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!

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.

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.

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

https://pkb-games.com

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

Steel Centurions

 Italian Armored Formations of the Second World War 1940-43

By 

Paolo Morisi

 In WWII the Italian armored forces started the war with an Albatross around their necks. The Italian Navy had some very well-designed ships at their disposal. The Italian Air Force also had some designs that were comparable to the best in the world, although in limited numbers. However, the Italian tank forces were never equipped to fight in the war. Their tanks were found to be woefully inadequate even during the Spanish Civil War. There they had faced some Soviet Union tanks that put them to shame. Luckily for the Italians the British tanks early in the war were not much better. So, forced to go to battle with old designs and not much better officers, on the whole, it is a wonder how much the Italian tankers were able to accomplish. This book is about their story during the war. The author has given us a comprehensive account of their history from 1940-1943. This book proves that the Italians were just as brave and full of fight as any other participants in the war. They were just so handicapped by design and staff that what seems on the outside to be woeful attempts at warfare is really a story of complete frustration, with bits of brilliance at times.

 The book takes you from the beginning of the Italian Armored formations and tactics until the end of the Sicily campaign. These are the chapters:

The Birth of the Italian Armored Units and Their Development

Minot Armored Campaign (France, East Africa, and Albania/Greece)

North Africa

Further Advance

Gazala and Tobruk

El Alamein

Tunisia

Sicily

M Armored Division and Ariete II

Followed by five appendices

 Naturally, the book's main focus is on the North African campaign, simply because it encompasses almost the entire Italian timeline in the war. The Germans did not find the Italian soldier to be unworthy. Not in the least. When commanded well, even with their outdated equipment, they were viewed as Allies in every sense of the word. Their bravery under great odds is shown throughout the book. I have always been interested in the role of Italy in WWI and WWII. Their forces in WWII are now seen as a cliche or a punchline to a joke. I have always believed that the reality was something entirely different. This is another book that shows that it actually was.

 If you want to know the truth about the Italian Armored formations during WWII and not just read the usual pap, then I suggest you pick up this book to find out for yourself. Thank you, Mr. Morisi, for another excellent book on what some people would call the obscure parts of the world wars. I also want the thank Casemate Publishers for allowing me to review this excellent book.

 The author Paolo Morisi Has also written two other excellent books in my opinion. The first, The Italian Folgore Parachute Division: North African Operations 1940-43. The second is, Hell in the Trenches: Austro-Hungarian Stormtroopers and Italian Arditi in the Great War. This is a link to my review of the second book:

Hell in the Trenches by Paolo Morisi - A Wargamers Needful Things

Robert 

Book: Steel Centurions: Italian Armored Formations of the Second World War 1940-43 

Author: Paolo Morisi

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 Operation Theseus

Gazala 1942

by

Vuca Simulations

 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is either put on a pedestal or not looked at highly at all. The fact that he was forced to take poison and end his life, because he knew about the plots against Hitler's life and said nothing, has given him a bit of a martyr status to some historians. The German generals after World War II had some harsh things to say about him. Did they say these things out of jealousy, or did they really not think that much of him? He was, after all, a darling of Hitler from the beginning of the war. His seesaw battles for control of North Africa even had Winston Churchill praising him. British historians rate his generalship very high; other nationalities go either way. On a tactical level he was a very good commander. It is possible that he was in his element on a more tactical level than in higher commands. Leading from the front while commanding an army in the 20th century is a pretty hard trick to pull off. To many, the Battle of Gazala was Rommel's greatest victory in WWII. The stage is set. The Germans and Italians have overrun Cyrenaica once again and are looking to defeat the British and Commonwealth forces and take Tobruk. The British and Commonwealth forces have dug themselves in. They have sown the desert with mines and have constructed 'boxes' to surround each of their forces. The desperate battle around the southern box and its Free French defenders at Bir Hakeim is the stuff of legends. Rommel looked defeated and was about to be destroyed when he pulled a rabbit out of his hat and defeated the Allies and actually took Tobruk (which had withheld a months long siege the year before). This is the background of the battle. Let us see what is in the box:

One rulebook.

One mounted map.

383 counters.

2 double-sided player aids.

1 double-sided setup display.

1 Solitaire play display

Two 10-sided dice, referred to as "d10".

A hex represents 3.5 kms (2.2 miles) of terrain from side to side.

Each turn represents a period of one to six days.

Combat units are mostly infantry-type regiments/brigades, and armoured-type battalions/regiments.

The Map

  This is a blurb from Vuca Simulations:

"Operation Theseus - Gazala 1942 is an operational level simulation of the Gazala battles of 1942, which took place during May and June 1942.

