Hornet Leader II

About this board game

Hornet Leader II is a solitaire board game for 1 player, with missions designed to be completed in about 60 minutes. Published in 2005, it places you in command of the pilots and aircraft of a modern-day U.S. Navy squadron of F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters.

The game features three built-in campaign settings: Libya, North Korea, and Iraq. Each campaign takes place in a different era, so the weapons available to you change from one campaign to another.

Mission planning is central to the experience. Before each mission, you decide how to arm your Hornets and choose which pilots are best suited to the task by considering their Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground skills. This preparation gives every mission an important layer of command decision-making.

• Play solo as the commander of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 squadron.
• Choose from campaigns set in Libya, North Korea, or Iraq.
• Select pilots based on their Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground skills.
• Configure aircraft weapons for each mission.
• Engage enemy Bandits, SAMs, and AAA Sites.

Missions are resolved quickly, with a focus on speed and realism. During each operation, you decide how your pilots engage the opposition and how much suppression weaponry to carry. More suppression munitions can make your pilots safer, but leave less space for weapons intended to destroy the target, creating a tense balance between protection and mission success.

Based on GMT Games’ original award-winning 1991 design, Hornet Leader II retains its key decisions while greatly streamlining the game mechanics. It was nominated for the Charles S. Roberts Award for Best Modern Era Boardgame in 2005.