Blood Red Skies: A Quick Review

Some of you may have heard our interviews with Jon Russel from . In our July 2017 interview he announced that a new air combat game would be hitting the market. That game, Blood Red Skies (BRS), has arrived.

I do recall asking him if Warlord would be able to put out an air combat game when the market has a lot titles to choose from, and no single game system as really been deemed as the benchmark. I have played Wings of Glory and Check Your Six in the past and I have a huge collection of bi-plane models.

I cannot say either game has really hooked me. Maybe it is the fact that I have been an “Airman” my entire adult life that leads me to be harder on air themed games. I believe that to be good, a game focused on air warfare either needs to be very detailed (which bogs it down) or super easy like an arcade game (rock, paper, scissors) and neither option is fun for me. At least not until BRS hit my gaming table.
Overall View

I first saw BRS at GENCON 2017 and I really did not have enough time to get a real feel for the game. However, my blind trust in Jon lead me to buy the starter set and the British and German ace packs which are sold separately. I quickly painted the models (not required to play) and I got in a very basic game with Throck at the Games Tavern. We really did not have the time to break down the game so we decided to meet again to give it a real try. Using a game mat from Wings of Glory we gave it another go.

The rules books (one basic rules the other expanded) are thin. The key to the game is the “Advantage/Disadvantage” system which simulates a lot of maneuvering you see in other games or in real life. This mechanic really cuts down on some of the steps and status that can slow down or add detail to other air-based games.

Basic and Advanced

The basic game seems simple. As we added the expanded rules (which utilize cards), however, you see how the game really has some slick tactical mechanics under the hood. The game is decided by gathering up “Boom Chits” when you score a hit.  You will have to do some work to shoot down an enemy aircraft. The game uses d6, and the roll that you need is always a six. So make sure you set yourself up to roll a ton of dice to increase your odds.

This game is simple yet fun that will test your skills. It is easy to set up and you can teach an opponent to play in a few minutes.

Investment

I do like this game. It’s perfect to get in some quick games during downtime at conventions. I was lucky to get the $50 pre-sale that gives you six Spitfires and six ME-109 aircraft. For another $25, I purchased the Sailor Malan and Adolf Galland ace packs. You can also get Soviet Yak’s, USAAF Mustang’s and Japanese Zeroes, with each nation having a named ace pilot to spice things up.

I’d like to get some P-51’s, but I think my initial investment of $75 will be it for this game for right now.  For a beer and pretzels game, I think what I have is enough. For the dedicated air combat gamer, I would recommend filling up the table with all of the aircraft available since this is the type game you can convince those non-air gamers you know to play.

Models and Decals

The models are not bad, however, they are made of the flexible plastic. They probably will not break, but may give you a model that looks like it has warped wings until you bend it back in to place. I am not a great painter and I wanted to play this game quickly, so I did not spend a lot of time painting these models.

As with other models, if you have the correct colors the model just will look like it was decently painted. I decided to make the aircraft for Galland and Malan a bit different than the rest of the flock.

While the kit does come with “decals” these are really just stickers that will never look right in the eye of a serious modeler. So I searched the web for decent 1/200 decals for the squadrons I wanted to represent. I found a great store called who had the right decals I needed.

So what role will Blood Red Skies have in your collection? If you have given up your search for a good air combat game you may want to give this title a try; it’s a fun beer and pretzel game for sure. Who doesn’t like to see Spits and Jerries’ tangle above England in 1940.

I think we need to sit down with Jon Russell again to see what Warlord has in store for this title; there is so much they can do in the future here by expanding to other WW2 aircraft and maybe even the dawn of jet fighters or back the days of the first bi-planes; a lot potential here.