The game is intended for two players but is also suitable for solitaire and team play. The goal for the Axis player is to hit the Commonwealth forces hard and to seize specific victory locations, thereby opening the door to Egypt. The Commonwealth player wants to prevent this from happening, thereby eliminating the Axis potential for further offensives. The game is played in a semi-interactive way and keeps both players involved all the time..."

 This is the third game in their Operational Level games about World War II. The series does not have a name, but you can see in the rules that they are related to one another. It appears that Vuca Simulations have listened to grognards and also revisited the rules to make an even better game. The other two games are:

 Crossing the Line: Aachen 1944

Across the Bug River: Volodymyr-Volynskyi 1941

  Vuca Simulations has always had very high production standards in their games and this one is no exception. The mounted map board looks very good for a map of what is usually shown as a mostly featureless desert terrain. The detail of the map close up is pretty incredible. The Maps hexes are large ones. The Game Turn Track etc. that are on the sides of the map are large enough to easily read. There are four full page Player Aids. They are made of hard cardboard, almost as thick as the map. Three of them are double-sided:

Player Aid A has the Combat Results Table, Terrain Effects Chart, Combat Sequence, and Combat DRM.

Player Aid B has the Sequence of Play, Action Points, Stacking Limits, Minefield Check, and Command and Supply information.

Then comes the Scenario Setup Aid: one side has the Axis and the other the Allied Setups.

Next, there is one with the Game Turn Track, and Formation Assignment Boxes.

 Another excellent addition by Vuca Simulations is a hard 'ruler' that is used to help the player see the correct row on the combat Results Table. The counters are 15mm in size and come pre-rounded. They are very colorful and have both NATO symbols and small pictures to see what each unit is made up of. Some of the writing on them is a bit small. The information and their respective units use color identification, so this makes reading them easier. The counters are a bit on the thin side, but they feel sturdy enough. The Rulebook is made of glossy paper and seems large because the writing is so big, thank you Vuca Simulations. The rules themselves are twenty-four pages and then come the three scenarios. Then comes two pages of Combat Examples, followed by the Designer and Player's Notes. Next up, is a small Historical Context, and then a two-page Index. The Rules are also filled with full color examples that follow the text. 

 This is the Sequence of Play:

1. Admin Phase

  A. Recovery

  B. Organization

  C. Replacement

  D. Reinforcement

2. Ops Phase: consisting of variable number of Ops Cycles

  A. Initiative Determination 

  B. Formation Activation or Independent Unit Action

3. End of Turn Phase

 As mentioned, the game is at the operational level. So, it comes with all of the flavor of a game done at that scale. Headquarters are incredibly important in the game. They are the font from which springs control and supply of the units under them. To be out of command, unless you are an independent unit or isolated, is a capital sin in these game rules. Gazala was a bit of a strange battle. You always read about minefields being used in World War II, but here they were used extensively. As the Axis you must find a way through them to attack the Allies. Historically, after Rommel's first attack was stopped, he laagered up in the middle of some Allied minefields. These are some of the items that the game has rules about:

SNAFU/Schlachtenglück

Stacking and Limited Intelligence

Zones of Control

Effectiveness Check

Formation Reaction

Refit/Replacement

Breach Minefield Action

Improved Defense Action

Schwerpunkt Marker - One Axis formation gets bonuses for that turn.

 The game comes with three scenarios. These are:

Scenario One: Assault on Bir Hacheim - A solitaire scenario where you are in command of the Ariete Italian Division. It is just to show game mechanics. 

Scenario Two: The Opening Phase - This is four turns long.

Scenario Three: The Gazala Battles - This is eight game turns long.

 The designer D. Blennemann, has taken on a large challenge by bringing us the Battle of Gazala. It is a mixture of a WWII and a WWI battlefield. I think that he and Vuca Simulations have done a great job in bringing this battle to life. Do not think that history or the game gives the Axis an easy victory. To win the battle and take Tobruk is not an easy task at all. Playing as the Allies, your job is to not repeat the historic Allied response which was piecemeal. The Axis forces are always dangerous, so plan ahead and hit them with a good-sized force and not dribs and drabs.  

 Thank you Vuca Simulations for allowing me to review this, more simulation than game, newest effort of yours. I have enjoyed playing this as much as your other two operational level games. They have two new games coming up. These are:

1914 Nach Paris:

1914 - Nach Paris – VUCASIMS

The Chase of the Bismarck (Jack Greene had his hand in this, so I am expecting very good things):

The Chase of the Bismarck - Operation Rheinübung 1941 – VUCASIMS

Robert

Vuca Simulation:

VUCA simulations - Premium conflict simulations from Europe – VUCASIMS

Operation Theseus: Gazala 1942 Rulebook:

31_08_OT_Rulebook_297x210mm.pdf (shopify.com)