal in just 20 minutes!
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| A close-up of the hand painted miniatures. |
Spitfire takes the proven game system to two iconic WWII theaters, introducing the British faction, new units, new maps, and new strategic challenges.
And the best part? It's both a standalone game for 1–2 players and an expansion for the original Aces & Armor, allowing epic battles with up to five players.
A Wargame – But Not a Historical Simulation
Before getting into the details, I'd like to clarify one important aspect of the game, especially for readers who enjoy traditional historical wargames.
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| These are some more of the hand painted miniatures |
Aces & Armor is not intended to be a historically accurate conflict simulation (consim). While the units, equipment, and battlefields are inspired by World War II, the game is designed first and foremost to be an enjoyable strategy board game.
My philosophy has always been to create as much strategic depth as possible with as few rules as necessary. Rather than simulating every historical detail, I focus on the elements that create interesting tactical decisions: positioning, combined-arms warfare, terrain, logistics, and resource management.
This means making deliberate compromises in historical accuracy to achieve faster, more accessible gameplay. A typical battle takes around 60–90 minutes, and players can learn the basics relatively quickly.
I think of Aces & Armor as a board game with a historical war theme that bridges the gap between traditional board games and miniature wargames.
Two New Theaters of War
One of the things that fascinates me about World War II is how different the various theaters of war were. Fighting in the skies over Britain was an entirely different challenge from commanding armored divisions in the North African desert.
I wanted Spitfire to capture these differences without unnecessarily complicating the rules.
Battle of Britain
The first map takes players to southern England, northern France, and the English Channel.
Here, air superiority becomes particularly important. Players command iconic aircraft such as the British Spitfire and Hurricane and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Junkers Ju 88.
The scenarios include defending British airfields against Luftwaffe bombing raids, fighting for control of the skies, and evacuating Allied forces from Dunkirk before German troops close in.
Of course, ground forces remain important too, and the game combines air and land combat using the familiar Aces & Armor mechanics.
North Africa
The second map offers a completely different experience. In the vast deserts of North Africa, mobility and logistics become essential.
A powerful tank division is of little use if it runs out of supplies!
We therefore introduced a new supply mechanic that makes controlling supply lines and cutting off enemy forces an important part of your strategy.
Instead of simply attacking your opponent's strongest positions, you might try to outmaneuver their forces and disrupt their logistics.
I particularly like this scenario because it creates interesting tactical decisions while staying true to the relatively simple rules of the original game.
Meet the British Forces!
One of the biggest additions is the new British faction, featuring six different unit types:
Supermarine Spitfire – The legendary British fighter aircraft.
Hawker Hurricane – Another iconic RAF fighter.
Churchill Tank – A heavily armored tank built to withstand enemy fire.
Daimler Armoured Car – A fast reconnaissance and combat vehicle.
Bofors 40 mm – An anti-aircraft gun to defend against enemy planes.
British Infantry – Essential for capturing and holding strategic
positions.
The German faction features its own selection of six units, including the Panther tank, the famous 8.8 cm Flak, and the Junkers Ju 88 bomber.
Altogether, the game includes 24 highly detailed miniatures, representing the British and German forces.
Beautiful Hand-Painted Miniatures
One aspect I'm particularly excited about is the visual presentation of the game.
The detailed miniatures were already one of the highlights of the original Aces & Armor, and with Spitfire we're once again offering players the choice between unpainted miniatures and professionally hand-painted miniatures.
With the Deluxe Edition, all 24 miniatures come hand-painted, ready to be placed on the battlefield straight out of the box.
I think painted miniatures make an enormous difference to the atmosphere of a game. Seeing a formation of Spitfires facing off against German fighters above a battlefield filled with tanks and infantry really brings the action to life!
For those who enjoy painting their own miniatures, the standard edition naturally includes unpainted figures.
And for players who want to combine both games, we're also offering hand-painted miniatures for the original Aces & Armor as part of the Kickstarter campaign.
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| Please take a look at these hand painted miniatures |
A Tactical Combat System Where Every Unit Matters
At the heart of Spitfire is the combat system from the original Aces & Armor.
Combat uses 12-sided dice, with the number of dice and probability of hitting depending on several factors, including the type of unit, damage already sustained, combat experience, and support from nearby friendly units.
Tanks, infantry, artillery, and aircraft all have individual strengths and weaknesses. Combined-arms tactics are particularly important, and a well-coordinated group of different units can be much more effective than a single powerful tank.
One of my favorite mechanics is the individual experience system.
Your units gain experience during combat, progressing from rookies to veterans and eventually war heroes. Experienced units become more effective, making them increasingly valuable as the battle progresses.
But here's the interesting part: Damage and experience are tracked directly on the miniatures themselves!
Each miniature has two small transparent holders attached to its base. Colored markers show how much damage a unit has sustained and how experienced it is.
This means you can immediately see the condition of every unit right on the battlefield, without consulting separate unit sheets.
It also creates some memorable moments when a battle-hardened unit survives against overwhelming odds, or when you must decide whether to risk your precious veteran tank in another attack!
Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master
Despite the accessible rules, Aces & Armor offers plenty of strategic decisions.
Players must consider unit positioning, combined-arms tactics, terrain advantages, resource management, and the experience and damage of their forces.
Players also need to capture factories to generate money, which can be spent on purchasing new units or repairing damaged ones.
All of this creates a surprisingly deep strategy game, despite its relatively short playing time.
Spitfire maintains this philosophy while introducing new strategic possibilities through its maps and scenarios.
Expand Your Battles – Or Start Fresh!
If you already own the original Aces & Armor, you can combine both games to introduce the British alongside the American, Soviet, and German factions.
With five different factions, additional units, and new maps, there are plenty of opportunities for larger battles and new tactical combinations.
But you don't need to own the original game to enjoy Spitfire. Everything required to play is included in the standalone box.
And for those who missed the original Aces & Armor, which is currently sold out, we're also bringing it back as part of this Kickstarter campaign!
Join Us on Kickstarter!
We're a small independent board game publisher based in Germany, and our games have always started as projects we wanted to play ourselves.
The response to Spitfire has been incredible so far, and I'm very grateful to everyone who has supported the campaign.
I'm excited to bring Aces & Armor into these two new theaters, and I hope players will enjoy the new tactical possibilities as much as we enjoyed developing them.
Aces & Armor: Spitfire is live on Kickstarter right now!
You can discover the game, see the painted miniatures and maps, and support the campaign here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/trench-club/aces-and-armor-spitfire
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you on the battlefield!
Philipp K. Berger
PKB Games
You can buy the Base games, Deluxe Bundle, and Premium Upgrades. The one upgrade that you must have is the hand painted miniatures! You can also add a neoprene map which is larger than the original. It also can be ordered with Dice Towers and Metal Intercept Tokens. These other games can be bought with the Kickstarter on sale:
Lord of Loot
Trench Club Base Games
Trench Club Legacy
These miniatures below can also be added:
Yes, that is a miniature Anzio Annie! It is sharing the stage with a Zeppelin, Maginot Fort, and Nebelwerfer.
This is a link to my quick look at the original Aces & Armor game:
Aces & Armor by PKB Games - A Wargamers Needful Things
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